Reflections: Analysis 2
- Courtney Bain
- Apr 13, 2024
- 3 min read
Last time, we discussed Reflections on the Guillotine by Albert Camus in a modern philosophical and political context. Perhaps it would be a good idea to analyze this essay through the lens of a well-respected moral and religious text: the Bible. This time, we will delve into Old Testament teachings regarding murder and capital punishment, and next time, we will shift our focus to the New Testament.
Before we begin, let me preface with a couple of relevant questions. Where does murder show up in the Old Testament, and is it justified? Does the Old Testament support capital punishment? While the Old Testament holds many contradictions, it is often viewed as a pro-death-penalty text, which opposes Camus’ beliefs. Nevertheless, it is beneficial to compare and contrast these two texts to form a more balanced understanding of this moral debate.
Murder is first discussed in Genesis 4 regarding the killing of Abel by his brother, Cain (Genesis 4:8). Specifically, Cain was envious of Abel because God was pleased with Abel’s offering but not Cain’s, leading Cain to be overcome by jealousy (Genesis 4:3-5). Because Cain was a tiller of the ground, God punished him by cursing the ground and by making Cain a “fugitive and a wanderer on the earth” (Genesis 4:11-12). God explicitly states that “whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance,” demonstrating the importance of preserving human life and highlighting how there are non-lethal ways to punish criminals (Genesis 4:15). This is significant because it shows that living with guilt and engaging in unproductive work is a punishment. This directly relates to Camus’ argument about finding alternative punishments for criminals that do not involve death or violence. For instance, Camus explains how the death penalty should be “replaced by hard labor – for life in the case of criminals considered irremediable and for a fixed period in the case of the others” (48). Much like Cain’s punishment, hard labor gives the criminal plenty of time to think about his/her actions as they take part in unfulfilling, tedious work. While God most likely punished Cain in this way to elicit feelings of guilt and regret (along with the need for Old Testament actors to reproduce), it is important to consider how this punishment could be used in a modern context.
Perhaps the most obvious and straightforward argument against murder is the Biblical verse “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). This verse likely suggests that murder is only justified when it is sanctioned by God, as evidenced by instances in the Old Testament where God commanded the killing of certain outsiders and aggressors. For instance, Deborah prophesied to Barak that God would “give [Sisera] into [his] hand,” demonstrating God’s desire for Sisera’s death (Judges 4:6-7). In Numbers 35, the death penalty was established, which states “If anyone kills another, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness” (Numbers 35:30). This is an important verse to analyze in conversation with Camus. For instance, Camus would agree with Exodus 20:13 that people should not murder; however, he would not agree that capital punishment is morally sanctioned for murderers. This directly relates to Camus’ argument in which he talks about revenge. According to Camus, revenge is a “punishment that penalizes without forestalling,” which is essentially the “law of retaliation” (20). The law of retaliation is based on the ‘eye for an eye’ principle, and capital punishment extends this rule to be ‘death for death’ to avenge the murderer’s victim. This line of reasoning echoes the commandment in Numbers 35. Camus states that capital punishment is “the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminals’ deed, however calculated it may be, can be compared” (21). Specifically, for there to be equivalence, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date at which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who, from that moment onward, had confined him at his mercy for months” (21-22). Thus, Camus considers the death penalty to be murder, which God commands against in Exodus 20:13.
Therefore, it becomes clear that the Old Testament does permit the use of the death penalty as a punishment for murder but condemns unauthorized killings (i.e. without God’s approval); however, is it possible to revert to God’s punishment of Cain? Is the death penalty really necessary when there are other less violent punishments for sinners? We will explore this idea in a future blog post when we examine the concept of critical traditioning. I hope to see you all next time as we transition into the New Testament.
-Courtney Bain
If you want to learn more about the death penalty from a Biblical perspective, please explore these links:
Comentarios