True Christians should support the death penalty.

Thank You Renzzy, and good luck. The Old Testament surely does make a strong case for the death penalty, but it also makes a strong case for other things. Eating habits and diets were very strict in those days, along with animal sacrifice, clothing style, ect. Most everything the old testament has to say about the "law of the land" was put to rest when Jesus came. Jesus did away with the law. (which explains your last scripture you cite at the end of your post.) I won't go through every verse you use and give my interrpretation. I'll give a couple notes on what you quote: You tie the last scripture you cite(Matt. 5:17) with the story from John about the accused woman.(John 8:1-10) The 'Law and the Prophets' which Jesus refers to in verse 17 is a clear reference to the Hebrew Bible – what we now call the Old Testament. This was known as 'The Law, Prophets and Writings' – 'The Law' was the Torah (the 5 Books of Moses), The Prophets (self-explanatory) and the 'Writings' were the wisdom books (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes etc). So this is a reference to the validity of the Old Testament: the Old Testament continues to have validity, it is and aways will be divinely-inspired Scripture! But anyway my point: Matt. 5:17-19 is all about the laws of the prophets from the old testament, and here we see Jesus obviously wasn't getting rid of the Prophets words from the past, but he was challenging the Pharisees into sincerly follow the law of God. This has nothing to do with the story of John 8:1-10, which was not only about different topic but in a different setting as well... Exodus 20:13: We must also understand here, that I am using the King James Version of the Bible, and the scripture is: Thou shalt not kill. (So rather than 'murder' this is just plain 'kill') ---------------- Now my points. Jesus taught a way of life that was so far superior to the concepts we have now and then. Not only was Jesus against the death penalty but he was taught about a way of life with out judgement. So my opponet gives examples of the Old Testament and the idea of "eye for an eye" punishment. Well, here is what Jesus had to say about that:"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Interesting, Jesus says that it is wrong to say "Hey you killed that guy, so you are gonna be killed too! EYE FOR EYE." It is the very nature of Christ that says killing and taking vengence is not of God. We have no right to judge each other, only God and Jesus can do that. The most well known passage relative to the death penalty, even today, is the lex talonis of Leviticus 19:15 ff, in which the rule of retaliation is established: aneye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. In order to fully comprehend this ancient law and its underlying intention to reform the harshness of clan retaliation, we need to recall one of the earliest passages in Scripture. The statement usually referred to as Lamech's Lament (Genesis 4:2324) is offered as an example of the way sin was spreading after the fall. Readers of Scripture will remember that the first event recorded after Adam and Eve sinned was murder. That is, Cain killed his brother Able. From there the story of sin's contagion continues to unfqld with the depiction of a rather primitive civilization in which the only policing relied upon was clan vengeance. Jesus, however, reversed this law for those who would follow him. He named this law of retaliation explicitly and rejected it in favor of transforming initiatives that avoid vengeance or violence but instead confront the offender and seek the reconciliation ofrepentance and forgiveness. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said: "You have heard it said, `an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not set yourself in violent or revengeful resistance against an evildoer." Thank you.