A Brief Rant About the Capital Punishment

I would like to begin with a short letter from Bishop Seraphim of Ottawa and Canada:



I am saddened whenever I hear Orthodox Christians defend capital punishment, even though I know that there are, were, and always will be various and opposing opinions in our Church, and that these opinions may be justifiable within their own systems of logic.



I cannot square capital punishment with any of my Christian experience. The Old Testament may be quoted, but I do not see it in the New. I cannot square it with the introduction to the Ten Commandments. I cannot square it with the Gospel. I cannot square it with the words of the 'Our Father.' I cannot square it with 'The Beatitudes.' I cannot square it with my knowledge of our canonical tradition. I cannot square it with my knowledge of the teaching of the Fathers. I can not square it with my reading of any one of our saints. And most certainly I cannot square it with the teaching of Saint Silouan, that the real test of a Christian is being able to forgive one's enemies.



Since we Christians stand for repentance, and are called to live this daily, it is perhaps our responsibility to help the persons incarcerated for serious crimes to move in that direction also.



Perhaps we Orthodox Christians should at last take seriously our call to visit those in prison, to become qualified for a prison ministry, even, and to bring some hope, consolation, and witness of something better to these persons who otherwise could well die without knowing anything else except misery.



We always say 'Talk is cheap.' Perhaps it's time we proved we are Christians by doing something instead of philosophizing.

+ Seraphim

Bishop of Ottawa and Canada

(The Orthodox Church, January 1999).



Various attitudes towards the alignment of Christianity and the death penalty have appeared throughout the ages as political, religious, and cultural developments shaped the public's general attitude towards Christ's teachings as documented in the books of the New Testament. In the mess of denominations that exist today -- each of which claim to be "the One True Church" -- it can be difficult, if not practically impossible, to discern what is the True Christian message. The issue of concern here, as is apparent from Bishop Seraphim's beautiful letter above, is, obviously, the moral rational behind the institution of capital punishment. Although I will probably not get too deep into the subject at the moment, I hope to at least get some message across.



Like Bishop Seraphim, I too am saddened to see not only Orthodox Christians in favor of the aforementioned institution but also the American population as a whole. When most individuals hear the phrase "pro-life," the concept of abortion often comes to mind far faster than an opposition to the death penalty and/or the abolition of poverty. This is not to say, of course, that the pro-life community is not concerned with these issues; as a matter of fact, they are. Similarly, it is not to say that issues such as abortion are not to be a major political concern. Rather, all of these are part of what Pope John Paul II titled "the culture of death." The term was used during a speech made on December 25th, 2000, in which the pope warned Catholics and the rest of the world population against the countless aggressions we are forced to face in society today (e.g. violence against women and children, abortion, euthanasia, etc.) (25 December 2000, "Pope Warns Over 'Culture of Death,'" CNN.com). Despite the depressing list, he leaves us with one hopeful message: "'However dense the darkness may appear,' the pope said, 'our hope for the triumph of the light which appeared on this holy night at Bethlehem is stronger still.'" (CNN.com). I am certain Bishop Seraphim would agree.



In August of 1989, the Orthodox Church in America released a statement regarding the morality of the death penalty, proclaiming the immorality of such a practice and henceforth calling for an abolition to the practice. The Ninth All-American Council of the Orthodox Church in America (the group which published the statement), noted that "in all such questions involving life and death the Church must always champion life" in light of the "redemptive nature of the Gospel of Jesus Christ" ("Resolution on the Death Penalty," 1989). While those who commit crimes against the people/government ought to be punished, it is recognized that "there is no humane way to execute a human being," asserting that a life in prison without parole is the preferred method of punishment for those who would normally be subject to said penalty. The brief statement closes with a proclamation of support by the Orthodox Church to those organizations -- political or otherwise -- that plan to rid the country of the immoral legislation. Chapter 8, verses 3 through 11 of the Gospel of St. John – AKA the Pericope Adulterae (Latin: the pericope (passage) of the adulterer” – is cited in favor of Christ's opposition to the practice. Here, notes the Council, Our Lord prevented the "legal execution of a woman" as to make way for a chance at her "rehabilitation, reconciliation, and redemption" ("Resolution on the Death Penalty," 1989).



So, then, why do so many Christians claim to support the institution? Pastor and possible Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, for instance, said: "'Interestingly enough,' Huckabee allowed, 'if there was ever an occasion for someone to have argued against the death penalty, I think Jesus could have done so on the cross and said, "This is an unjust punishment and I deserve clemency."'" (Arkansas Times, 22 Jan 1997). Democratic candidates are often more supportive of the abolition of the death penalty, but even this assertion is not consistent with all, as there are a small bundle of potential candidates who claim to the for the use of the punishment. Republicans and conservatives are easily bothered by the use of abortion, but they have tended to be more supportive of the penalty; meanwhile, Democrats are more prone to pro-choice legislation, but they tend to be more supportive of its abolition. There are, surely some politicians who are consistently pro-life in their voting record, but they are often less popular. As Jim Wallis points out in his book God's Politics, the "Left" and the "Right" -- at least as a whole -- have missed the point.



Although the execution of Christ is the center of the Christian cosmological timeline, it is, many ways, the antithesis of what is today considered the “orthodox” interpretation of capital punishment. Christ’s “sacrifice” was a metaphysically unique event, for, unlike the traditional usage of the penalty, the goal of the Godhead was not to administer justice per se (n.b. “justice” is used in the purely legal sense of the term) but to uplift the souls of all humanity viz. a cosmological event that would give way to the purification of man’s once-perfect noetic faculties. As the Physician of Souls, God’s “goal” was to heal the noetic wounds upon all of mankind and therefore not to punish. Christ’s death on the cross is eternal; it is repeated every Sunday in the liturgy, and, likewise, is supernaturally crucified each time we sin. To say Christ’s crucifixion is the same in nature as the execution of a criminal under the law is, thus, inherently erroneous. It was, perhaps, the same in form, but to henceforth assert it is the same in nature would be to degrade the divinity of the sacrifice as well as, at least to a degree, Christ’s infinite freedom.

(To be continued...)