On capital punishment

Over at Vita Brevis, John has written an excellent post in the style of Thomas Aquinas on “whether capital punishment is defensible from the Christian perspective.” He raises four strong defenses, but then cogently argues against capital punishment, responding to each argument in turn. This is well worth checking out.

I’ve written on the topic of capital punishment myself. You can read what I wrote in anticipation of the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Comments

Anonymous said…
David, you might be interested in some things I have written on the subject, particularly, "How Renewal in Church Practices Can Transform the Death Penalty Debate," in Capital Punishment: A Reader,ed., Glen H. Stassen, The Pilgrim Library of Ethics (Pilgrim Press, 1998), pp. 219-229; "Biblical Perspectives on the Death Penalty," co-written with Glen H. Stassen in Religion and the Death Penalty: A Call for Reckoning, ed. Eric C. Owens, John D. Carlson, & Eric P. Elshtain (Eerdmans, 2004), pp. 123-138.

I am attempting to get permission to reprint both of those articles together as a separate pamphlet to be published by the Baptist Center for Ethics. If I can get such permission I will let folks know.
Thanks, Michael. I hope you're able to reprint those essays. I'll certainly check them out when I get a chance.