Ron Paul: Close, but no cigar.

Published Saturday, February 09, 2008 9:57 AM

I had made peace with Dr. Paul's position on abortion, homosexuality, pornography, fornication and adultery based on the distinction of powers between Federal and State governments.

But, the Federal government absolutely does have direct jurisdiction in various capital crimes. If Dr. Paul is unwilling to enforce the death penalty for capital crimes, he is not Biblically qualified.

When asked his position on the death penalty, Dr. Paul said,

"Over the years, I've held pretty rigid all my beliefs, but I've changed my opinion about the death penalty. For federal purposes, I no longer believe in the death penalty. I believe it has been issued unjustly. If you're rich, you get away with it; if you're poor & you're from the inner city, you're more likely to be prosecuted & convicted. Today, with DNA evidence, there have been too many mistakes. So I am now opposed to the federal death penalty."

Source: 2007 GOP Presidential Forum at Morgan State University Sep 27, 2007

Searching for a good write-in candidate,

B8

by Bahnsen8
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Comments

# WesleySonofCornelius said on Saturday, February 09, 2008 4:38 PM

Do you thing the US has ever had a Biblically qualified leader?

# Bahnsen8 said on Saturday, February 09, 2008 8:46 PM

That is a great question, Wesley. I would say probably yes, with the percentage increasing as you go back in time to 1607, with some peaks and valleys between here and there. Definite valley now.

# Joe Napalm said on Saturday, February 09, 2008 10:43 PM

The world has never seen a biblically qualified leader. The standard is perfection. However, each and every leader and authority in the world has been and will be established by God.

# Bahnsen8 said on Sunday, February 10, 2008 1:09 AM

Joe,

The standard for heaven is perfection. The standard for simple civil leadership here is a little more basic. No real epiphany.

Your pal,

B8

# Joe Napalm said on Sunday, February 10, 2008 1:42 PM

Let's say Hillary wins the election. It is our responsibility to submit to her authority because her presidency will have been established by God. Whether she loves the Lord or doesn't has no bearing on our submission.

# WesleySonofCornelius said on Sunday, February 10, 2008 6:20 PM

Can you give me the name of a president of the US who was a qualified leader?

P.S. I think I am with Joe on the submission topic.

# Bahnsen8 said on Sunday, February 10, 2008 9:02 PM

How Christians are to choose their elected officials is indeed a different matter than how Christians decide whether to submit to the civil government.

An elected official's relationship with God is not the standard used to determine whether to obey them. Simply, are they requiring us to break God's Law or forbidding us from obeying God's Law? If so, I am sure we agree, "We must obey God, not men."

OK, Wesley, without doing any research, I would guess that George Washington was qualified. And, I would say Patrick Henry would have been qualified. I know, I know, what about slavery?

# Joe Napalm said on Monday, February 11, 2008 4:48 PM

Hey, did you see where Ron Paul had to suspend his presidential campaign for two days because he's losing his seat in Texas? Chris Peden is kicking his tail.

# Bahnsen8 said on Monday, February 11, 2008 8:55 PM

Very interesting. Thanks for the info, Joe.

# Housewife said on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 2:41 PM

We are still planning to vote for Ron Paul in our Ohio primary next Tuesday.  

I don't take your rervations based on capital punishment lightly, but I do see it differently.  It seems to me that the government does "bear the sword" when it makes arrests and imprisons people.  Ron Paul's concerns about unfairness may be legitimate and reasonable, given the current state of things.  Perhaps if things could become more fair in the future, he would reinstate his approval of capital punishment by the federal government.

Thank you for your post; I loved its clarity and simplicity.

# Bahnsen8 said on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 1:41 PM

Housewife,

I am equally concerned about the implementation of true justice in our legal system. And, I am also in favor of at least some form of punishment for criminals, especially for capital crimes. However, I believe I am constrained by the Scriptures as to the continuing validity and application of the death penalty for crimes worthy of death- similar to your "thank you notes" analogy in your recent post about the Law. I do not see any other way to apply the principle of the Law regarding capital crimes. Furthermore, I do believe the civil officials' primary and enduring responsibility is to "bear the sword" as a "terror" for evildoers. Thus, I do believe that Dr. Paul is disqualified; nonetheless, I personally would be very excited if he won, thinking purely from a pragmatic perspective.

B8