The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-04-12
PEOPLES FORUM
Capital Punishment.

Capital Punishment.
Editor Of The Nirginian:
sir,-Averse TO controversy and publicity,
yet believing this question Of serious impor-
lance, and that In the multitude of councillors
there is wisdom" ! beg a portion of your val
liable time and space in consideration of what
seems to a grave subject Whittier are we
tending? Strikes and riots destroying mil
lions Of dollars Of property as well as human
life; courts, law and soldiery defcd. and capital
punishment sought TO he abolished. To anarchy?
We are told that capital punishment is bar
horous, but find il originated with the pure
and holy Golden. 3: 5-6 AT the hand Of
every mans brother will 7 require the life of
man-whoso sheddeth mans blood by man shall
his blood be shed" 1t is true that God did
not kill Cain, the second from Adam, imme-
dately, but he visited upon him greater pun
ishment by destroying his entire posterity in
the flood, and after bearing with the wicked
ness Of men fes- time and having the exper-
fence He delivered TO Noah and his sons as
they entered upon the second earth and
heavens the law of capital punishment as
above stated, But was not the flood which
destroyed all flesh, save Noah and his sons
capital punishment with vengeance2" AS we
90 on. lie sent fire and birthstone" on Sodom
and Gomorrah. because there were not ten
righteous men found there. He commanded
Moses to stone for the sin of adultery, and
what would seem to us Of this day for minor
offenses. He struck Uzzah dead for putting his
hand on the Ark because In his presumptuous
and offfcious zeal He tried to keep the Ark
from lettering over. What an argument
criminal lawyer Of this day, and sympathetic
clergyman, could put up before God in this
case-saying that poor Uzzah did not intend 70
do any wrong-that he loved the Lord and
the ark OF His testimony" and that he did il
in holy zeal. Perhaps Uzzah would have sworn
70 this on the witness stand Ellis sons struck
dead for disobeying the Lord and Koran,
Dathan and Abiram, with all his generation
swallowed up in the earth, and others persisted
for stealing, God commanded Joshua and the
hosts Of Israel to kin every man woman and
child in Canaan when they entered there TO
take possession Of the land. Why? Because the
intquity Of the Amorites was fun" and he de-
sired to preserve law and order and promote
purity and the true worship of God Even in
the New Testament dispensaton. after Jesus
and the Holy Spirit came, Annanias and Sap
phira were struck dead for lying and Paul
turned lover to Satan for the destruction Of
the flesh" certain sinful Christians chat the
spirit might be saved in the days Of the LORD
Jesus" Herod was struck dead, land eaten Of
worms" because of his ConCeit and failure to
give glory TO God Christ did not mean to in
terfere with the civil law Of the Romans when
he said to the adulterous woman" 20 in peace
and sin no more" III simply deciding an
ecclesiastical question and law of Moses being
the second (spirituaD Moses Of the Jews and
liit'i +ieAHIdi ilt ulu not mean To inauEUTate
civil government, for He. himself though
he did sin" submitted 10 the Roman an
thoritY and suffered death in tnnocency He
had the power. If he had exercised it, but He
came 70 teach divine law, and the forgiveness
Of sins and salvation under q divine govern
ment. So, also, all OF his Apostles: and So al
he teaches his individual tonsecrated followers
to walk In his footsteps-not To resist hut 10
obey the powers that be" and We are told
that they are ministers of God for good e"
The Scriptures farther $ell as that capital nun
ishment as l understand It, will be enforced
when he comes again in his Milennial King
dom to rule the world in righteousness and
the people with His Truth"-that the '.second
death" symbolzed by the lake Of fire and
birthstone" viii be visited on all the dis
ohedient-"all the wicked of the earth will he
destroy" says David and 'the wicked shall
he no more" We have been taught since esf4ftf-
hood, and many good men and theoiogians be
IeVe and teach today that God will do even
worse-that He will torture sinners even moral
benevolent citizens in fire and birthstone" or
something worse. if they do not believe in and
receive. the Christ--and I dare say some of
the sympathizers Of condemned criminals be-
1ieve the same.
If God can and will do this to purify the
society Of the next world-the new (third)
earth and paradise" which Paul and
John saws II unreasonable that poor finite
men, who have no power over the devil should
adopt temporal capital punishment to protect
the society of the present time against the
servants or Satan, who rape, kill and destroy
their fellow good citizens? No. 1t is right and
is ordained of God for sit is better for one
man TO die than for all the people to perish"
Jail Imprisonment may do for some crimes
even that is not success always for minor
offences. but he that sheddeth mans blood bv
man MS blood should he shed-not only in
justice and equity but, our law maintains
for the protection Of the good. or
If ! am wrong, l want to know and be right,
but IL seems to me that prisons perfumed Ivy
the hands Of pure and sympathetic women,
badges and monuments of honor to guilty and
condemned criminals, should be prohibited by,
law--as an insult TO courts, jury and governors,
and as an announcement, instead of condem-
ration Of the guilty Let us treat them kindly,
pray for them preach to them the forgiveness