Jesus taught us not to return hate for hate or evil for evil. With this in mind, one might be able to assert this syllogism. Jesus’ teachings are the base of Christianity. He taught that you should never take a life. Therefore, Christians are against the taking of a life. If you look at it this way, then it seems to be a very simple matter. Jesus Christ said that it is wrong to take a life, therefore all Christians should be against the death penalty as it is the taking of a life. However, I’ve found that, where people are involved, things are hardly ever so cut and dry. I think it is hard to find absolutes when it comes to what a group of people do or do not believe, mostly because everyone is different and we all see the world from our own point of view. Though the argument seems sound, I think there is still room for exception. Not every Christian is going to believe that the death penalty is wrong and it likely has nothing to do with how strongly they believe in Jesus’ teachings but rather how they choose to interpret them. As a Christian, I have struggled with whether I’m for or against the death penalty and I can’t quite say I’ve decided one way or the other yet.
I agree with you that not all Christians will agree that the death penalty is wrong. I also agree that just because a person thinks that a person should get the death penalty doesn't make them any less of a Christian. I think it really depends on the person and the situation put at stake. I have a friend that is really religious, but they think the death penalty is necessary for some people because of the extreme actions they've done. There is never a good reason for a person to cause harm to anyone.
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