Does the Bible allow capital
punishment? “Capital crimes are a blot upon the whole community. When the
law decrees that the capital offender must die, it is not merely to punish him
but to ‘purge the evil from Israel.’ ... The deterrent value of the
public execution of criminals is also recognized.” [from “Crimes and
Punishments” in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible,
Vol. A-D, p. 734] “The Gospels do not directly bear on the matter, but
when the church came seriously to consider the role of the state and its
duties, it tended to take capital punishment for granted.” [from
“Capital Punishment” in The Westminster Dictionary of Christian
Ethics, p. 75]