But if these biblical passages are to be used in support of capital punishment, then we should be willing to insist on capital punishment for every offense which is listed there. Kidnapping, blasphemy, homosexuality, adultery, worshipping other gods, premarital sex and not keeping the sabbath; just to touch on a few. Of course, if we applied capital punishment according to the Old Testament, there wouldn’t be anybody left to do the executing...
Now if these Christians turned their eyes towards the New Testament they’d see that Jesus came with a new message, which was repentance and forgiveness. A message that said no one was too bad or too far gone, that they couldn’t be saved. As a matter of fact, the Bible is filled with less than ideal men and women that God called upon. He didn’t call the popular, rich or successful to further his ministry, but rather, the poor, broken and sinful. Abraham was old but he obeyed. Elijah was suicidal, Joseph was abused and betrayed by his family. Job went bankrupt , Moses had a speech problem and he murdered an Egyptian, Gideon was afraid, Samson was vain and a womanizer, Rahab was a pagan and a prostitute, The Samaritan Woman at the well, was divorced and living with a man she had not married, Noah was a drunk, Jacob was a liar a cheater, David an adulterer and a murderer, Jonah ran from God, Peter denied Christ three times, Martha worried about everything, Zacchaeus was small and money hungry, The Disciples couldn’t even stay awake for Jesus, and Paul, arguably the worst– A Pharisee who relentlessly persecuted Christians, killing them in horrific ways. They were a team of reluctant misfits with apparently nothing much to offer but gained everything with their faith. He didn’t call the qualified, He qualified the called.
If you ever feel like you aren’t worthy enough to be used by God, let alone loved by him, just remember that Jesus used a bunch of flawed people to share Hope to a flawed and broken world. In God, we find renewal, mending, and purpose. And no matter what you’ve been through in life, remember that the same power that conquered the grave lives within you. You are worthy of life. You are worthy of God's love. You are worthy of joy. You are worthy of a fulfilling purpose that will take you places you never imagined reaching.
I realize this is post is several years old but your points remain relevant. I’ve recently been thinking about the pro-life movement recently, even more so than usual. We are currently in the annual 40 Days for Life that occurs in the same month that Roe V’s Wade was entered into American law. Some 58 million lives lost since, and counting... One can safely assume that about half of them were female. You want to see a war on women? Look no further. Abortion doesn’t prevent you from having a child, it just makes you the parent of a dead baby. I could go on for quite some time on how the abortion industry actually hurts women. There’s nothing empowering about killing your children.
But one of the tenets of the prolife movement is that “All life is precious, all life has intrinsic value, all life is sacred. It’s easy for prolifers to reconcile those beliefs with the tiniest and most helpless of humans. You lose quite a bit of that support when you apply those same tenets to bigger, less fragile humans- namely people sentenced to capital punishment. Then out trot the ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘they deserve to get what they gave’ and any number of other platitudes.
One sentence you wrote jumped out at me;
“By dehumanizing your adversary (the death row prisoner), through derogatory labels it makes it easier to hate, or kill, and in the case execute, its destructive to the common good.”
It is that very dehumanizing language that the pro choice crowd uses when discussing abortion- “Just a clump of tissue” “zygote”, “embryo” or “fetus” “potential life”, anything but a baby. Same with those facing capital punishment. It becomes much harder for self proclaimed moral people to cut short the life of a ‘person’. A person is something that they can identify with and to kill a person would be murder- not something they would ever be capable of promoting! So they distance themselves, where they can support their positions and maintain a clear conscience. This is why it’s so hard to sway them. To admit you have been complicit in the death of another person is farther than they are willing to go. All the arguments on the actual cost of capital punishment as opposed to life without parole means nothing. Same as to it’s effect (or lack of) on deterring future crime. No argument will be able to convince someone who willfully refuses to acknowledge the humanity of the lives they are willing to eliminate.
Christians, especially, are fond of quoting the Old Testament passages to prop up their positions. Yet the scripture they often cite was written for the Israelites who were wandering the desert without jails or any significant means of protecting the community from criminals. We have modern ways of protecting the public from dangerous individuals. We are a far cry from the society for which the text was written for.
Wow what a picture can do to motivate the heart! Byron, Floyd, Marcus, Waymon, Tyrone, Bob and Kai~ you guys are awesome! This is Kathy.
My heart was touched beyond words. I was actually numb with no words to truly express fully what I felt while reading the zine dedicated to this ministry. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your words of encouragement, gratitude, openness, and truthfulness to the Church. As I read it, I felt very humbled. My face felt red and blushing. As I thought about what all of you said, my eyes watered up.
You all have sowed into this ministry big time and I know God will touch many hearts through you guys and the zine. I loved the whole zine but the caption of a man pushing a big rock by the page numbers described it all for me! Truly, we can't do anything of ourselves. It takes God to move the rock/mountain. You guys were the conduit He used this time. Thank you for helping this ministry make our job easier! It feels good to work as a team. You all did a phenomenal job! Floyd, without you none of this would have happened. A special thanks for this blessing. I love you all! Kathy
Rich surrealist imagery and narrative! It reminds me of a Bob Dylan song. I like all the creative flourishes of your pen -- like using letters from the Greek alphabet. You might like trying "automatic drawing", where you draw the first things that come to mind. Keep up the good work! Excited to read the next set of entries. --Calhoun25
I hope that you know that I, a stranger, am thinking of you and wishing you well this new year. You're not forgotten by me, your letter is moving. Please know that even though you're in a bad position, your perserverence puts goodness back into the world.
I was in Massachusets recently. It's a strange place compared to where I am, the middle of nowhere. I can tell you're a good person from this. Remember, you're not your past, we have the potential to be good and strong from moment to moment, which is always new..
Yeah class and race are still big obstacles in the USA same as many other countries although I think America is worse than the UK where I live we didn't have so much slavery or Jim Crow laws. Especially now the USA had a black president with Barack Obama they like to use that to prop up their myth that black people can do anything now. Its so not true statistically black people are more likely to be in poverty so face double barriers. At the same time there are people that break out of both the racism and poverty traps but they have to fight a lot harder than their white middle class peers. even white people living in poverty have less chances. I don't know what to tell the children we don't want them to give up hope but then we have to be realistic its a very tough question. Perrie its michelle I used to write to you a couple of years ago but then I had the schitzophrenic breakdown and got depressed and stopped communicating with anyone. If you want I would like to write to you again as a friend but I'm trying to put your new address in letterquick and its asking for other details the 3 reuired fields are Yard(CEN) Building (CEN) and Bed Assignment (CEN). I have no money at the moment to go to the post office cos I broke my bank card I done it deliberately so I can stop buying cigerettes and also fast lol :-) I have no will power and I have to give up and dedicate my life to Jesus. I hope you are not reading that book I sent its not true they say Jesus is not coming again but He is its in the book of revelations in the bible whats gonna happen I was deceived so badly and Imn sorry I shared it with you. Hope your doing ok if I don't see your details updated on here I will try to write in a week or two when I get a new bank card via the post. if you want to write to me my address is flat c, 66 Guilford avenue, Surbiton, surrey, KT5 8DQ. I still want the letter quick thing cos then I can send you some envelopes and its a lot easier for me than going to the post office and its good for you cos the letters get there quicker. take care love michelle x.
RSS
Of course, if we applied capital punishment according to the Old Testament, there wouldn’t be anybody left to do the executing...
Now if these Christians turned their eyes towards the New Testament they’d see that Jesus came with a new message, which was repentance and forgiveness. A message that said no one was too bad or too far gone, that they couldn’t be saved. As a matter of fact, the Bible is filled with less than ideal men and women that God called upon. He didn’t call the popular, rich or successful to further his ministry, but rather, the poor, broken and sinful. Abraham was old but he obeyed. Elijah was suicidal, Joseph was abused and betrayed by his family. Job went bankrupt , Moses had a speech problem and he murdered an Egyptian, Gideon was afraid, Samson was vain and a womanizer, Rahab was a pagan and a prostitute, The Samaritan Woman at the well, was divorced and living with a man she had not married, Noah was a drunk, Jacob was a liar a cheater, David an adulterer and a murderer, Jonah ran from God, Peter denied Christ three times, Martha worried about everything, Zacchaeus was small and money hungry, The Disciples couldn’t even stay awake for Jesus, and Paul, arguably the worst– A Pharisee who relentlessly persecuted Christians, killing them in horrific ways.
They were a team of reluctant misfits with apparently nothing much to offer but gained everything with their faith. He didn’t call the qualified, He qualified the called.
If you ever feel like you aren’t worthy enough to be used by God, let alone loved by him, just remember that Jesus used a bunch of flawed people to share Hope to a flawed and broken world. In God, we find renewal, mending, and purpose. And no matter what you’ve been through in life, remember that the same power that conquered the grave lives within you. You are worthy of life. You are worthy of God's love. You are worthy of joy. You are worthy of a fulfilling purpose that will take you places you never imagined reaching.
You are worthy.
But one of the tenets of the prolife movement is that “All life is precious, all life has intrinsic value, all life is sacred. It’s easy for prolifers to reconcile those beliefs with the tiniest and most helpless of humans. You lose quite a bit of that support when you apply those same tenets to bigger, less fragile humans- namely people sentenced to capital punishment. Then out trot the ‘eye for an eye’ and ‘they deserve to get what they gave’ and any number of other platitudes.
One sentence you wrote jumped out at me;
“By dehumanizing your adversary (the death row prisoner), through derogatory labels it makes it easier to hate, or kill, and in the case execute, its destructive to the common good.”
It is that very dehumanizing language that the pro choice crowd uses when discussing abortion- “Just a clump of tissue” “zygote”, “embryo” or “fetus” “potential life”, anything but a baby. Same with those facing capital punishment. It becomes much harder for self proclaimed moral people to cut short the life of a ‘person’. A person is something that they can identify with and to kill a person would be murder- not something they would ever be capable of promoting! So they distance themselves, where they can support their positions and maintain a clear conscience. This is why it’s so hard to sway them. To admit you have been complicit in the death of another person is farther than they are willing to go. All the arguments on the actual cost of capital punishment as opposed to life without parole means nothing. Same as to it’s effect (or lack of) on deterring future crime. No argument will be able to convince someone who willfully refuses to acknowledge the humanity of the lives they are willing to eliminate.
Christians, especially, are fond of quoting the Old Testament passages to prop up their positions. Yet the scripture they often cite was written for the Israelites who were wandering the desert without jails or any significant means of protecting the community from criminals. We have modern ways of protecting the public from dangerous individuals. We are a far cry from the society for which the text was written for.
My heart was touched beyond words. I was actually numb with no words to truly express fully what I felt while reading the zine dedicated to this ministry. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your words of encouragement, gratitude, openness, and truthfulness to the Church. As I read it, I felt very humbled. My face felt red and blushing. As I thought about what all of you said, my eyes watered up.
You all have sowed into this ministry big time and I know God will touch many hearts through you guys and the zine. I loved the whole zine but the caption of a man pushing a big rock by the page numbers described it all for me! Truly, we can't do anything of ourselves. It takes God to move the rock/mountain. You guys were the conduit He used this time. Thank you for helping this ministry make our job easier! It feels good to work as a team. You all did a phenomenal job! Floyd, without you none of this would have happened. A special thanks for this blessing. I love you all! Kathy
--Calhoun25
I was in Massachusets recently. It's a strange place compared to where I am, the middle of nowhere. I can tell you're a good person from this. Remember, you're not your past, we have the potential to be good and strong from moment to moment, which is always new..
Perrie its michelle I used to write to you a couple of years ago but then I had the schitzophrenic breakdown and got depressed and stopped communicating with anyone. If you want I would like to write to you again as a friend but I'm trying to put your new address in letterquick and its asking for other details the 3 reuired fields are Yard(CEN) Building (CEN) and Bed Assignment (CEN). I have no money at the moment to go to the post office cos I broke my bank card I done it deliberately so I can stop buying cigerettes and also fast lol :-) I have no will power and I have to give up and dedicate my life to Jesus. I hope you are not reading that book I sent its not true they say Jesus is not coming again but He is its in the book of revelations in the bible whats gonna happen I was deceived so badly and Imn sorry I shared it with you. Hope your doing ok if I don't see your details updated on here I will try to write in a week or two when I get a new bank card via the post. if you want to write to me my address is flat c, 66 Guilford avenue, Surbiton, surrey, KT5 8DQ. I still want the letter quick thing cos then I can send you some envelopes and its a lot easier for me than going to the post office and its good for you cos the letters get there quicker. take care love michelle x.