God forbids us to hurt one and another... but, what about soldiers??

Question

I'm still searching for the answer... killing/murdering is one of the heaviest sin ever... u can buy your ticket to hell for committing this... unless u repent and will never do it again... what about those who died protecting our country?? they kill, they shoot enemies... will they be in hell or heaven... are they doing the right thing? is it enough dying for the sake of the country but suffer forever in hell?? is it noble?? or is it plain stupid?? no offense... anyway, why must we protect this earth even though we know we can't stop the violence, even if we try...??

Answer 1

"There are no uncriminal crimes" - Ozzy Osbourne

plato, you got it all wrong. The country doesn't do anything, it is The Man who does everything. Haven't you heard about The Man?

Answer 2

When Christianity first became popular, Christians were encouraged not to join the Roman Legions, and as Christianity spread the numbers of actual Romans in the Legions shrank and hired mercenaries became the norm resulting in a real stagnation for the Roman Army.
During the Crusades, the Crusaders were told that killing Muslims was not a sin by the Pope and the Byzantine Emperor (the two highest Christian authorities at the time).
In combat of soldier against soldier, the enemy soldier is not normally hated, they are someone fighting for what they believe in for their government.
Now these fanatics that are running around planting IED's are told that they will become martyrs for their actions of killing civilians and be instantly rewarded with heaven and paradise and virgins (what do the women get? 10,000 horny 18 year olds? Doesn't sound very pleasant to me!), despite that mainstream Islam is a similarly peaceful religion; the fanatics are more likely hated since they're not in uniform and prefer to harm the weak, but that's OK to not like them, right?
If Christians could not kill (or any other religion for that matter) it would have been wiped out before it could catch on.

Answer 3

You will discover that many things which are not permitted by an individual are permitted by a government. Such as an individual can not tax you, that would be extortion, or an individual can not jail you, that would be kidnapping. For an individual to deliberately kill another is murder. (The Bible does allow for self-defense, accidents, etc, that are not "murder').

One of the things that governments can do is wage war. It is permitted for the defense of a nation, for the freeing of captives, and the protection of resources and rights. Just as a tax collector would not be jailed for extortion or a warden be jailed for kidnapping when they are doing their job, so a soldier who kills under orders in a time of war is not guilty of murder.

The US government does recognize that some people have a religion objection to the taking of life even in a just war. So they allow for what is known as a "conscientious objector". This excuses the person from having to serve in a position where they would have to take another's life.

Why must we protect this earth though we can't stop the violence? Easy. We can reduce it. If there were no armies, no police, no militia, etc., the violence level would be hundreds of times higher then it is today. We not be able to stop all the violence, but we still have to try, and we can reduce it.

Answer 4

This is a tough question. I believe if a faith, family, yourself or your country is under attack then a person has to do what has to be done. If the title of soldier is used to defend these categories then there is no sin. But I would like to stress that I believe God (in my case Allah) is also going to judge on the INTENT of the soldier or whomever is doing the defending. If a person wants to kill for killing sake then I believe it is murder and the punishment should fit the crime. I am a combat veteran in a war that in my opinion didn't need to be fought but I did my job anyway. Many a target of opportunity I passed on because the targets were not a threat to me, my country, my faith or my fellow soldiers so I didn't take them. The times I did were only to protect the lives of my unit or fellow soldiers and I have wrestled with this for many years. It was not my intent to kill because I could but only when it was necessary.

Answer 5

Some soldiers believe that they are "god's soldiers," sent to the Earth to fulfill the LORDS work. Of course, we all believe in different things and what I believe is right and just may very well be different from what others believe is right and just. Many people in the military think of this all the time. In such a violent setting it is kill or be killed. I believe that if a person kills someone while trying to help others, God will forgive them for their actions. If a person murders someone in cold blood, without remorse I believe that god will not forgive them, but the devil will welcome them with open arms.

I know many people that have been sent over to Iraq and Afghanistan that have killed people. They have told me that they are sorry that they had to kill someone but if they hadn't more people would have died than just the one.

Answer 6

Soldiers are merely a weapon of the Counrtry they fight for! The man is not doing the killing! The country is! They are the same a tank, or a rifle, or a missile! Why do you think they are called G.I.'s! That stands for Government Issue!
So, the answer your question is NO! Of course they don't go to hell!
As an atheist I don't believe in hell, anyway, but your thinking, and logic is seriously flawed, saying that soldiers will be punished to doing their duty!

Answer 7

In the Bhagavad Gita, the hero Arjuna had to do battle against his beloved cousins. If he wins, he will be a lot richer. He hesitated to fight because he loved his cousins, and the prospect of getting richer made him feel cheap. The lesson given by Khrisna is that we must fight if we have to fight, and be rid of concerns for winning or losing. War is a different story. It is self-defense on a grand scale, but self-defense just the same. It is not a sin to kill in self-defense. But it is a sin to kill just to conquer and plunder. These are the national sins of all countries that have colonized others.

Answer 8

Read Ecclesiastes chapter 3. It explains that there is an appointed time for everything. There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to kill and a time to heal and so forth.

I do not believe that the soldiers who killed others in a war and then were killed themselves have sealed their spot in Hell and I never will. Believing that is just plain moronic, especially after reading the chapter in Ecclesiastes.

Answer 9

All sins are equal in the eyes of God. But I'll agree, a soldier's killing of enemies in war rests heavily on their soul. My dad is a Vietnam veteran and I know it weighs heavily on him. He volunteered for Vietnam because he thought it was the right thing to do, but what of those drafted? They wouldn't have had a choice at all in the matter, and voluntary or not, over there it was "kill or be killed." They were all protecting their country, and I'm sure most if not all are very sorry for their part in it, so I think God will forgive and has forgiven them. There is plenty of "sin" or badness in this world, and I believe God knows that in a "perfect" world we would fall prey to sin far less often... And I do not believe that God wants anyone to be divided from Him forever. (That's what Hell is, the absence of God - in my belief anyway..)
So, to answer your question, I think Hell is only for those who have flatly refused to know God and reject Him totally. We all sin, do bad things, whatever you want to call it, we all fall short.

Answer 10

First of all, killing someone doesn't send you to hell. The Ten Commandments were for the people before Jesus. When Jesus came He was the one for us to follow.

There are wars listed all throughout the Bible. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorah, God sent Daniel to kill the giant, Samson, and etc.

Second, the only way to hell is rejecting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. God sent him here to die for us so that we may have eternal life by truly accepting him and living for him.

Killing is a sin, but sin is sin. There is no big sin or little sin, they are all the same. Like I said, rejecting Jesus is the only unpardonable sin.

Answer 11

The Battle Plan for God's Chosen People...!!!

Numbers 31:17-18 (NIV) Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.