What does the United Methodist Church believe about capital punishment? According to the Book of Discipline, Paragraph 164G: “The death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore, and transform all human beings. We believe all human life is sacred and created by God and therefore, we must see all human life as significant and valuable.” The Book of Ezekiel 33:11 says “As surely as I live,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.”
Many Christian churches are working together to repeal death penalty laws across the country. They do so by contacting lawmakers and holding community events for dialog and information sharing. There are many excellent resource people who are willing to speak at your churches. Your church can host an “Abolition Sunday” in which the theme of the worship service revolves around this issue. More information is available at the Equal Justice web site at www.ejusa.org
As with many of our social issues people of good will are of different minds. It is good to prayerfully seek God’s guidance on your response to this issue.
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