Faiths and the faithful have varied views of death penalty
Faiths and the faithful have varied views of death penalty
Faiths and the faithful have varied views of death penalty
Excerpt:
The Rev. Steve Klemz says he sees no good from the death penalty, no redemption for society or the victims of crime.
“I can’t even begin to understand the pain people feel and the need for some kind of retribution, but it just doesn’t happen with the death penalty. If anything, it gets more attention to the person who is being executed,” says Klemz, pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City.
His denomination has taken a position that leans against capital punishment, although it hasn’t yet condemned the practice as have other mainline Protestant denominations.
As Klemz sees it, scripture’s main purpose is to convey what is life-giving and life-diminishing.
“What Jesus said always had to do with life and living life abundantly,” Klemz says. “I don’t see how the death penalty does anything to promote life.”
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