Thou Shalt Not Kill/Murder?

[Gregory Matthews]

In an article that begins on  page 4 and extends for 13 pages (See the reference below.),  James J. North addresses the question as to the meaning of the 6th Commandment and its application to the military as well as civil authorities.   

 

https://adventistchaplains.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AdvChaplain_Issue1_2019-web.pdf

That article is informatinve and I consider it to be of much value.  Check it out.

 

[phkrause]

That was a great article!! Personally I've been always taught that the 6th Commandment says "Thou shalt not Murder!"

[pierrepaul]

Very interesting. I also understood the 6th commandment as a proscription against murder. The problem is that the concept of "murder" varies from society to society, from state to state. What is or is not "murder" is defined by the secular laws of the state. But as we know, not all secular laws are just and righteous. When the secular law of the state permits or orders killing, does that ipso facto remove the act from the ambit of "murder" for the purposes of the commandment as well? If so, then the state has the power to change God's law by reclassifying a murder as a legal killing. Or do we, as Christians, have to evaluate not just the validity of the secular law, but its morality as well? This question should, in my opinion, be asked and answered before engaging in state-permitted or state-ordered killing.

As an aside, this principle also applies in the context of other commandments, such as the injunction against stealing. The concept of stealing or theft is meaningless without a body of secular property law to define what belongs to whom. Often secular state law is modified to pass property from one owner to another, or to confiscate property for the benefit of the state. Is this theft? If a Christian is to participate in an profession involving the seizure of property (i.e. bailiff, judge, lawyer/advocate) or one benefits from seized property, does one's inquiry stop after ascertaining that the property was validly seized under the secular laws of the land, or must one inquire as to the morality of such laws.

What about those Christians involved in the law-making process, who through debates and votes in the legislative assemblies, confer or remove legality from killing (i.e. declarations of war, resolutions authorizing military force, laws governing self-defence, police response, etc.) or transfer property from one owner to another or puts restrictions on the use of property (taxation statutes, minimum wage laws, marriage and divorce laws, succession laws, land redistribution, zoning, eminent domain, etc.).