[geeks] Re: [rescue] It's official, the U.S. is screwed for4 more years

[Michael Horton]

the hebrew word translated "kill" in the 10 commandments should be
translated "murder" for 21st century american audiences.

the hebrew word includes the planning, that is, pre-meditation, of kill
someone.
this meaning sets the hebrew word apart from "killing", that is,
man-slaughter (which is also described in the old testament and does not
require captial punishment), self defense, and killing during a
war/military conflict.

(the translators and people of england in the late 1500s & 1600s
understood this.  the four centuries inbetween cause the confusion.)

poisoning a well has the same *intent* as murder: premeditated act to
kill.
understanding the importance and rarity of a good well in that part of
the world sheds light on the reasonableness of this commandment.
it is repeated that horse-stealing in the old west was rewarded with the
death penalty.
the reasoning is the same.

killing as a result of self-defense, as stated, should be self-evident.
though, in the new testament, there are specific circumstances when
christians are prehibited from even self-defense.

concerning the old testament, one of the most warm-hearted words in the
bible is the hebrew word, kased.
it is quite remarkable in the depth of compassion that is expressed.
so much so, that an understanding of the word and its ramifications, one
would be hard-pressed to come to the conclusion that the old testament
was any less than the new testament.

(brown-driver-briggs, gesinius, et al.)




-----Original Message-----
From: geeks-bounces at sunhelp.org [mailto:geeks-bounces at sunhelp.org] On
Behalf Of Phil Stracchino
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 12:03 PM
To: The Geeks List
Subject: Re: [geeks] Re: [rescue] It's official, the U.S. is screwed
for4 more years


On Tue, Nov 09, 2004 at 11:43:25AM -0500, velociraptor wrote:
> Morals seem clear cut and black and white, but when you put it in
> context, I think it's never simplistic.  For instance, I doubt that
> anyone would argue that killing is "morally" acceptable.  But when you

> frame the discussion in the context of say, chasing down terrorists in

> another sovereign nation, the ground becomes a little less clear-cut.

I think it's context-dependent, as your terrorism example points out.  I
have absolutely no problem with the idea of killing someone who's
attempting to kill me or one of my family, say, or burn my house down,
or who plans to conquer my country and enslave the population.

The thing with a lot of these "moral" decisions made based on the Bible
is that half the time, they get'em wrong anyway.  Of course, this is
hardly surprising when you consider the idea that the Authorized King
James V Bible is the verbatim word of God and literally true even when
it contradicts itself.

For example:  The Old Testament, commonly regarded as the more barbaric
and bloody part of the Bible, says (or is almost universally
mistranslated as saying) "Thou shalt not kill."  But it also says, "Thou
shalt not suffer a well-poisoner to live" ('witch' is a mistranslation),
and "If a man comes to kill you, then rise up and kill him."

Heck, in the Garden of Gethsemane, according to the Bible, Jesus is
supposed to have said "Him that hath no sword, let him sell his cloak
and buy a sword."  And a sword, more so than any gun, is made solely for
killing people with.  You can go hunting with a gun to put food on the
table, but just try hunting deer, or wild boar, or pheasant, with a
shortsword.


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geek
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