Thursday 25 April 2013

The 6th Commandment...Thou shalt not Kill or is it Murder as newer versions say? Does it matter?


The 6th Commandment Thou Shalt not Kill. The more modern versions say Thou shalt not Murder.

Wikipedia defines ...You shall not murder sometimes translated as You shall not kill, KJV Thou shalt not kill (LXX οὐ φονεύσεις, translating Hebrew לֹא תִּרְצָח lo tirṣaḥ), is a moral imperative included as one of the Ten Commandments in the Torah,[1] specifically Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17.
The imperative is against unlawful killing resulting in bloodguilt. The Hebrew Bible contains numerous prohibitions against unlawful killing, but also allows for justified killing in the context of warfare, capital punishment, and self-defense.

Ok so everyone has this one covered right? We all think this one is a done deal ...but is it as simply put as we understand it?

Taking a look back in the Bible The 1st death is seen in the very first book of  the bible. It was the slaughter of a lamb used for clothing Adam and Eve, after their disobedience and banishment from Eden.  The first murder however, which is a very different event, was the fight between Cain and Abel. Cain let his jealousy get the better of him and he slay(murdered) his brother.

"In The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin viewed the purport of this commandment as the safety of all being entrusted to each person. All violence and injustice, and every kind of harm from which our neighbor’s body suffers is thereby prohibited. Christians are therefore required to faithfully perform that which is within their power to defend the life of their neighbor, be vigilant in warding off harm, and assist in removing danger when it comes. Calvin asserts that the same rule must also be applied in regulating the mind against anger, arguing that since God sees the heart and mind, the commandment against shedding innocent blood also prohibits murder of the heart and requires a sincere desire to preserve our brother’s life. The hand does not commit the murder unless it is conceived by the mind under the influence of wrath and hatred. According to Calvin, where wrath and hatred dwell, there is an inclination to do mischief, quoting the Bible, “whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer”(1 John 3:15) and “whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement” (Gospel of Matthew 5:22).[79]"

Not only is it made very clear it is to be adhered to as it is one of the 10 commandments but it is also spoken of in Leviticus 24:17-18. It simply states in very clear terms that If someone kills a man he should be put to death.  If he kills a beast, it is a beast for a beast. It is repeated again in Leviticus 24:21 lines later almost exactly.
Sidenote: This helps one to understand the hierarchy of animals in the chain of Gods order as well.

Matthew 5:21-22 Talks of those who have anger in their heart( murder in their heart)are in danger of the judgement.
If you are angry with someone you are in danger of judgement.  You cannot control another's actions but you can control your reaction.

But is there significance in the original bible saying Thou shall not Kill and newer versions substituting the word Murder? Murder to me is taking a life either in anger, or accidental with malice in your heart while killing someone or something is pretty restrictive to taking a life at all in any circumstance. So what is the answer?

Some Christian denominations think it is ok that we defend ourselves come the time of the tribulation specifically when referring to the End times,  while others think what Jesus meant when he said that we are to turn the other cheek means not to ensue in any violence at all including self defense.... as God is in control of everything at all times.  That part is definitely true make no mistake but what is the answer? What do you think?

If the true meaning once translated meant Kill rather than Murder then does this commandment also include what we do to ourselves on a daily basis as well? Would he include what we drink (alcohol), smoke(cigarettes) and what we consume as food(fast food and junk) as us killing ourselves a little at a time? The Bible does mention that our body is a temple and that we should not desecrate it, that life is a gift from God and not to be taken advantage of and that we are to eat a proper diet which is listed in Leviticus. Contrary to popular Christian opinion, it is meant for True Believers in Jesus and the Bible.

In the terms of abortion and euthanasia, well....never meaning any disrespect, but its part of what we have all been doing so wrong for so long... it really seems pretty self explanatory. Life is a gift from God that we all take for granted. I think when we start trying to decide the fate of the very gifts that he gave us ,we show what little faith we have in our Lord. It is a slippery slope we need to be careful of.

So what do you think? Did the original text and Jesus teach us that we are to never kill anyone under any circumstances or is it ok to take a life in the case of self defense, warding off danger and to defend the life of a neighbour as the Christian Institute understands it??


2 comments:

  1. where can I read this:
    ...It was the slaughter of a lamb used for clothing Adam and Eve, after their disobedience and banishment from Eden. ...

    for me it's just insane thinking that the creator of ALL does shed Himself the blood of His own creation for His satisfaction.
    But of course blood shed must have started and why not starting with the creator to at last blame Him for all cruelty done in the bible.

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  2. HI Ralph. Scripture that speaks of the first slaughter and that fact that it would be Adam and Eves first needed garments. Genesis 3:21 after speaking the punishments of Adam, Eve and the serpent Unto Adam and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them." Before that they knew no shame in their nakedness. It is understood that in order to get skins from an animal it would need to be sacrificed. The beginning of the evil in this world that was not to be until we were disobedient in the garden of eden. From then on we had to work the fields meaning gardening but also gave us dominion over the animals to eat as well. T.he original diet would have consisted of fruits and nuts. Sowing vegetables are hard work and need to be done yearly....most fruit trees are self sustaining and do not need to be planted year after year. Its all part of how we as humans have made decisions. It is not God who is evil at all, it is us with our choices. Sadly those choices are going to come full circle as well we know by reading the entire Bible. Since it is cyclical and he does speak of when the times like Noah happen again there will be huge calamity because of it..... I think its safe to say we are in those times now God Bless

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