The Death Penalty Debate

This page opposes "capital punishment" and eagerly invites your participation in the on-going debate.

There are three types of people who might be interested in this website:

"Christian Reconstructionists," or "Theonomists" -- those who believe that the Old Testament has something to say to modern law and politics.
Those Christians who oppose the use of the Old Testament because "we're under grace, not law." These Christians also oppose "capital punishment."
Atheists, Secular Humanists and other swine who are busy secularizing this once-Christian land. If you can find some information on this site which will help you in your quest to abolish "capital punishment," more power to you.

It turns out that "Capital Punishment" in Western Civilization is based upon a misreading of several texts of Scripture. There is great irony here. The ACLU, which opposes capital punishment, will not admit that Western Civilization is Christian Civilization, and that America was a Christian nation. The ACLU downplays the interaction of Law and Religion in the Western World. But Princes and Jurists have long been advised by the Popes and theological Doctors of the faith. Unfortunately they have received both good and bad advice.

This is an issue of profound political and cultural significance. I view myself qualified to address it based on the following:

I passed the California Bar Exam, said to be the most difficult legal examination in the world.
I was a "Chalcedon Scholar," and had a regular column in The Chalcedon Report. My personal library is over 10,000 volumes, and I have studied this issue to a fair degree.
I don't claim to have "the final word." I raise questions I have, hoping readers will help me answer them. This page is a "debate," after all, not a decree.

The Hidden Agenda of This "Debate"

Here is the structure of my discussion:

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND THE STATE.................................1
     Anabaptists
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND GOD'S LAW.................................2
     God's Will and God's Law....................................2
     Theonomy in Christian Ethics................................2
     Circular Reasoning in Western Civilization
GOD'S KINGS AND GOD'S PRIESTS....................................4
     Adam in the Garden..........................................4
     Noah after the Flood........................................5
MOSES, THE CHURCH, AND THE STATE.................................5
     "The Separation of Church and State"........................6
     The Administration of God's Law: The Church or the State?...7
     POLITICS AND RELIGION: Where Do You Draw the Line?.........11
          Priests in the Capitol................................12
          Senators in the Temple................................12
     Law and Liturgy............................................13
     Why Religion got Separated from Politics...................13
     Preliminary Conclusions....................................16
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: CEREMONIAL OR MORAL?........................17
     The Cleansing of the Land..................................
     One: Genesis 9:4-6.........................................19
     Four: Exodus 22:18-20......................................20
          "Utterly destroyed"...................................20
     Leviticus 18-20............................................21
     Thirty-One: Leviticus 24:17-22.............................24
          Lex Talionis..........................................24
     Thirty-Three: Numbers 35...................................25
          The "Kinsman Redeemer"................................25
          Expiation: Blood Atonement............................25
     Thirty-Five: Deuteronomy 13:12-18
          Holy Wars and Capital Punishment......................26
          Cultural Details of the Ceremonial Law................27
APPENDIX A - The Patriarchal Power of Capital Punishment
APPENDIX B - Raising Cain - The Origin of the State
CONCLUSIONS.....................................................29

NOTES

I was personally told this by John Warwick Montgomery, who has been admitted in several U.S. jurisdictions and is also an English Barrister.
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