DEACON 11: Thou Shalt Not Kill…

DEACON 11
“Thou Shalt Not Kill”

Well, I knew he had been a soldier, so this has to be good…

“The Sixth Commandment: ‘Thou shalt not kill’, (Exodus 20:13) can be a legitimate source of confusion to many believers, and of course, non believers use it to point out the incongruence of the Bible as a whole. But here is what happens. Moses tells the Israelites that God has given them ten commandments and number six is ‘thou shalt not kill’. But at the same time he tells them that God has commanded them to fight, and kill, every last inhabitants of the land of Canaan, for that land is to be their promised land (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). How about that?

So yes, it does make one think about what is really going on. Answers? I don’t have answers, the best I can do is formulate questions. And since those days nothing has stopped the fighting and the killing. Jesus himself spoke of wars, and specifically of carrying a sword (St. Matt. 24:6-8/St. Luke 22:35-38). Can it be that the commandment not to kill actually means something different than what we are reading and attempting to understand?

When at war soldiers are ordered to kill. As a matter of fact, a soldier is a trained and armed killer functioning in an army fully equipped to bring death and destruction to others, i.e. the enemy. Are soldiers in violation of the sixth commandment? You tell me, I don’t know. Is it that when we read the words ‘Thou shalt not kill’ we are supposed to replace ‘kill’ with ‘commit murder’? Is this just a bad translation? And if the translators knew of this confusing statement why didn’t they just write it as they would want us to know and follow it?

But mysteries abound in such old books written in archaic languages and translated a dozen times along the way. So the most practical way of looking at the sixth commandment is to take it to mean that one should not take another’s life indiscriminately. But should it come down to self-defence, or to defend one’s homeland, one can…and should…certainly kill as many of the enemy as one can. No sin committed, all is well spiritually. And I am not being facetious. Jesus said he came to bring not peace but a sword, (St. Matt. 10:34-39). And as far as I know a sword in those days is like an AK-47 in ours.

So, then what is the true meaning of the sixth commandment? I would say one has to use one’s judgement, and one’s principles, to adhere to it and obey it either word for word, or to re-interpret it to fit particular conditions and situations one may encounter, or be forced to encounter in one’s life. I think God has given us a brain to think and intelligence to draw parallels and make decisions.

But the truth is that there is way too much killing in the world today. Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of armies, military assault rifles in the hands of children, handguns in ladies purses and a willingness to use it as a first resort. And that has to stop. I understand that in some countries cities have become corrupted and violent and people have to defend themselves. But there has to be another way.

Alienations of many in society because of poverty, homelessness, mental illness or other unfortunate circumstances can and do drive many to a life of crime. These people can commit violent crimes against others. They are not trained or equipped to work alongside productive members of society and instead think they have the right to take what others have struggled and laboured for. Decent, hard working people need not become prey for these criminal predators. The structures of society have corrupted enough that police forces cannot, and at times will not, confront criminals.

So, do you take the law into your own hands? What does the sixth commandment mean to you?