Here’s a little more analysis of the discussion on theonomy from the other day.
I initially asked about their claim that the death penalty for bestiality was unjust, and in his first comment, C Jay said, “And the Bible, properly interpreted, does not give permission to anyone to execute capital punishment except in the case of murder per the Noahic Covenant.”
Here’s Genesis 9:5-6, the relevant portion of the Noahic covenant to which he is referring, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
But is this passage teaching that the death penalty is only to be used for murder? It specifies the death penalty for murder, but specifies no penalty for anything else. If you’re going to take this to say that only murderers should receive the death penalty, then you have to say that the government shouldn’t punish any other crime, including rape and kidnapping.
That is certainly not what Genesis 9 is teaching, but C Jay never responds to the objection that that is where his logic leads. Here is why C Jay’s is wrong that the death penalty is prohibited by the Noahic Covenant (except for murder):
1. The doctrine of bloodguiltiness.
2. The Mosaic civil law wasn’t given to only the Israelites.
3. The Noahic covenant isn’t called law.
Bloodguiltiness
In Genesis 4, Cain murders Abel, and Abel’s innocent blood has a voice that calls out to the Lord (Genesis 4:10). God is aware of every drop of innocent blood that is shed, and He will account for it, as He says in Genesis 9. This is called the doctrine of bloodguiltiness.
And later in history, the Lord reveals that murder isn’t the only crime that causes bloodguiltiness. In Leviticus 20:10-16, several different sexual sins are listed, including bestiality and homosexuality. For each of the sexual sins listed it says, “their blood is upon them.” These sexual sins don’t involve the shedding of blood, yet there is bloodguilt in the sin, so the death penalty is pronounced for each one. Is bloodguilt something that comes and goes with covenants? Certainly not.
The Law Wasn’t Given to Only The Israelites
Saying that the law was only given to the Israelites is a point that also fizzles under more scrutiny. Leviticus 20:23 says, “And you shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and therefore I detested them.” The Canaanites that lived in Israel’s land before them suffered the death penalty at the hand of the Israelites for all the sins listed in that chapter, including the sexual sins. The Lord expected them to be sexually pure. There are other examples of other nations adopting or being held accountable to Israel’s law.
The Noahic Prohibition of Murder Isn’t Called Law
Romans 5:13-14 says that there was no law until Moses. That would preclude the Noahic covenant as offering a law. The rest of Scripture never calls the laws of any other country law. It often refers to their lawlessness–even nations that prided themselves on their laws, like the Romans. Check out this excellent article on that topic.
Conclusion
It is wishful thinking to believe that the Noahic covenant prohibits the death penalty for all but murder. Genesis 9 is only nine chapters into the Bible. The Lord, starting in the next book of the Torah, reveals a perfect and just civil law. If you reject it, there is no standard of justice to call any civil law just or unjust. C Jay (and none of the others I’ve ever asked these questions of) ever answered my questions about justice, because there are no answers. C Jay refused to discuss those questions, claiming that his covenant theology dictates that theonomy is wrong.
Well, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that theonomy is true, and C Jay never provided one valid argument against it. So if your other theology dictates that theonomy is wrong, either your other theology is wrong, or you’ve misapplied it.