Abstract
Most Christian denominations draw on four authoritative sources to formulate their position on the morality of capital punishment: the Bible, the Christian tradition, human reason, and experience. Moreover, the Christian Bible consists of two testaments—the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the New Testament—and, for most Christians, the Hebrew Scriptures are to be read in light of the New Testament. The Bible is frequently invoked by Christians on opposing sides of the debate about capital punishment. Both supporters and opponents of capital punishment highlight passages from the Old Testament where this practice is mentioned, especially in the first five of its 39 books of the Old Testament. The death penalty is rarely mentioned beyond these first five books, known collectively as the Pentateuch, or Torah; neither the books of the Prophets nor those in the Writings refer much, if at all, to capital punishment.
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