What someone deserves vs what God wants
Commentary on Erika's post about The War on Terrorism and Food for Thought. Speaking about what does Saddam deserve - in quite stark terms. She ends with

However, I am a Christian, and mercy is something I do consider quite frequently--which is the Biblically-correct, God-loving thought process for us Christians? Life or death, hatred or compassion?

Yeah, I've wondered that too. Trying to put aside personal feelings and all that, and just go with "What does God want", I think I have to go with "God desires that every man be saved." And so on that basis, I think the death penalty is wrong... purely on that basis. If you don't kill someone then there is hope. They could come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, which is what God wants. If you kill someone, and they aren't saved, then you have ended all hope for them. This has nothing to do with what they deserve, how I might personally feel, etc. It just has to do with what I believe God would want. As the Word says, we all deserve death. It is only because we have accepted what Jesus has done for us, and have become children of God, that we have eternal life!

Hopefully I will never personally be put in a position to make such a decision or worry about such a decision.