The Bible is very powerful. Men live by it, swear upon it, and die for it. Those who believe in its teachings take the words very seriously because those words are the foundation to their faith. For thousands of years the sixty-six books of the Bible have been studied and debated. The concepts, beliefs, and principles described in the Bible are under constant discussion, and perhaps the most debated topic in the Bible is that of taking another man's life. God makes it very clear that His followers are not to take another man's life, but there are many sections in the Bible that deal with this very subject. In The Holy Bible, killing is undeniably abundant with citizens killing, God killing, and sometimes the two killing mutually. The Hebrews were naturally a murderous people but killed to keep the faith.
             The Holy Bible contains many instances of killing. In the Bible, God states what will happen to His followers if they disobey him, "The Lord will send you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me" (Deuteronomy 28:20). With these teachings from God, one would think there would be no killing going on and if one did kill they would be punished severely. This, however, is not the case. In Genesis, Cain murders his own brother, Abel, out of jealousy. God sees this and is angry that Cain didn't follow His rules, consequently banishing him and desecrating his body with a mark (The Holy Bible, Genesis 4).
             The murder of Abel is the first murder recorded in Biblical history. The events of this murder can be used to argue against the ancient tradition of capital punishment. Although God states that He alone can take a man's life, people have been killing men and women for centuries because of their actions toward society. Notice that the first murder ...