Texas executes more people than any other state in the U.S. On average, Texas juries condemn someone to death about once a week.
Increasingly, Christian denominations and other mainstream religions are calling for abolition of the death penalty in the U.S.. Religious calls for abolition identify capitol punishment as inconsistent with Judeo-Christian beliefs and values.
But some religious scholars support capital punishment. They point to accounts of executions in both the Hebrew and Greek testaments, and argue that death is a just punishment for taking another person's life.
Texas Impact has developed a new study guide, The Death Penalty in Texas, for Sunday school classes and other religious study groups. The study guide explores Judeo-Christian positions on the death penalty, inviting students to consider the death penalty in the contexts of justice, sin and grace, and human fraility.
The Death Penalty in Texas presents up-to-the-minute facts about capitol punishment as it exists in Texas, combined with theological background and thought-provoking discussion questions. The study guide features the contributions of top-notch Texas theologians, Christian educators, and criminal justice experts.
The Death Penalty in Texas comes as a package of materials ready for your group to use with no further preparation. The package includes 10 copies (or as many as you request) of the 4-page discussion guide, as well as the indispensable leaders' resource packet. The packet is full of supplemental background materials and tools for getting involved in the public policy debate at the local or state level.
The leaders' packet features detailed, concrete instructions for pursuing a local moratorium resolution&emdash;one of the most effective steps congregations can take to make their voices heard.
The Death Penalty in Texas is the first unit of Texas Impact's 5-part series Texas Faith Looks at Texas Justice. Each unit in the series examines an aspect of Texas' criminal justice system. The other units include:
The entire series will be available for Lent, 2001, and would make an ideal focus for a Lenten study. Texas Impact suggests that study groups consider a $35 donation for the entire 5-part series, or a $15 donation for the death penalty unit alone. Your order will be shipped free of charge.
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