On Public Executions

 

Here are just a few of my thoughts on public executions from a few social media posts I have written in the last couple of days. I believe the death penalty is just and righteous. I believe we have erred greatly in moving away form it in much of society. Here are some of my thoughts on public executions in particular.

Are they evil?

No, even Jesus himself supported the death penalty.

When people say Jesus did not support the death penalty or public executions, they are just wrong. You don't even need to quote the Old Testament, which he as God the Son inspired, to prove it.

Matthew 21, Jesus words is one example. In this parable he is the Son, and he affirms his Father's actions.

And since virtually all executions were done in public in his day, and he never once rebuked the practice, appealing to Jesus to call them morally wrong is simply a false appeal. It is not an appeal to the Jesus of the Bible. But another Jesus, recreated in the sentiment of the modern mind. Here are our Lord’s own words,

“33 Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34 When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[c] to the tenants to get his fruit. 35 And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39 And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Allowing the state the power to kill people in secret is far more dangerous, and far more common (for example, abortion, euthanasia). We have an inverted sense of morality today that causes us to have outrage at the wrong things.

Is deterrence the only reason for them?

No. There are other very good and righteous reasons for them.

Whether public executions are a deterrent is debateable. I think in some periods of history they have proven to be. For instance, after the peace of Westphalia newly affirm states went around and very publicly rounded up roving gangs of criminal men and executed them, as a warning to what would happen to people if they rejected the state’s monopoly on violence. This worked at the time. But perhaps there are times when it has not worked, the French Revolutions might provide examples of that. But, either way, deterrence is not the only reason a punishment should be meted out, vengeance is another very important reason:

1 Peter 2:13-14, "13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good."

Romans 13:1-5, "1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience."

People seeing the government harshly punish those who have hurt them or would hurt them, has a satisfying and calming effect on a society. Because it is just, righteous and good to see evil punished. People want to know the government will protect them from disorder. It is the government’s primary role.

The law has a responsibility to seek vengeance against evil. This is a vital aspect of its role. Christian societies have understood this, which is why every single Christian society in history, until very recently, did public executions of the evil.

This serves the purpose of making sure citizens never feel any need or any desire to take vengeance into their own hands. Christians know God forbids revenge, because vengeance is his and his alone. The state is one of his arms of vengeance.

A lot of people are increasingly becoming disenfranchised with the legal system because genuine evil often goes unpunished. Even serious rapists and violent criminals are often let off with minimal punishments. Famous cases go viral over social media. This creates instability in a society.

Hence, the government correctly applying vengeance is not just a deterrent, it is also a pacifier of the decent population, as decent people are more likely to trust and respect governments they know have their best interests in view.

Of course, states can take this too far. They can become too harsh, too quick to use the sword. This too is an evil. But a refusal to use it is an overcorrection. Another evil of its own.

So, there are multiple reasons to support the reapplication of such punishments by governments. And I believe this high tolerance of crime period will end with just such an approach, because the pendulum has swung so far in one direction it will likely swing back hard the other way.

Governments are running the calculation right now that rapid population growth is worth the increased crime people are experiencing. But they are not accounting for the unforeseen social effects this will have that will cause people to seek governments that are much harsher on crime. The pendulum has probably started swinging back as many governments across the West are making a tougher approach to crime an election platform.

What about spiritual reasons?

I genuinely think one of the biggest problems of our modern affluent societies is how easy it is for people to entertain themselves, drug themselves, amuse themselves, drink themselves, and otherwise convince themselves that death is not a problem they should really think about.

But the Bible says that being forced to number our days gives us a heart of wisdom.

"10 The days of our lives are seventy years;

And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,

Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;

For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11 Who knows the power of Your anger?

For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:10-12

I don't have any intention of watching a public execution, especially not one from a foreign country. But it would be good for a lot of people's souls if people were not so sheltered from seeing the face of death, so much.

The way we have sanitized it, moved it behind closed doors, made it the consideration of people far off, or a different age, is not good for our souls.

It is not an accident that a people who are so easily able to deny the reality of death so easily in their experience of life, are so foolish.

"So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." I genuinely and truly believe that there is a direct connection between how easy it is to shut off our minds to the reality of mortality and how atheistic, agnostic and apathetic we are to things of eternity.

Death is unpleasant. Deeply sad. Deeply painful. And it is part of our lived experience until Jesus returns. Something which is just and righteous and drives that message home is good for people's souls. We should think about that.