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In his Oct. 15 opinion article “Public executions are evil. So is the death penalty,” Elijah Guevara argues that the death penalty is evil and promotes a “barbaric culture of death.” Although a justice system that refuses to punish murderers with death may appear to be more merciful, this is actually not a Christian approach to the problem.

Executions for grievous crimes, particularly murder, are biblical and actually emphasize the value of life. Even before God gave the Israelites the Old Testament law, He told Noah in Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God He made man.” God is clearly stating that someone who sheds someone else’s blood will be required to pay for this offense with his own blood. This requirement will be exacted on this earth at the hands of other humans, regardless of what judgement the murderer will receive when he stands before God after his death.

This does not change in the New Testament, as Paul states in Romans 13:3-4: “The authority . . . does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.” A governing authority has a God-given duty to be an avenger and to bear the sword. Swords are not for correction: they are for punishment. Swords wielded in a God-honoring manner are used by the governing authority to execute those who kill others. 

Rather than fostering a low view of life or a culture of death, this reflects and promotes a culture that values life. If you value something greatly, you will put a high price on it. Human life is extremely precious because we are made in the image of God, and the cost for taking life from someone else ought to be extraordinarily high. The appropriate price is a life for a life, because a lesser punishment is not just. As Numbers 35:32 states, “Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.” If we are Bible-believing Christians who value human life as we ought to, we must acknowledge the necessity of the death penalty as the punishment for murderers. 

Monica Bentley is a junior studying biology