A Culture of Life

"Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man." Genesis 9:5-6.

I was reviewing O. Palmer Robertson's work, The Christ of the Covenants, the other day in preparation for Sunday school and ran across his commentary of these verses. Robertson makes a good case that not only is capital punishment allowed, it is commanded in certain circumstances.

"All created life is sacred. Yet the highest value must be attached to the life of man. . .Because God's own image is stamped in man, the murderer must die. . . humanity must be preserved from the muderous forces of man and beast, which so obviously are present in a depraved world. The taking of life of the manslayer enforces the sanctity of human life, and preserves the race for future multiplication [see Gen. 9:1]. . .In effect, God institutes the temporal power of the state as his instrument in the insistent necessity of controlling evil." O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1980, p. 114-15.

Of course, the administration of such punishment should never be taken lightly nor overextended. It requires a civil government that is just and laws that properly safeguard the innocent.