“Christianity and Death Penalty”“Chikyu Shimin-no Kai” Research Reporting Meeting
May 24, 2009
Kobe City University of Foreign Studies
Speaker: Kobe International Christ Church
Pastor Yoshio Iwamura
Theme scripture: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the actof adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’”(John 8:3-5)<Introduction>
The lay judges in Japan began on May 21, 2004. I myself am ignorant about the law, and I am nota person who is familiar with trials. Therefore, please understand me that I can talk about what tothink about the death penalty from only the viewpoint of religious believer. Masumi Hayashi [47years old], who was charged with murder in Wakayama poisoned curry case, and her final appeal
that was followed to the 1st and 2nd trials, was rejected by the Supreme Court of Japan on April 21,
2009, and it was based on comprehensive evaluation of circumstantial evidences. Without knowing
the motive for the crime, the death penalty was given only by the circumstantial evidences. The
April 21st was the day when the lay judges in Japan began.
Last year, April 22 (Tuesday), the man (Age 28, and he was 18 years old when he committed
murders) who was accused because of murdering and raping mother and her child, and his case wasback to the original court, Hiroshima High Court of Appeal (the chief judge, Yasuyuki Narazaki),and the court gave a sentence to death.
I do like to ask you about the case that 4 people lost their lives among 60 victims at the poison
curry incident, “what would you think about it?”, if you were chosen to be a judge.
In the early morning on February 23, 1988, there was a case at Nagoya city that rogues attacked
and killed couples one by one. At that time, death penalty became an important issue. I heard aprosecutor said, “If my daughter was killed, I quit my job and kill the perpetrator”.
At that time, the trainee asked, “So, what would you do if your wife was killed?” The prosecutor
kept silent and put his hands together. And he said, “I will thank to the perpetrator”.
Prosecutors are also human beings. Sometimes they empathize with the victim’s feelings. The
media shows a dualistic confrontation image of taking position on whether the perpetrator and its
1

defendants or victim’s family and the prosecutor. Is it possible for judges to serve with having apreconception? Talking about the death sentence by the lay judges, I think that the death sentence
should be a unanimous verdict and it should not be decided by majority vote of judges and lay
judges. However, the present judgment system has been decided by majority votes. Is it OK todecide a person’s death by the numbers? In the “Teigin Jiken” on January 26, 1948, a painterSadamichi Hirasawa who had no knowledge about poisons was arrested. He was coerced into
confessing because of continuous tortures. At the Matsumoto sarin attack in 1994, the police
forcibly investigated Yoshiyuki Kawano, who had no knowledge about poisons, and his house,based on their anticipation to think Kawano as a criminal. Today, I do like to think about “how doyou think about the death penalty” with you together.

Index(1) Whether the death penalty is Biblical3a. Law of the Old Testament – Rule of Equivalent Exchange

3

Execution is a deterrent

3

b. Death penalty is the law of God

3

Death penalty is not a revenge, it is an atonement for sin

3c. Paul talks about death penalty

3

Even Jesus never condemned the capital punishment system

3(2) God does not desire human death, and even let the most evil people to alive

4

a. God’s heart for the murders

4

To do not let even one person to perish

4b. It is more important to lead conversion than execution

5

Self-repentance of criminals, and reconciliation for the bereaved family

5“Revenge” is a common practice in Japan.

6c. God never desire death of human, but hope their conversion

6

I never be pleased anyone’s death6(3) Must not kill people

7

a. Must not do revenge

7

When the bereaved family forgave their perpetrator

7b. The Early Church refused the death penalty

8c. The Ten Commandments as the eternal teachings92

(1) Whether the death penalty is Biblicala. Law of the Old Testament – Rule of Equivalent Exchange“Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”(Deuteronomy 19:21)
Will the death penalty deter murder? A person who is familiar with human minds says as follows.
In the verse 20, “The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such anevil thing be done among you”. Written as “the rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid”,
executions brings deterrence. For example, a murderer often commits murder again in and out of a
prison. The “retrieved” murderer still takes innocent lives. Don’t you think that the meaning of
innocent people’s life became lower because executions are not carried?

b. Death penalty is the law of God
Exodus 21:12 “Anyone who strikes a person with a fatal blow is to be put to death.”
Exodus 21:14 “But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be takenfrom my altar and put to death.”
Punishment is based on the law of “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and it is notillegal. The stoning penalty, that is, the death penalty is considered to be the compensation of sin,
not as revenge.
If a person intentionally or even carelessly kill someone, it was instructed by the God’s law tocompensate with own life.
Mike Huckabee, who was a candidate in the United States Republican presidential primaries in
2008, rose suddenly by a great support from the Evangelicalism in the United States. Huckabee
affirmed capital punishment system, and he was a pastor of the Baptist church1.

c. Paul talks about death penalty
Romans 1:29-32 “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed anddepravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey theirparents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s
righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do thesevery things but also approve of those who practice them.”
Paul says “every kind of wickedness, evil” is “deserve death”.

1 Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee [1955-]. He became a candidate for the 2007 presidential election. Pastor of Southern Baptist. He

supported the theory of military reinforce. He lost against John Sidney McCain.

3

Paul himself had been sued himself. At the scene of “I found that the accusation had to do withquestions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment(Acts 23:29)”, he talked about the judicial system at that time and the death penalty withoutcomplaining, but observing the law. “If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I
do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has theright to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” (Acts 25:11)
Paul introduced that in case of perpetrate a crime of “deserve death”, it is appropriate to submit toserve at jail according to “the governing authorities”. (Romans 13:1) Even Jesus Christ nevercondemned the capital punishment system. He mentioned about an evil act by the Seven Churchesof the Apocalypse.
Revelation 2:23 “I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who
searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.”
Now, what would you do to make your judgement if you were selected to be a judge?

(2) God does not desire human death, and even let the most evil people to alive
a. God’s heart for the murders
Needless to say, the first murderer in the world was Satan who said “will not certainly die (Genesis3:4)”. However declared as “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,~AyB. be yowm (‘on the day of ~’,for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:17), “Classical Japanese language version) has not been translated as original meaning. It should betranslated as “you will die on the day you ate it”. Literally, within 24 hours, Adam and Eve
spiritually died (Genesis 5:5; Matthew 8:22; Luke 15:24 Ephesians 2:1)2.
Subsequently, the first murderer of mankind is Cain. Let’s focus on God’s words to even such anevil person Cain.
He said “But the Lord said to him, “Not soe ; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seventimes over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him(Genesis 4:15)”.
God ordered people as “no one who found him would kill him” for the murderer Cain. Because theone who created human beings wishes voluntary repentance and he is patient as “the Lord is notslow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, notwanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (ⅡPeter 3:9)”.

2

Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died. (Genesis 5:5) Bible says “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23) “be yowm“. It literally died spiritually from the eyes of God
within 24 hours. “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). (cf. Matthew 8:22, Luke 15:24)

4

b. It is more important to lead conversion than execution
The perpetrators took the victim’s lives. Cain killed Abel. But that’s not all. God asks Cain to
explain to every one as “then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your facedowncast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin
is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it (Genesis 4:6-7)”. It is
written that the sin is “desires to have you (Hebrew

hq'WvT. teshuwqah ‘Mutually love eachother’)”. He longed for sin rather than dominating it. Cain became a perpetrator who killed his own
inner character. He had longed for the “sin” than the soul, a giver who gave a life to him.
As in Joel 2:13 “Jesus said, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord yourGod, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relentsfrom sending calamity”, the characteristic of God as “slow to anger (Hebrew%rea' arek ‘slow to getangry’)”, and it appears 15 times in the Old Testament.
The spirit of “slow to anger” is not only God but the qualities that Christians are required for. He
ordered as “my dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow
to speak and slow to become angry (James 1:19)”. Considering the viewpoint of the one who
created human beings, is it possible to say that the death penalty can be said to be as Biblical? Weshould meditate, contemplate and practice the spirit of “slow to anger”, which our life giver talks,rather than claiming own anger, personal grudge and “right” of own revenge.
Criminals are given opportunities and time for repentance to bereaved families. The capital
punishment system makes impossible to grant a reprieve. In 2001, a criminal Mamoru Takuma (37years old) invaded with a knife to Ikeda Elementary School attached to Osaka Kyoiku University at
Ikeda City, Osaka, and he killed 8 students one by one. He already had more than 10 criminal
records such as injuries, extortions, attempted arsons, frauds and animal abuses. A year after thedeath penalty was s sentenced, Mamoru Takuma was executed in 2004 at the Osaka Detention
Center. The woman who was married with Takuma in the prison. She said “I wanted to have a little
more time to talk with him. I could not draw out atonement for his sins. I deeply regret it. I was notgood enough”3.
Even when Jesus was executed, he prayed for forgiveness to his opponent as “Jesus said, ‘Father,
forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting
lots (Luke 23:34)”. “Forgive” avfi,hmi means “to miss aphiemi <debt, sin, mistake>”.
It would be impossible for the bereaved families of the victims of the “mother and child incident”
in 1999 at Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to feel human love toward the young perpetrator. In
both the first and second trial, the judge handed down the life imprisonment sentence to the3“Mainichi Shimbun” (September 20, 2004)5

defendant who was 18 years old at the time of the crime. However, the victim’s husband continued
appeal to the court and public that the perpetrator should be sentenced to death. Public opinions andthe media also supported it. As a result, the Supreme Court returned the case to the High Court, andat the appeal trial, the death penalty was sentenced. Medias welcomed the judgement as a righteous
one that the court kept the justice.
“Revenge” is a common practice in Japan that even if victims’ families or relatives kill theperpetrator, they would not be given the death penalty. Every December, one historical drama draws
people’s tears. The popular drama “Hitsusatsu-Shigotonin (professional revenge undertaker)” isdeeply rooted and the last scene of the drama appears rightly that is about the revenge toward thebad one to pay off the grudge, the hatred and resentment.
If the bereaved people would pray for their perpetrator to admit its sin and come through it, so thatthey might be able to heal themselves. It is a spiritual problem that cannot be solved by executions.
Even if the perpetrator dies by the death penalty, how can we heal the sufferings that still cannot
forgive because of exhausted feeling with continuous hatred towards the perpetrator?
Matthew 5:44, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”c. God never desire death of human, but hope their conversion
Ezekiel 18:23-32 “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord.
Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? But if a righteous person turns
from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person
does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Becauseof the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.
Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not yourways that are unjust? If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will
die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. But if a wicked person turns awayfrom the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person
will surely live; they will not die. Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are myways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? Therefore, you Israelites, I will
judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn awayfrom all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you
have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I
take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”
6

The Creator of all life said “Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the deathof anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”, and he never pleased “death” of evencriminals. He wishes for change of viewpoint as “‘Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take nopleasure in the death of anyone’, declares the Sovereign Lord. ‘Repent and live!’” (Ezekiel 18: 32)

bwv shuwb)” appears 14 times in Chapter 18 itself.

In addition, “repent (According to BDB “Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Brown. Driver and Briggs
Oxford 1978)”, it is used in the meaning of “turn to, return, repent, and offer” at 1075 places.
Japanese translation of “repent” is mistranslated. Please refer metanoia4.

(3) Must not kill people
a. Must not do revenge
It is written as “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is
written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”(Romans 12:19)
Will “compensate with death” really become “repentant”?
Nowadays, the state kills criminals who are already being prisoned and neutralized. Is it possible tosatisfy with doing revenge by the death sentence of hanging from the court? Looking back on thehistory, the state power has a tendency of oppression of Leviathan that trampled rights of citizens5.
The death penalty can be said to be one extreme appearance of violence by the state power. The
capital punishment system has been rooted the consciousness, thought and education in our deep
consciousness such as, “Restraint is unavoidable for the safety of citizens”, “Eliminating dangerous
elements that disturbing orders”, and “Compliance with laws over human life”.
In other words, “the capital punishment” is actually opposite to the human rights thought of “thedignity of life is absolute”.
Can the bereaved family feel better with the execution of the criminal by the death penalty? Is it
possible for the bereaved family to be healed?
Masaharu Harada (36 years old), his three family members including younger brother Akio (30years old) who was working at the Aichi Prefecture, were killed by the purpose of insurance claims.
At first, he wanted a life sentence for the criminal who committed the murder. However, his mind
4 The mistranslation of “xx” in the New Testament and “xx” in the Old Testament is used not only at the Japan Bible Society but also in

the “New Japanese Bible”. “Repentance”, verb metanow/ metanoo (meta “change” + now / “to think” = “change viewpoint”,“negative logic” (Mark 1:15) (33 times in the New Testament”. Noun form metanoia (22 times in the NT), metanoia (22 times in
the NT). And Hebrew xx (1075 times in NT) is also same that turned 180 degrees from the fixed concept of customs, traditions andcommon sense, and those are rather than “repent of sin”.
5 “Leviathan (1)” (Hobbes, T. Translated by Hiroshi Mizutami. Iwanami Shoten. 1992).
“Infernal Dictionary” (Collin de Plancy. Translated by Takehiko Tokonabe. Kodansha. 1994. p.309)“Leviathan is a sea monster referenced in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Job, Psalms, the Book of Isaiah, and the Book of Amos.
The word later came to be used as a term for "great whale" as well as of sea monsters in general.” (Wikipedia)
Die Herrschaft des Leviathan Vgl.F.Vonessen SS 1978 p.147-158.

7

changed. He started to think to let the criminal have a continuous feeling of repentant, rather than
executing him. Currently, he has been acting for abolition of the capital punishment system, while
he is speaking to himself “I have not forgiven him yet”. Because he realized that “the victim will
never be saved by taking the perpetrator’s life”. However, Harada was “betrayed by the state” andthe criminal was executed. He started to appeal as “Do I really have the right to forgive him?”,“Live or die, it is not a matter that human beings will decide”6.
When the perpetrators are converted, accepted their sins, regretted and apologized from their heart,and the bereaved family forgave their perpetrator, it will possible to heal the two hearts for the firsttime. Deeply hurt scars will recover and it would be forgiven each other fundamentally.
The reason that Christ did not oppose the capital punishment system by the cross is not to obey the
relative “the governing authorities”, but it was the model that he never appeal own “righteousness”
against the absolute power of God, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)

b. The Early Church refused the death penalty
Christians had rejected the capital punishment system until Christianity became the state religion.
According to the church father’s literature, it claimed as “Yet Clement’s position was not universal.
His contemporary Tertullian a North African decisively opposed the practice of capital punishment
claiming that the Creator “puts his interdict on every sort of man-killing” (“On the Shows” 2).
Tertullian was (like Justin) a pacifist who believed that Christians should not serve in the military.
In this, he found company with Hippolytus, a Roman priest who urged pastors to deny baptism toany soldier whatsoever. “A military man in authority must not execute men. If he is ordered, he must
not carry it out.” (“La tradition apostolique de Saint Hippolyte”. Chapter 16 Verse7)7

Change in opinion over the capital punishment system
Accept

No idea

Abolition

2009

85.6%

8.6%

5.7%

2004

81.4%

12.5%

6.0%

1999

79.3%

11.9%

8.8%

1994

73.8%

12.6%

13.6

6 “Otoutowokoroshita Kareto Boku” (Harada, M. Maekawa, Y. Poplar Publishing. 2004). “Kirisuto Shinbun” (April 26, 2008. p.2)
7 “La tradition apostolique de Saint Hippolyte” (Botte,B. Oriens Institute for Religious Research. 1987. p.37)“Yet Clement’s position was not universal. His contemporary Tertullian a North African decisively opposed the practice of capital
punishment claiming that the Creator “puts his interdict on every sort of man-killing” (“On the Shows” 2). Tertullian was (like Justin)a pacifist who believed that Christians should not serve in the military. In this, he found company with Hippolytus, a Roman priest
who urged pastors to deny baptism to any soldier whatsoever. “A military man in authority must not execute men. If he is ordered, hemust not carry it out.” (“Apostolic Tradition” 16.9)

8

The case of the boy perpetrator of the Yamaguchi Mother-Child incident is different from Jesus
Christ case at all, but the public atmosphere that people lost calmness and claimed such as “givecapital punishment”, “the death penalty is must” together seems same as the enthusiasm that thefirst century people spoke out as “Crucify him!” (Matthew 27:22; Luke 23:23)
In Japan, there are more than 80% of people who accept the capital punishment system. (Public
opinion survey of the Cabinet Office on February 19, 2005).

Although heinous crimes are not occurring only in Japan, but social unrest causes by continuous
violent crimes are pushing to support the theory of the capital punishment system.
The General Assembly of the Unite Nations agreed with a resolution to all for temporary
suppression of execution of the death penalty by 104 countries votes. On the other hand, 53
countries are opposed that including Japan, the United States, and China. Recently, more than 100
countries have been abolished and suspended the executions in these 30 years8.

c. The Ten Commandments as the eternal teachings“You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13)” (Hebrew

jx'r; al{ lo ratsach) is also quoted in Matthew

chapter 5 verse 21 in the New Testament. At the era of Moses was also the God set the steps against
inadvertent crimes or falsification as “Select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which aperson who has killed someone accidentally may flee (Numbers 35:11)”. The judge said to be a“servant of God (dia,konoj diakonos ‘servant’)”, “For the one in authority is God’s servant for yourgood. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s
servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (Romans 13:4)”.
Even a judge of the Supreme Court and a judge who may be chosen from among you, there is no
one has anything to do with sin. Everyone of us is not a bystander, but we are perpetrators or
helping crimes in some way. There is a reality of criminality in our mind that we have been capturedby the hatred that hard to forgive. It will be healed for the first time by the Holy Spirit when it isreleased from the propensity of hatred. Just because you are chosen as a judge, it does not mean thatyou have an authority to judge other people. There are criminals in society at any time. It is, so to
speak “the weeds”. “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot
the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters:
First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into
my barn.’ ” (Matthew 13:29-30)
You shall not to decide by a dualistic thought that inspired by the media, but by praying for what is
8 “Mainichi Shimbun” (January 11, 2008)9

the God’s righteousness.

<Conclusion>
In the Bible, there is a scene that prostitute is given the “stoning” punishment. Even today, in the
Muslim region where keeps the Law of Moses, they punish women’s prostitutions by the stoning.
When Jesus Christ arrived there, he said “When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up
and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Againhe stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time,
the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there (John 8:7-9). ‘Noone, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life ofsin (John 8:11)’”. From the Bible, we cannot conclude to accept the death penalty. Even a criminalis equivalent to the death penalty, it is a perverse act of human beings to execute the criminals onbehalf of God. In other words, human put themselves at the seat of God and to rise up themselves
beyond Christ. You must not take other people’s lives.

10