Gracious and Eternal God:
You are the God and Father of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus, the Christ.
Lord God, I thank You for Your grace and Your mercies;
And I thank You that Your faithfulness is everlasting; ...
This opinion was originally published on August 28, 2022 by The Oklahoman
I was in the execution chamber with James Coddington Thursday for the last 45 minutes of his life.
When I entered, he was already stra...
We need a broader moral reckoning on capital punishment—in the Bible belt, in particular. In a recent forum, we zeroed in on the challenge of problematic theology, which in Shane’s words has turned the Bible Belt into a “Death Belt,” giving moral cover to a lethal human rights violation. Southern states where Christianity predominates are the ones holding fast to the death penalty and using it most often. Last month four executions were scheduled—two in Texas and one each in Tennessee in South Carolina—during a season where Christians everywhere celebrated resurrection.
We know through revelation of the scripture that blood that was on the doorpost was foreshadowing-- was symbolic of the Blood of Jesus that was to deliver us from sin and from the depths of the wages of sin, which is death.
May these paintings open our hearts up to the profound depth of God's love, and may they stir in us a passion for extending that love and grace to others. It is our hope that contemplating the execution of Jesus does something to us, in us. We pray that as we reflect on the love of God, it transforms us into people who are merciful and who are committed to ending the death penalty.
On Thursday (Dec. 9), Oklahoma executed Bigler “Buddy” Stouffer, a 79-year-old deeply committed Christian who has maintained his innocence since being convicted of murder in 1985. It was the last execution sche...
On Thursday (Dec. 9), Oklahoma executed Bigler “Buddy” Stouffer, a 79-year-old deeply committed Christian who has maintained his innocence since being convicted of murder in 1985. It was the last execution sche...
The irony cannot be missed. Christians all over the world were praying that a Christian governor would not execute a fellow Christian brother who is almost assuredly innocent.