Capital punishment is still very much a penalty of Mosaic Law. Used justly or unjustly (and both the method of execution and the offense that execution is imposed for must both be correct for capital punishment to be justice), it ends lives. Short of some logically possible--yes, all sorts of things do not contradict logical axioms!--but extremely unlikely resurrection, someone who dies or is killed would no longer be able to experience any joy or peace or rest unless their spirit continues to exist. According to the Bible, this is not what happens: the dead perceive nothing either real or illusory until they are resurrected (Ecclesiastes 9:5-10, Daniel 12:2).
After their resurrection, there might be additional chances for the wicked to repent. Indeed, and thankfully, this is actually probable within the context of Biblical philosophy [1]. While there is life, there is at least the logical possibility of restoration to God, and if the uncaused cause that exists by logical necessity is Yahweh as great evidences point to, he desires for no one to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus still acknowledges that, as is probable by default, most people would not repent regardless of whether they have another opportunity after their resurrection (Matthew 7:13-14). For those resolute in their irrationality, egoism, and other sins, the lake of fire will be their abode, and they will not exist there forever. They will be destroyed by hellfire, their body ashes (2 Peter 2:6) and their souls nonexistent (Ezekiel 18:4, Matthew 10:28). This is justice, not mercy.
Eternal torment could never be just because the very nature of an offense is that it is finite. Some think that annihilation makes the the final punishment for sin trivial. Yes, it is less harsh than eternal torture, but the latter is inherently cruel and disproportionate, things justice never is. The true severity of death, however, is not insignificant despite its lesser severity. In this life or after the resurrection, a dead person is unable to experience any sort of relief or love of reality (of reason, of God, of morality, of their own self, of fellow people, of nature, of sexuality, or of anything else). They are incapable of pursuing repentance and being included in eternal life in New Jerusalem, where there is conscious existence in a physical universe, but one unblemished by sin and misery (Revelation 21:1-4).
Existence brings the possibility of suffering, but it also brings the possibility for love and peace in the truth, in the necessary truths of reason that transcend all else and in the nature of God and creation that are inevitably consistent with these logical necessities. It brings the chance for experiencing psychological and physical pleasure (though all pleasure is ultimately mental, for bodily sensations could not be experienced without consciousness, but not vice versa). To die a second time without any future resurrection, to truly perish (John 3:16), is in no way something inconsequential on an existential level. There could be nothing greater than communing with reality in the absence of pain, boredom, or regret forever. As capital punishment in this life exiles someone from this lifetime, the second death in the lake of fire does the same on an eternal scale (Revelation 20:15).
No comments:
Post a Comment