{"id":581,"date":"2012-04-17T09:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T16:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/?p=581"},"modified":"2012-04-18T21:19:41","modified_gmt":"2012-04-19T04:19:41","slug":"the-death-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoshanarabbah.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/17\/the-death-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"The Death Penalty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leviticus 20 (entire chapter), The death penalty.<\/strong>\u00a0In this chapter, YHVH lists the penalty for the sins that he considers to be the most abominable, grievous and ruinous to a society. He then prescribes the punishment for these sins\u2014usually the death penalty.<\/p>\n

As you read through this chapter, consider the penalties for these sins in the U.S. That\u2019s right\u2026 there are none (with the exception of incest with one\u2019s minor children)! Not only that, most of these sins are tolerated (bestiality, incest, adultery, sex during menstruation), but many of these abominable practices are promoted and even celebrated (e.g., homosexuality, abortion, witchcraft, necromancy).<\/p>\n

In our society, there is punishment for animal neglect, failing to pay taxes, or violating a building code, while there is no penalty for the sins of abortion, witchcraft, homosexuality, etc. What\u2019s wrong here?<\/p>\n

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Notice that the punishments that YHVH prescribes for these crimes would, in most cases, in our society be considered uncivil, barbaric, or cruel and unusual (e.g., banishment, stoning, burning by fire).<\/p>\n

The question must be asked, if we accept the Bible as the revealed truth of Elohim, then who knows best what punishment fits a crime\u2014man or the Creator?<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the U.S. has the highest criminal incarceration rate of any nation in the world (743 adults per 100,000 people). By year end 2010, the U.S. had 2,266,800 people\u00a0incarcerated in its prisons and jails\u00a0(http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Incarceration_in_the_United_States<\/a>). Yet ancient Israel had no prison system whatsoever. Criminals were either banished from society, killed, or had to pay the victim restitution for their crimes.<\/p>\n

From this brief discussion, several realizations should come to light:<\/p>\n