When I read the bible, many years ago it said 'thou shall not kill'. Now it is 'thou shall not murder'. I am told this is a better translation and gets rid of some contradictions in the bible.
So, is war okay? If so, are all wars okay? Could a nazi say he was following orders? I won't even ask about Iraq...
How about the death penalty, abortion and euthanasia?
It seems to me that thou shall not kill was far simpler... I am truly interested in what this has changed. All constructive feedback will be welcome.
2007-01-17 11:10:35 · 23 answers · asked by The Truth 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thanks to all who've commented so far. I should point out that I don't think there's a conspiracy to change the bible here. This is just a better translation of the Hebrew.
Bender R - interesting comments. A couple of questions though - "If a soldier kills an armed enemy soldier then it was... self defense so it's not a sin" - what if the war is unjust? "Euthanasia is a sin because you are intentionally ending a life that still had the ability to thrive." - I have to point out the weakness in your argument here - the word 'thrive' is clearly incorrect.
Holly Marie - interesting, thanks
Fish - the Bible is always changing as they try to correct the translation errors of the past.
Pooter - Does this mean not knowing the commandments means you are not breaking them?
Diva2000 - The bible says god allowed wars - Deuteronomy 20:1-20 (I looked it up)
HKR - I've been told that too.
Pete J - Thanks
Davidus - Interesting, but why keep the old testament? And why is the old wrong?
2007-01-17 12:58:00 · update #1
Sin boils down to what the intention was. If you killed someone with intent to hurt or kill them then it's a sin. If you kill someone by accident such as through a car accident then thats not a sin. Abortion is a sin because it was performed with intent to end an innocent life.
It gets a bit iffy when it comes to War. If a soldier kills an armed enemy soldier then it was done out of self defense so it's not a sin. But a soldier that kills an unarmed or innocent person intentionally is committing a sin.
Euthanasia is a sin because you are intentionally ending a life that still had the ability to thrive.
2007-01-17 11:22:41 · answer #1 · answered by Darktania 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I am aware of this weird change in some biblical translations which seem spurious - but the simple answer is - It doesn't matter.
Why you ask. Because the new testament overrides the old from a Christian perspective. You cannot put old wine into new wine skins is Jesus' famous comment on this - i.e. although Jesus is the fulfillmet of the law he also makes a new amended version if you like. Jesus' version of the law is simple - not only do you not kill, but in the face of persecution you do not even fight back - for this is more Godly.
So to answer you question about Nazis - no they could not use a biblical precedent to justify their actions nor could any military force working for what could be called 'good' or 'bad'.
Christianity does not allow fighting as simple as
2007-01-17 11:44:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
well, God supported and was directly invovled in many wars in the old testament, but i suppose it depends on what the war is about. genesis says that if someone kills someone else that that person should be put to death. so i guess that takes care of the death penalty, at least for murderers. abortion is murder because the baby has a soul upon conception. (it says this at least once in the bible but i don't feel like looking it up). euthanasia is also murder because it is one person taking another's life. .murder is generally only a term used to refer to killing another person but we can kill animals (although i only support this for food otherwise it's just mean) and it's not a sin. I mean, even Jesus ate fish
2007-01-17 11:28:53 · answer #3 · answered by Mud 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Remember people wrote the Bible so people are allowed to change it. War was not OK with Jesus, He was always anti-war throughout the Bible. I'm not going to go into great deal but I will say this and hopefully it will help you understand better. If you deliberately wake up one day and say 'I am going to take someone out because they didn't pay me back' yet you know what thou shall not kill means you are breaking the commandment but in the case of the Israeli militants and other terrorists who are raised to believe that killing Americans will get them to heaven do not know they are breaking a commandment so it can not apply. I kind of rushed the whole thing sorry about that but hope it clarifies.
2007-01-17 11:22:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Look, there is a seperation of church and state. You people don't want the ten commandments in courhouses, you don want God in the pledge of allegiance. Why do you want to drag the presidents faith into the situation? He is not killing anyone. He is just doing his job. Our military is no doing their job in the name of religion. They are doing their job in the name of freedom and democracy and keeping your *** free. If Bush were to say, God commands thee to kill in Iraq, then there would be an issue. On the other hand Radical Islam is doing exactly that. Don't you get it? If you want to get down to brass tacks, killing is the taking of any life. So, if you had a steak today, shrimp yesterday, or plan on having the exterminator rid your house of termites tomorrow, then you are killing. Cows, seafood, and termites are living things, and all play a vital role in the world that God created. No, I am not comparing humans to termite, but, life is life, and who are we to determine what is vital and what is not? So, leave the religion out of the operations of the government. Remember there is a seperation of church and state. And to attack an individual in the manner that you are, surely isn't Christian like. If you feel that he is doing something that goes against your beliefs, remember this from the Lords Prayer , forgive those who tresspass against us. And just leave it at that. Maybe offer up a prayer for him, light a candle for him, but it is not our place to belittle him and convict him in the court of public opinion. Oh, don't step on any ant's either, murderer.
2016-05-24 01:31:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No matter how its named the sixth commandment is the same no word changes can and shouldn't ease peoples conscious
Bob Dylan said it well in the song
With God on our side
I'll not go into a history lesson but if you listen to the song you'll understand just how many religions are sometimes hypocritical.
Hope this helps
2007-01-17 11:39:07 · answer #6 · answered by Zenlife07 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
War is OK depending on the cause, and killing in war is OK. However the rounding up and murder of Jews was not OK. There are several biblical offenses where the penalty is death, however abortion and euthanasia are both killing people not worthy of death.
Killing in self defense is also acceptable, as well as killing animals for food.
2007-01-17 11:32:32 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
no, all wars are not okay because it is against God's 10 Commandments. it is not right to destroy lives of newborn babies. Death penalty is just a punishment for those who commited a very terrible crime. For example, manslaugher.The Bible translates so we can understand what the verse means.
2007-01-17 11:29:34 · answer #8 · answered by DIVA2000 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
good point of view to say thou shall not kill is much better as it covers all taking of life , this is going to sound mad but i don't believe you should take someone else life unless there are medical reasons for this ... i am catholic so am not meant to agree with abortion or euthanasia but i do agree to them on medical grounds ...if a child is going to be born so handicapped that the would have no quality of life i think its kinder to spare them the suffering the same applies to someone who is going to die in pain or are going to be a vegetable when they have had an active life....I looked after my grandfather while he was dying with lung cancer I saw the pain he went though and many times i felt like given him that extra spoon of medicine which would have put him to sleep ,asleep he would never had woken from ...but in the eyes of the police i would be a murderer and in the church as well
2007-01-17 23:40:40 · answer #9 · answered by carol p 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I can't speak for Christianity as a whole (obviously), but in my own opinion it means exactly what it says: Thou shalt not kill - period - for any reason.
I feel that if I was to attempt to justify killing of any kind for any reason, be it war, justice, or whatever other reason - as someone who believes in the veracity of the bible - I would be guilty of pure sophistry.
I hasten to add that I don't impose this belief on anyone else - not my place to judge - but it is not something I could justify for myself and still believe I was obeying the commands of God.
Interesting question - more of the same please :o)
2007-01-17 11:34:09 · answer #10 · answered by Pete J 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋