As I say so often, if God is the Creator of all things then he is also the Creator of truth.  Through Scripture, God has revealed himself to us and gives us guidelines on the way we are supposed to live not only in relation with him but also in relation to each other.  We have been given instructions for raising children, instructions for marriage, instructions on gender roles, instructions for the family, instructions for the government, etc. – In other words, God has revealed to us the way he intends all of life to be structured.  This includes capital punishment.  

There are 2 key passages in Scripture that I would point you to when thinking through capital punishment:  Genesis 9:6, which reads, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he the man,”

And Romans 13:1-4, which reads, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.”

In short, here are some of my thoughts on this issue:

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