Tennessee's failed execution of Krista Pike, and the press coverage casting her as a victim, sets up a broader question: is capital punishment just? Michael and Wade argue that the death penalty, lawfully administered, is biblically defensible and good. They work from Genesis 9, Romans 13, and Acts 25, from Augustine and Calvin, and from the difference between public justice and personal forgiveness. They close with where the American church has muddled its thinking, and the hope that God will finally deal with every sin.

AI Generated time stamps

[00:00] Intro

[01:00] The Krista Pike failed execution

[03:48] Hanging requests, lethal injection, and the firing squad

[08:28] What Krista Pike actually did

[11:26] C.S. Lewis on justice versus "curing" criminals

[14:09] The case for capital punishment in a sentence

[15:35] How rare the death penalty has become

[18:58] Why justice must be speedy

[20:03] Wade's family connection to a capital case

[22:00] Made in God's image, we crave justice

[25:32] Corporal punishment, restitution, and prison sentences

[29:56] The death penalty in American history

[32:01] Public justice and personal forgiveness are not identical

[34:17] The ship captain whose son commits a capital crime

[37:02] Acts 25 and Romans 13 — the sword is not borne in vain

[44:35] Genesis 9 and the image of God

[46:21] Pit bulls, the tiger enclosure, and Harambe

[50:02] The Apostolic Constitutions and Augustine

[53:57] "You shall not murder" versus "you shall not kill"

[55:16] Calvin on the woman caught in adultery

[57:35] Sophistry: "How will killing stop killing?"

[60:15] Logs and specks: where the church has failed

[67:34] Reason for hope: God will deal with every sin

For questions or comments, send us an email at currentrealitypodcast@gmail.com.

Our church is Christ the King Church in Ft. Thomas, KY

The Current Reality Podcast is a resource of King's Domain

Resources mentioned in this episode

The Apostolic Constitutions

The City of God, Book I — Augustine

Commentary on John, Volume 1 — John Calvin

Exodus, New American Commentary — Douglas K. Stuart

Lex Rex — Samuel Rutherford

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