We cannot plan assuming the Reign of Peace, and therefore continue to prepare for the Fiery Trial. Someday, perhaps, we will have the confidence to beat our swords into ploughshares, and study war no more.
IMO both Moses and Jesus Christ understood your concerns about bad guys. What they carried forth and what they teach have with stood the test of time.
However, still not everyone understand or want to understand.
Tim Fowler seems to think that God did not speak clearly enough. He thought "Thou Shall not Kill" to mean "Thou shall not commit murder one (1)"
I don't remember Moses carrying any attachments to the Ten Commandments. There was nothing about Murder II or III. I suppose you could read plea bargaining into the ten Commandments.
When Saint Augustine later tried to clarify the commandment about not killing and open the door to weasel language about Just Wars, he laid down very strict guidelines as to how and when force was to be used. Force was not to be used even to save your own life.
Nevertheless, the idea that you should not kill for any reason is well established theologically, philosophically, and logically.
There is no recognizable religion, philosophy or school of thought that lays out a functioning society the permits killing of their neighbors. |
