Xtians do interpret the commandment as "Thou shall not commit murder" instead of "Thou shall not kill". I've seen this argument from them many times. Of course, they're a little reticent to explain exactly how they know when a killing isn't murder as it gives them a convenient get-out clause when they go after someone they don't like.
But let's not let the facts stand in the way of a good joke and contine to enjoy God Angrily Clarifies "Don't Kill" Rule.
Have to say that I also agree with pudge that using these journals for political debate isn't really making the best use of them and I think we should stop.
Unfortunately, this self-imposed censorship, means that I really shouldn't point out to perlguy that he fundamentally misunderstands the British. The kind of Brits that object to the bombings are exactly the same group who would have a party if Buckingham Palace was destroyed - particularly if it was full of the Windsor parasites at the time.
Re:killing
davorg on 2001-10-15T13:23:28
You're right (again!) of course, but the point is that most countries have well defined legal systems that decide whether a particular incident is murder or not. I don't see anything similar in the Bible.
Or do you mean that when the Bible says "murder", it means "any action that would be considered murder under the legal code of the country in which you perpetrate said act". Seems strange to me that God would delegate such important decisions to "local" government. Particularly in countries like the US where there's no official link between Church and State.
Re:killing
pudge on 2001-10-15T13:53:23
Well, the Bible -- the New Testament, anyway -- has no well-defined legal system at all. It does, however, have different words with more-or-less clear meanings. See Matthew 5:21-22, where Christ quotes the Commandment (but in Greek). The word used there is phonos, which has a history in contemporary literature (Homer, Diodorus, Simonedes, Aelius Aristedes). It sometimes means "killing with anger as a cause" or "bloody deeds", but the emphasis is always on the fact that this kind of killing was morally wrong.
This is to be contrasted with the much more common word, apokteino (see, e.g., Matt. 10:28), which is used to describe generally depriving someone of life. I think if it were meant that generally depriving someone of life were always wrong, they would not draw a distinction. That's the general consensus, anyway.
I did not mean to say at all that God delegates moral authority to the government (although that is another whole discussion, and according to the NT, God does delegate authority in many cases to the government), but only that you seemed to be presenting the notion of a distinction between "kill" and "murder" as a Christian invention or peculiarity, and while it may or may not be descended from Judeo-Christian ethics, it is a common view amongst many peoples.
