You hit the nail on the head with the religion issue. It all falls down to beliefs-no factual evidence needed. There are, and have been, many religions, so are they all right? Are they all Wrong? Who is right? Who is wrong? God only knows-no pun intended. People tend to believe that the one they subscribe to is the "one" that has it best. No bias there huh? I always have said that everyone has a right to their own beliefs but no one has a right to force anyone else to live by their religion's code. It is a dicey topic to discuss for sure because it is tied to the very core of one's personal beliefs and is emotionally affected. But when one takes the emotion out of it and looks at it rationally a lot of organized religion(dogma) makes no sense when you look at it. I for one do not need an old book written by who knows whom to tell me to respect others, work hard, be honest, give of oneself, help those in need, and do not judge. Just my thoughts. Sheesh this smoke is giving me a headache!!!! Pray for rain. LOL

On what do you base your belief that the mortal, fallible men who wrote the Bible were inspired by God?

All we have is their word for it. If that is going to be an acceptable premise, then we would have to acknowledge the possibility that the scriptures of other religions, e.g., the Quran and the Book of Mormon, were also inspired by God. It would then follow that it is very possible that the other religions are just as valid as Christianity and that all the lives that were lost in the battles between the religions were lost in vain.

In his defense, he says he read the entire thing and takes a reasonable stance. While my views are obvious in this thread, you have to give the guy credit for doing the reading. Even in his defense of the scripture he acknowledges that men as the author have their fallacies. I truly repsect a person who approaches this subject in the manner that Phrog presents.

Here's my understanding of the whole thing. The Bible was physically written by men, but inspired directly from God. As Phrog said, kinda like someone telling someone else what to write.

I will say it again - I don't "argue" the bible. Please don't try to drag me into an argument. It won't happen. All I can say is that with the very same skepticism that you have, I actually opened the bible and read it for myself. Originally trying to find all those “inconsistencies” then discovering for myself just how infallible the scriptures are. Yes, the 66 books of the bible were written by over 40 different men from different eras of world history. Here is food for thought. When a judge makes a judgment does he or she write the judgment him/herself? Nope. He/she uses a court recorder and a clerk to issue the writing of his or her judgment. I would just challenge you to read it for yourself. This is my last comment on this issue.

Christians are supposed to consider the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. The New Testament, however, was written by mortal, fallible men. So, which is it? It can't be both.

Well, rrc, I pretty much disagree with your contextual reference. But, that is me and my study of scriptures and allowing the Holy Spirit to give me discernment. I don't "argue" the bible. The bible speaks for itself when an open heart is listening. The Old Testament is relevant when filtered through the New Testament. Jesus himself pointed out many passages from Old Testament that were taken completely out of context by man. In the control of man, the bible is a very dangerous thing. But in the control of the Holy Spirit the bible is very powerful material that can change the hardest of hearts for the better. I know that from personal experience. Jesus is about mercy and grace more than justice. But when justice is required, He will be the one who wields it.

"I often hear Christians refer to Old Testament quotations. Do they like some and ignore others? Are Christians permitted to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they with to observe?"

That about sums it up. I have a few for you rrc. Easy ones too. How did Noah fit 2 of every species on his ship? Where did the dinosaurs sit? How do new species continue to appear? If the Old Testament is to be infallible; how do you explain the science which is powering your computer? How about designer dogs such as the Pug or Chihahau? Cross breeding of Pidgeons? Rainbows being created by sunlight? Extinction?

If any publication encourages men dying at the hands and judgement of other men, it should not be held as an absolute authority. In addition, There is no room for religion in legal matters. It is too subjective. *Note that I am also the brother of a murder victim and believe in God.*

Is not the Old Testament part of the Judeo-Christian Bible? If it is not relevant, then why is it there? If it is a recognized part of the Bible, then why aren't its passages relevant?

Besides, in Matthew 5:17, Jesus is quoted as saying< "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Considering that he was speaking to the Jews, that would mean that the the law and the prophets to which he referred is the Old Testament and its prophets.

I often hear Christians refer to Old Testament quotations. Do they like some and ignore others? Are Christians permitted to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they with to observe?

You and I are pretty much on the same page with this one then. I am not a Libertarian, although I do agree with some tenets of that party-as I agree with parts of both Dem and Repub tenets as well. What I do not like about our two party system is that it has become corrupt, not just in a legal sense (graft, lobbyists influence, etc) but in a larger scope regarding loyalty to country. The party has become the primary group to which politicians have aligned themselves with-in order to get the financial support to get re-elected. They should be in office to do what is best for their constitutency-be it local, state, or national. Now it is get elected, get your party to be in the majority, and then start ramming your ideology into laws that favor your views. That is pathetic at best. Anti-Constitutional at worst-in some cases. A no party system with just limited public funding for elections would be a dream. Right now it is just a nightmare.

By and large, I agree with what you said. However, the very form of government established was never to be a democracy. It is and always has been designed, by the Constitution, to be a representative republic. A democracy is nothing more than mob rule. Our founding fathers knew that was a bad idea for a government since it is very closely linked to socialism and totalitarianism. I am more of a libertarian. I used to be republican, but for the very things you mentioned, I fired the Republican Party. For any party to disregard the tenants of the Constitution, even in small measure, is akin to treason. I’m not calling it treason, but both Dem and Repub have shown varying degrees of contempt for certain elements of the Constitution.

There is nothing casual about grace and mercy. Those are the very attributes that Jesus taught his followers. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." He was the OBLY one who was without sin. But, he showed grace and mercy. I am one who was shown grace and mercy. I am the very least of all who deserves His grace and mercy. But He gave it to me anyway. Therefore, I am the very first one to drop the stone. Are you willing to cast the first stone??

We all knew that Gov. Kaine was anti-death penalty when he was voted into office, so what would you expect? His job is to make sure that justice is done, when he commutes a death penalty and in his mind the man was unable to understand the gravity of what he did and how the law would deal with him. It was his decision based on the facts before him and very few decisions like this will please everyone. He and the ones affected by his decision have to live with the consequences.

You use the words "show grace and mercy", rather casually. Nowhere does the law or religious dogma suggest that we show grace and mercy to a murderer or rapist and the like. In fact, there are many examples of the harsh punishment shown to those who commit acts of violence, as the way society shows that these acts will not be tolerated and condones the removal from society of those who cannot be rehabilitated or perpetrate gross criminal acts. It is rather curious that some protest the killing of a convicted murderer who showed no grace and mercy to the person they murdered.

While I agree with most of what you just said, I question your comment that Dems go crazy over the Constitution identifying our form of governance as Republican. The founding fathers used that term to show that our govt was not based on a monarchy and was founded on the principle of representative governance (we the people). What is called a Republic. Now if you are connotating that Dems somehow hate the Constitution, that is patently false. Whereas I agree that hardcore Dems question the Second Amendment (I don't as I am a supporter of gun ownership and am not a Dem or a Repub), I can certainly show that some Repubs have shown a rather distinctive contempt for Amendments 1,4,5,6,7, & 8 in recent years. And a certain current POTUS who has stretched Article 2/Sections 1 & 2 past reasonable limits.

1 - This country is NOT a democracy. Read the Constitution of the United States. No where does it say that this is a democracy, however, in very specific terms Article 4, Section 4 states that this is a republican form of government (that part drive democrats absolutely crazy).
2 - Please refrain from using Old Testament passages. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the law. Therefore, by His example we should all show Grace and Mercy. However, there is nothing recorded that Jesus abrogated the death penalty. But the Governor exercised his executive power that we have entrusted in him by election to show mercy.

direct your attention to the fact that this country is a democracy and not a theocracy, your religous quotes mean nothing. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind!

What Mr. Walton committed was meaningless. The fact that there would be one less violent crimminal on the streets or living off the tax payers dime is not meaningless either. Kate, would you not consider that anyone who commits murder by definition has serious emotional and mental challenges? So what?

In your letter you wrote, "...human life is valuable under all circumstances."

Really? Where was the value in the life of Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussein, the Oklahoma City bombers, etc?

I'm not trying to compare Perry Walton with those mass murderers. I'm just trying to understand your contention that ALL lives are valuable.

As to capital punishment in general, I respectfully direct your attention to Genesis 9:6 and Exodus 21:12.

There appear to be two opposing camps involved in this issue: one for and one against execution.

Is life without parole fair to the survivors of the victim who have to support the killer at their expense, all the days of his life? This could add up to more than $1 million not to include organ transplants.

It seems to me that there are better ways to spend stolen tax payer dollars. Don’t we need more money for children without health insurance or in poverty and hunger, or education?

The writer says that human life is valuable under all circumstances. What is the value of a parasitic life in prison without parole?

Any belief carried to radical extremes is as dangerous as radical Islam and on par with this religion of terror.

The solution may be for those who oppose this penalty to charitably give for the support of a worthless life and avoid plundering taxpayers to support radical ideas.

I totally agree, Ryan. I am tremendously proud of Governor Kaine for doing the right thing. It seems quite obvious Mr. Walton suffers from severe emotional and mental challenges, and as such, the Governor was totally correct in following our Constitution which bars executing people who are unable to realize the proceedings. I have always been against the death penaly and my stance has not be deterred by my brother's murder in 2006. Eradicating the death penalty in the U.S. would put our Country on par with most of the developed world. The U.S. needs to stop killing its own citizens.