I hear many Christians [& others] quoting that (in)famous 'Eye for an eye'. These people haven't the foggiest notion of what that phrase actually means. It used to be - back in the 'uncivilized ages' - when someone did something against you or a member of your family (or fellow villager) you & your buddies got together and killed not just the person at fault but everyone in town - up to & including the livestock! Which is precisely what Joshua did when his sister was raped. FYI that was the last time they pulled that stunt in the Bible. Why?
Very shortly thereafter at Sinai G-d changed the rules. He put a kibosh on the revenge & said it would be strictly equal justice from then on. 'An eye for an eye, an arm for an arm, etc" If a man killed your goat, you got back one goat & that was IT. This was so radical it set the Hebrews apart from all the other peoples: they were often referred to as the 'just ones' or 'those with the Law'. So 'eye for an eye' was pretty much G-d's way of starting man on the road to civilization.
All was fine, then Jesus took it up a full notch. When confronted with an execution in progress He said simply, "let the one who has never sinned cast the first stone". There's no possible way to reinterpret that; also no way to get around the fact we as Christians risk our immortal souls when we support the death penalty in any way. Why our souls? Because Jesus was quoted multiple times in the Gospels saying 'the measure you use against another is the same one to be used to measure you' , 'judge not lest ye be judged', and, of course, 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who've sinned against us.' Pretty scary stuff: God's almost double-daring us to cast judgements -or lethal injections - at others! Imagine having been on a jury & voted for a death sentence. Then you die. Now G-d's standing there tapping a syringe in His hand asking 'Which part of 'Thou shalt not kill' did you not understand?
For whatever reason when I say I'm anti-death penalty otherwise kind & saintly Christians try to convince me Jesus really didn't mean for us to give up the death penalty.(?) Nor will they accept it doesn't work & never has."Well it works once..for that guy" they invariably sputter. I tell 'em in England they used to hang pickpockets. Just guess when many folks got their pockets picked? Yep! During the hangings.
ps. Engyo - that Buddha quip is priceless! & Karmic principle is simple: what goes around, comes around. Violence begets violence. Peace begets peace. If the wheel picks up more negative value than positive then Karma shifts down. If more positive than negative, then Karma settles up. Texas's been killing an avg.inmate/week (or more) for 15 years. They've been hit with increasingly vicious natural disasters ever since resuming executions. Lessee...150,000 refugees from LA, Ike, temps >100 for weeks on end,13 oil rig spills in the Gulf last year, a 7 yr killer drought (no end in sight), lost 90% of this year's corn, soybean & hay crops, dry lakes, water table gone, water rationing etc. Lousiana? They were busy executing til Katrina: since then they haven't executed anyone & 'caines dwindled off till no storm this year at all! Karma is.