i know this should be in politics, but its been asked there before many times. The people who read this forum seem much more religiously orientated.

how can you christians follow bush if one of the ten commandments is

thou shalt not kill

???

Its been said before, but the commandment is more lit. "you shall not murder"/ kill unjustly" .

I'm actually Australian, so he's not my head of state- i actually despise much of his governments policys an their attitude. a)because alot of it's generally wrong b)he promotes himself as a commited christian (can't be pres. if youre not) and yet what does his stand for and do? certainly not mercy, justice and integrity.

quote:Originally posted by fakeithardx:

how can you christians follow bush if one of the ten commandments is

thou shalt not kill

Because the majority of Christians are fundamentally hypocritical.

(though as far as I know inquisitor_11 is correct about the "Thou shalt not commit murder" thing)

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

[B] Because the majority of Christians are fundamentally hypocritical.

B]

yeah... It used to be "uncool" in christinity to be rich, but a fair few American christians have managed to put that out of their minds.

A lot of Christians I've spoken to actually do support Bush and his war, which seems to me to be the complete antithesis of Christian ethics. Also, I don't think it is "You shall not commit murder." In what circumstance should it be viable for a Christian (or anyone for that matter) to take another life?

Yeah, I don't think Bush actually represents Christianity, or leads the country in a Christlike way. He merely represents the religious right, which is a disgrace to christianity for the most part. When Jesus came and he was giving the Pharisees a hard time, if Jesus came today the "religious right" would be the exact same way.

quote:Originally posted by DoPesTeR-DaZe:

In what circumstance should it be viable for a Christian (or anyone for that matter) to take another life?

I think a person is justified in killing somebody else to stop them from committing murder. (assuming you are certain that is their intent)

[This message has been edited by Craftian (edited 03-23-2004).]

quote:Originally posted by Craftian:

I think a person is justified in killing somebody else to stop them from committing murder. (assuming you are certain that is their intent)

[This message has been edited by Craftian (edited 03-23-2004).]

I disagree, on what basis can you value the life youre saving over the life youre taking?

quote:Originally posted by DoPesTeR-DaZe:

I disagree, on what basis can you value the life youre saving over the life youre taking?



I'm with ya, man. Christ himself, the basis of Christian religion, was killed, and he made no struggle, no attempt to take someone else's life, and even told Peter to knock it off. Those who live by the sword die by the sword and all that. That's how the story goes anyways.

bush is an asshole, a self-serving asshole. Yes. lets equivelate bloodshed with EVEN MORE BLOODSHED! Fuckin genius. Bush is a retard. Some Christian huh? There is this saying in the bible, "If soemone slaps you across your right cheek, do not strike back, but instead turn your cheek to the left and allow them to smack your other side"

I'm not saying let yourself get pushed around all the time. But violence is NEVER the answer, Bush could've done other things. The stupid Taliban radicals and their brainwashing. Its horrible. *sigh*

On the murder thing its a pretty messy issue and theres been alot of scholarship into it. C.S Lewis (how many times have i cited him here now?) did an excellent essay on "Why I am not a pacifist" during WW2 (i think).

The issue is definately not black and white as shortly after "you shall not murder" there is an incident where Yahweh commands Israel to wipe out another nation. Which means either a) its inconsistent or b) there are times when killing is justified.

I definately don't think there is any possibility for a justifible "holy war" or crusade within christianity (which is a different story to the way God related to humans pre-Christ)

quote:Originally posted by DoPesTeR-DaZe:

I disagree, on what basis can you value the life youre saving over the life youre taking?

I like to think I follow the principle of non-coercion.

Murder is the ultimate in coercion.

If, in the end, somebody is going to die, I think it makes more sense for it to be the person about to commit murder than the innocent (at least in that respect) fellow he is about to kill.

Of course, this only covers situations where somebody's death is imminent and intentional (ie. knife to the throat). Revenge killings are right out.

quote:Originally posted by inquisitor_11:

On the murder thing its a pretty messy issue and theres been alot of scholarship into it. C.S Lewis (how many times have i cited him here now?) did an excellent essay on "Why I am not a pacifist" during WW2 (i think).

The issue is definately not black and white as shortly after "you shall not murder" there is an incident where Yahweh commands Israel to wipe out another nation. Which means either a) its inconsistent or b) there are times when killing is justified.

I definately don't think there is any possibility for a justifible "holy war" or crusade within christianity (which is a different story to the way God related to humans pre-Christ)

I want to bow down at your feet and kiss you. Finally, someone who can see the depth of this topic. I am stunned. It really pisses me off to see the majority of people look at this kind of thing for face value when there is more, much much more. Nuff.

revenge killing is right cut? excuse me? yes. someone kills your brother, so you kill him? how is that justified? So his other brother comes and kills you? Revenge is stupid. Gets you know where, the better man is that who refuses to sink down to the enemies level. Lets take the forum for example. User 1 Flames User 2. User 2 has 2 decisions, Go down to user 1's level, be an idiot and reply with an equally stupid post, or tell User 1 to piss off and grow up. Hmm?

I guess I wasn't clear enough; I agree that vengeance is pointless.