Killing Saddam

Ethics Daily has a story today about Baptist blogger Michael Westmoreland-White, who argues that Saddam Hussein should not be executed. Westmoreland-White posted his thoughts on his blog and on the Mainstream Baptists blog, which is a group blog I am also a part of it. He argues:

We who follow the Crucified and Risen One are supposed to be free from this spiral of violence, this dance of death. We are free to choose life. We do not value life, as some pro-lifers say, because of innocence. Christ died, as Romans 8 reminds us, for the justification of the godless. Hussein is not the type of person who would ever show mercy to us. That is all the more reason we who are Christians should show mercy to him.

He makes an excellent argument that is worthy of serious thought by all Christians. To further this important discussion, Jim West argued on the Mainstream Baptists blog that Hussein should be executed. Such discussion is healthy. As West argues, “One of the remarkable things about the Baptist family is the wide range of viewpoints and perspectives it is able to encompass.” Regardless how one feels about this, we need to dialogue and tackle difficult issues.