To the editor:

I found Andy Gonzales’ article, “Jesus was all about the death penalty” absolutely appalling. If you’re going to make a claim such as that, you should at least quote Jesus and quote him correctly.

Jesus, above everything, urged love towards everyone and forgiveness of sinners. To claim, as Mr. Gonzales does, that Matthew 26:52 proves that Jesus is pro-death penalty is an incredibly inaccurate statement.

To refresh your memory, Matthew 26 is the chapter in which Jesus is betrayed by Judas. As he is seized by Romans, one of his disciples strikes out against Jesus’s attackers. Jesus urges peace, and in verse 52 says to him, “All who draw the sword will die by the sword.” To claim this as Christ giving “the government the authority to use capital punishment as a means of maintaining social order” is baffling to me.

Not as baffling, though, as claiming that “the fact that Christ was put to death demonstrates that death was the exacting punishment for those who were guilty.”

Now, I’ve heard people interpret the Bible in some interesting ways, but how anyone can claim that the crucifixion of Jesus was right and just in the eyes of God is beyond me.

It seems pretty clear from what I’ve read of the Bible that the fact that humanity could not accept Jesus’s message of love and peace and forgiveness and murdered him for being a heretic was pretty much a tragedy. But to me, this is exactly the crux of the entire issue.

Here is the moment where God shows his infinite patience and forgiveness and wisdom. His only son has just been executed by humans who were too short-sighted and prejudiced to accept him as their savior.

And what does he do? Does he punish man and lay waste to all those responsible? No. He opens the gates of heaven to mankind. He shows them love and forgiveness and the opportunity to realize their mistakes and grow to become better.

Perhaps we should try harder to show the kind of compassion and patience toward the forgiveness and reform of humans who have made mistakes that God has shown toward man.

Patrick Breheny

Senior

Physics