there would be no possible way to maintain public justice. And the policeman or the soldier who defends his country, like the judge who protects society, does not act with a malicious motive to avenge a personal wrong, but with an altruistic motive for public safety. He performs his duty not as an individual but as an officer of the state. And in the Scriptures war among nations is given the same status as capital punishment among individuals. There is nothing in the Old Testament that even suggests