Abstract:
The recent process of structural transformation on all levels of society in South Africa urges theological reflection to participate. In this instance the crucial issue of capital punishment is at stake. After a brief survey of viewpoints and arguments concerning the issue, prominent and mostly debated Biblical texts are analysed. Genesis 9:6 and Exodus 21:24, for example are read within their cultural frameworks and theological contexts. The same is done with Matthew 5:21-22; 15:4; 26:52; John 7:53-8:11 and Romans 13:1-7. The conclusion is that Old Testament references to capital punishment are to be understood contextually. A final theological decision rests on the meaning of the incarnation of Jesus Christ which put man in a new relationship with God but also to each other. That does not mean that punishment has to be is abolished as such, but any punishment has to be executed through the new God given ethos of love, demonstrated in the meaning of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
