Thou shalt not Kill... Why does this not apply to "WAR"?

Question

And why if this is a commandment from God, have there been more wars and death in the name of religion than any other reason??

Kill-Murder, really in WAR whats the difference..

I agree to a point the contradiction.. If I "kill" someone in self defense and a Jury of my peers finds me guilty I am punished therefore what i did was wrong.

So based off what i'm hearing War is Good.
Doing same thing Killing in self defense.

Answer 1

Because v have twisted religions to serve the egos and political.personal agendas of the ppl who profess to be the leagers of these religions.

There is absolutely nothing religious left in any of the religions of the world today.

To the answers below:

Christians have killed as many ppl in the name of their God as any other religion.
If u r fighting u cant be doing it for God- u can be sure of that

Answer 2

The answer to this question lies in the context of the quote. The Hebrew word that we interpret kill really would be better written as murder. The 10 commandments were given as a directive to man's behavior. The Law of God should point out to us that we are not capable of His perfect standard. Thus, our need for a savior - Jesus. Governments on the other hand are given their authority by God (to use or misuse). Therefore they are accountable to God for their decisions and not the individual. That is why the Apostle Paul did not object to the death penalty if he had done something worthy of that. He knew the government has that authority on earth. Even though the rulers of this world fail and are unjust, if we trust the perfect sacrifice of Christ in our heart then regardless of man's or government's failures and shortcommings we can rest in His promise that "all things (even bad ones) work together for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose." Sin, man's rebellion against God, is the cause of all the apparent confusion. Given that, man and his government's are not above invoking the name of God for his actions. Think about it, if you were Satan and wanted to turn people away from God, whose name would you use, yours or His? Jesus is God's solution. He allows us to live above the circumstance with confidence and clears up the confusion. The bottom line is to not look at man's opinion on these important questions. Let God's word speak for itself. But remember, it wasn't written in English. It was Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Having those resources quickly cleans up what our translators missed.

Answer 3

Because violence is to some extent an inherent part of human nature. Christianity (and all other religions in similar ways) declared wrath one of the Seven Deadly Sins and made murder against the Ten Commandments. But there will always be blood shed by human hands. So to try and justify this venting of man kind's violent nature, they say it's in the name of their respectful god(s). A sin is less a sin if it's done with the intent of a virtuous outcome. At least that's the mentality. Stupid if you ask me.
Shemhamforash!

Answer 4

Read the bible. I am doing so right now to see what it is saying and where all of my church going freinds in the bible. It says Thou Shalt Not Kill, and then, in another chapter states that if your child does not respect you, have the village take it away and stone it to death. In other words, kill. Here the bible contradicts itself. However, don't take all of this as total truth because i have just started reading the bible and came across these two "rules,'' so i don;t quite know the context from whence the stoning of the kids comes in. I think THOU SHALT NOT KILL does apply to war.

Answer 5

Many conservatives have given the commandment a new spin, claiming the commandment means 'Thou shalt not murder.'

An interesting thing to consider about Christians is that there were none before Christ arrived on Earth. The Old Testament was not written for Christians and the laws of the Old Testament were amended by Jesus. Jesus laid down the laws for Christians to follow specifically.

And yet many Christians revert to the old scriptures to justify their
desire to ignore or alter Jesus' guidelines.

Example: Turning the other cheek and letting someone strike you again goes completely against the grain of what modern day Christians are willing to do. So they chose to either ignore it away OR revert to the 'an eye for and eye' old scriptures or try to re-define it's meaning.

Answer 6

The actual word in Hebrew (which is the language it was originally written in) says "murder," not kill. Killing, in the Hebrew scriptures, not considered murder is: capital punishment, defence, and war. Not a very satisfying
answer, I know, but it's the truth.

Why do ppl kill in the name of religion? Because if you can convince yourself that it's what God wants you to do, then you don't have to feel guilty.

Answer 7

Some day the world will be overrun by the lords of religious war. They will kill everyone that does not accept their faith and brainwash the rest. I think it sucks, but remember the religion that survives is the one that does not allow birth control and eliminates everyone else. It has nothing to do with what is "right" or written into some religious beliefs. It has everything to do with statistics and good old stupid human nature.

Answer 8

Depends what religion you're talking about, and who you ask about it. If you ask Osama Bin Laden, he'll tell you God wants you to kill all "infidels" It's perfectly fine with him.

If you're talking about the Bible, "Though shalt not kill" really means "Thou shalt not murder".... According to Theologians. Killing and Murder are different. If a man breaks in your house and threatens to kill your family and rape your wife... And you pull out your gun and shoot him in the head, that's considered self defense Killing.. and NOT murder.

In war, all bets are off. It's kill or be killed.

Answer 9

That is a very good point that you brought up. I think that since the fighting and killing in wars is for a good cause and helps people (*maybe*) it is justified as helping others and making the world better. That was a very good question. Thank you for bringing up a serious question. most peeple ask stupid questions.

Answer 10

Yes it does apply to WAR

"Thou shalt not KILL"

Means no one has the right to take a life!

Those who Kill have to live with it don't they.

Peace on Earth one day I hope !!!!

Love & Blessings
Milly

Answer 11

I've been told that "kill" was actually used when the Ten Commandments were translated. In actuality, the correct word is "murder". Thou shalt not murder.