Death Penalty

Maybe it's the self-righteousness that bothers me... I don't know. But my skin simply crawls when I hear people use the phrase, "Thou shalt not kill," as an argument against the death penalty. By doing so, they only shine a spotlight upon their own ignorance of the Old Testament Law.

It is, after all, that same Mosaic Law which *commands* the death penalty in various cases, such as murder, sorcery and sodomy. Essentially, their argument is, "don't enforce the death penalty because the Bible prohibits it." But the truth is that the Bible demands it. Argh. These people... so frustrating... argh...

This is setting aside the fact that "Thou shalt not kill" is more precisely translated as "thou shalt not murder." (Disclosure: I've seen this repeated many places-- I haven't personally researched it. So please rebuke me if I'm mistaken.)

If you oppose capital punishment, fine. I'm perfectly content to respect your right to express your opinion. But don't be disingenuous, and don't pick and choose which passages of Scripture you want to enforce.