To many it seems absurd that a Christian might believe in the death penalty: the gospel teaches us to forgive one another, that God's mercy can extend even to the most atrocious wrongdoer. It is especially de rigeur to point out the supposed contradiction between advocating the death penalty and at the same time working to bring down the abortion rate, and opposing euthanasia.
Perhaps surprisingly, however, it is not possible for Christian theology to advocate any absolute and total opposition to capital punishment as something that is inherently wrong.
