I am against the death penalty. As a follower of Christ and someone that acknowledges that one innocent person murdered at the hands of the state is too many, I will never agree with the death penalty.

I think those of you who haven't had a child of yours go off to work only to be forced by thugs to lay on the floor while the thug chuckles and unloads two rounds of shotgun into their backs -- and then encouraging thousands of others to do the same -- might think twice about the death penalty if it happened to you.

And don't give me that "No I wouldn't I would forgive him, it's the Christian way" BS. Just think about it happening to them the next time you lay next to someone you love.

There is evil in this world and it needs to be eliminated. It's a shame it took 26 years to end Tookies evil.

Digger, it isn't BS.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." ~Matthew 5:38-48

While I have never had my child forced to the ground and shot, I have had my (then two year old) child denied vital medical services because her father and his girlfriend were too busy to call an ambulance for her after she overdosed on seizure medications. They didn't call 911 until she had been in a coma for over three hours. I did not know if my child would live or die and the doctors were on the "die" side of the fence. When she didn't die, they said she would be a vegetable. When she woke up and talked, they said she would be severely brain damaged and would never be normal.

It was prayer that got me through that. It was God that not only saved her from death but also brought her out of her coma against the diagnoses of every doctor that examined her. It was God that healed her and now she is ten years old, a cheerleader, and an Honor Roll student. It was God that also taught me that I had to forgive her father and his girlfriend, even when they lied in court and tried to say that she overdosed in my home even though I had not seen my child in over twenty-four hours when I got the call from the ER and it was her niece's medication that my child took.

I am lucky that she is alive today, but many people aren't so lucky. Many people have lost their children at the hands of someone else and choose to forgive instead of hate and do as Jesus commands us to do. It isn't always easy, but it is far from being BS.

Eye for and eye has nothing to do with the government. I too am a Christian, but I believe that God uses the government as his tool to carry out his punishment on those who do evil. Only an individual can murder. If someone were to slap you as a person, let them slap you back. That is biblical. But when someone wrongs society, the government has to take a stand and carry out the mission God gave it of keeping the peace.

Chet, the scripture quoted has everything to do with what was being discussed, which was the Christian way of handling the actions of others towards us. What you are talking about is a whole different animal. And, one I am sure we mostly won't agree on.

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