You Shall not kill

[magisterfaust]

Exodus 20…vs13… You shall not kill.

Why do Christians join the armed forces
Why do christians kill. and how do they justify it?

 

[tomarin]

Exodus 20…vs13… You shall not kill.

Why do Christians join the armed forces
Why do christians kill. and how do they justify it?

hope this helps. from the catechism of the catholic church (emphases mine):

Avoiding war

2307 The fifth commandment forbids the intentional destruction of human life. Because of the evils and injustices that accompany all war, the Church insistently urges everyone to prayer and to action so that the divine Goodness may free us from the ancient bondage of war.105

2308 All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war.

**However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed."106 **

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Exodus 20…vs13… You shall not kill.

Why do Christians join the armed forces
Why do christians kill. and how do they justify it?

How do you justify Exodus 32:27

And he said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Put every man his sword on his side, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and** slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.**’"

 

[mercygate]

The commandment is about murder. In other translations it reads: Thou shalt do no murder.

 

[Nacho_ire]

The commandment is about murder. In other translations it reads: Thou shalt do no murder.

correct, again the english translation does not do the text justice.

 

[bobzills]

Exodus 20…vs13… You shall not kill.

Why do Christians join the armed forces
Why do christians kill. and how do they justify it?

Not all religions believe in joining the armed forces,.For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to join the armed forces, and will go to jail instead. Also, there are Catholic groups such as Pax Christi which are very much opposed to war. There is the Catholic theory of the just war, but some theologians have argued that any nuclear war, which involves the killing of innocent civilians would not satisfy the criterian and therefore a nuclear war could not be a just war. Also, people have questioned as to why the USA needs so many nuclear bombs which can destroy the whole world 100 times and then even after that, they can kill everyone another 100 times with their chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. Why is the USA allowed to keep these hoorible weapons of mass destruction? Is it to impose their rule of law on abortions and feminism on the entire world ?

 

[holdencaulfield]

Many people have made the argument that the Ten Commandment against killing should be better translated as not being able to murder. C.S.Lewis makes this argument.

There are two Greek words: the ordinary word to kill and the word to murder. And when Christ quotes that commandment He uses the murder one in all three accounts, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And I am told there is the same distinction in Hebrew. (Mere Christianity pg. 118-119)

When the soldiers came to St. John the Baptist asking what to do, he never remotely suggested that they ought to leave the army: nor did Christ when He met a Roman sergeant-major–what they called a centurion. The idea of the knight–the Christian in arms for the defence of a good cause–is one of the great Christian ideas. (Mere Christianity p. 119)

 

[bobzills]

Many people have made the argument that the Ten Commandment against killing should be better translated as not being able to murder. C.S.Lewis makes this argument.

But if you drop an atomic bomb on a city to kill non-comabatants and civilians, including innocent women and children, in a war, isn’t that murder? Or if you poison their water supply with your chemical weapons and kill civilians of a city that way, why wouldn’t that be murder? Or is it murder if Saddam Hussein does it, but if the USA does it, then it is not murder?

 

[Nickkname]

But if you drop an atomic bomb on a city to kill non-comabatants and civilians, including innocent women and children, in a war, isn’t that murder? Or if you poison their water supply with your chemical weapons and kill civilians of a city that way, why wouldn’t that be murder? Or is it murder if Saddam Hussein does it, but if the USA does it, then it is not murder?

Yes, the US is a nation under God, but it’s not a nation that lives by the Ten Commandemnts. For example, abortion is legal.

 

[bobzills]

Yes, the US is a nation under God, but it’s not a nation that lives by the Ten Commandemnts. For example, abortion is legal.

Is it morally right for a nation which does not live by the Ten Commandments and which promotes and endorses a women’s right to choose abortion, and feminism in general, is it morally right for such a nation to possess these horrible atomic and nuclear weapons of mass destruction which can kill every man, woman and child in the entire world, 100 times over, and even after killing everyone with the atomic and nuclear weapons, they still have the chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction to kill everyone 100 more times over again?

 

[Nickkname]

Nope. Why do you ask?

 

[bobzills]

Nope. Why do you ask?

Because I thought that this was related to the topic at hand. And there are many superpatriots here who defend the USA, right or wrong, it is my country.

 

[Nickkname]

Ah, I misunderstood. My apologies.

Exodus 20…vs13… You shall not kill.

Why do Christians join the armed forces
Why do christians kill. and how do they justify it?

Both questions can be answered with one word: Self-defense.

But, if you’re talking about unjust killing, such as has happened in the past, than it is against the commandment and cannot be justified.

Though we cannot judge a whole religion or a group of people based on the actions of a few members of said religion or group - it is a fallacy from accident (an argument based on a generalization).

 

[Holly3278]

I think the more proper translation of that commandment would be “You shall not murder.”

 

[holdencaulfield]

But if you drop an atomic bomb on a city to kill non-comabatants and civilians, including innocent women and children, in a war, isn’t that murder? Or if you poison their water supply with your chemical weapons and kill civilians of a city that way, why wouldn’t that be murder? Or is it murder if Saddam Hussein does it, but if the USA does it, then it is not murder?

Innocent people, yes that is murder. Hussein no, he had it coming.

 

[Kathrin]

Innocent people, yes that is murder. Hussein no, he had it coming.

But can we, as mere humans, ever really so totally know another person that we can decide it is NOT murder in their case?

Kathrin

 

[holdencaulfield]

But can we, as mere humans, ever really so totally know another person that we can decide it is NOT murder in their case?

Kathrin

I don’t know, I’m only going off of what the Catholic Church teaches.

 

[bobzills]

But can we, as mere humans, ever really so totally know another person that we can decide it is NOT murder in their case?

Kathrin

Beyond a reasonable doubt, yes, but absolutely certain, no.

 

[magisterfaust]

How do you justify Exodus 32:27

sorry for the delay. work, kids, the garden…:juggle:

Did God really say to Moses to slay evry man and his brother, etc…Yet only a few chapters earlier, it says “You shall not kill”. Now it has been established that it can be translated into “You shall not murder”. So, either God can change the rules as he pleases. Moses was deluded, and/or on one hell (excuse the wording), of a power trip.

 

[Brendan]

But if you drop an atomic bomb on a city to kill non-comabatants and civilians, including innocent women and children, in a war, isn’t that murder?

No murder requires intent.

If, for example, you drop an atomic bomb on the headquarters of the army you are fighting, and certain civilains are killed, the intent is to attack the headquarters.

You would need to ask yourself this, if all the civilans in the city had taked that day off and went to visit their Aunt Myrtle in another city, but all the generals and soliders had remained, would that attacker consider the attack to be a failure or a great sucess?

That is what speaks to the heart of Intent.

A great example is the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Eisenhower knew that there would be civilian casualties, both from the shellings, and during the fighting through the towns.

Did that knowledge mean that the D-Day invasions were immoral from the start?

If Eisenhower found out that all the French in Normandy, by some miracle, chose that day to visit their Aunt Marie in Nice and thus only Germans were killed, would he have been thrilled or bummed?