Does God Give Exemptions to 'Thou Shall Not Kill?"
‘Thou shall not kill’ seems pretty clear to me.
After all, it is only four words. I wonder if God meant for there to be exceptions for leaders of people or armies who cause death intentionally. When innocent people are killed while your intention is to kill what you consider the guilty, do you get an exemption? If you are at ‘War’ can you plead for an exception? What if the ‘War’ is not declared and therefore not approved by the representatives of the people, do the same rules apply? These are questions that are very current but have troubled me for over 30 years.
34 years ago I was a college student taking Air Force ROTC. I had aspirations to be trained as an Air Force pilot and possibly make a career out of it. In the summer of 1970 the Air Force disqualified me from my pilot’s training because of height. It turns out that I was too tall to fit in the pilot’s seat, but the seats for the bombardier were bigger. Yes, the United States Air Force wanted to train me to push the button that dropped the bombs over Vietnam. It was the first time that I ever thought about the human consequences of weapons of mass destruction. I rejected the Air Force’s invitation. A few years later, Uncle Sam said that they wanted me anyway and I was drafted. Even though I was trained to kill with weapons of individual destruction, the only thing that I ended up having to point at another human was my Underwood typewriter. I was lucky, I dodged the 'Thou shall not kill" commandment.
I have rejected most organized religion, but I have read the Bible and it’s teachings. I believe in God and I consider myself spiritual. I have seen the movie "The Ten Commandments" several times and I know that ‘Thou shall not kill’ was number 6 of 10 Commandments that was given from God to the people of Israel through Moses at Mt. Sinai. It has always seemed clear to me.
I flash forward to the present. My catalyst for writing this article was a picture that was in my newspaper this week as we recognized the 10th anniversary of the horrible Oklahoma City bombing. I am sure everyone remembers the photograph of the murdered little girl being carried with passion and care by the fireman. Her name is Baylee Almon. If you emotionally dare you can again view the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by clicking on the link below:
http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/neverforget.html
As I looked at the picture, I felt great sadness. I thought how senseless. One day this innocent little girl is celebrating her first birthday and then the next day she is dead. All because someone created a massive explosion in the name of a cause. As I said this to myself, my mind instantly went to the thousands (millions?) of innocent children who have died due to explosions associated with wars. Seldom are there cameras there to capture the innocence of Baylee Almon or the genuine compassion of fireman Chris Field. The term "colatteral damage" is insulting to human life. I have heard the saying "God works in mysterious ways". I’m sorry but I need more than that.
It has been reported that there have been over 100,000 casualties of innocent civilians in Iraq that are associated with the invasion of Iraq. A large percentage of these casualties are children. The United States government does not report on or acknowledge civilian casualties. Even if the numbers are overstated, it is likely that there are thousands of innocent children who died much like Baylee Almon. They are alive one day and then dead the next. An unexpected explosion has ended their life because someone had a cause. There are no cameras, therefore is there no compassion?
Unfortunately, I have only unanswered questions. Comments or answers are welcome.
After all, it is only four words. I wonder if God meant for there to be exceptions for leaders of people or armies who cause death intentionally. When innocent people are killed while your intention is to kill what you consider the guilty, do you get an exemption? If you are at ‘War’ can you plead for an exception? What if the ‘War’ is not declared and therefore not approved by the representatives of the people, do the same rules apply? These are questions that are very current but have troubled me for over 30 years.
34 years ago I was a college student taking Air Force ROTC. I had aspirations to be trained as an Air Force pilot and possibly make a career out of it. In the summer of 1970 the Air Force disqualified me from my pilot’s training because of height. It turns out that I was too tall to fit in the pilot’s seat, but the seats for the bombardier were bigger. Yes, the United States Air Force wanted to train me to push the button that dropped the bombs over Vietnam. It was the first time that I ever thought about the human consequences of weapons of mass destruction. I rejected the Air Force’s invitation. A few years later, Uncle Sam said that they wanted me anyway and I was drafted. Even though I was trained to kill with weapons of individual destruction, the only thing that I ended up having to point at another human was my Underwood typewriter. I was lucky, I dodged the 'Thou shall not kill" commandment.
I have rejected most organized religion, but I have read the Bible and it’s teachings. I believe in God and I consider myself spiritual. I have seen the movie "The Ten Commandments" several times and I know that ‘Thou shall not kill’ was number 6 of 10 Commandments that was given from God to the people of Israel through Moses at Mt. Sinai. It has always seemed clear to me.
I flash forward to the present. My catalyst for writing this article was a picture that was in my newspaper this week as we recognized the 10th anniversary of the horrible Oklahoma City bombing. I am sure everyone remembers the photograph of the murdered little girl being carried with passion and care by the fireman. Her name is Baylee Almon. If you emotionally dare you can again view the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by clicking on the link below:
http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/neverforget.html
As I looked at the picture, I felt great sadness. I thought how senseless. One day this innocent little girl is celebrating her first birthday and then the next day she is dead. All because someone created a massive explosion in the name of a cause. As I said this to myself, my mind instantly went to the thousands (millions?) of innocent children who have died due to explosions associated with wars. Seldom are there cameras there to capture the innocence of Baylee Almon or the genuine compassion of fireman Chris Field. The term "colatteral damage" is insulting to human life. I have heard the saying "God works in mysterious ways". I’m sorry but I need more than that.
It has been reported that there have been over 100,000 casualties of innocent civilians in Iraq that are associated with the invasion of Iraq. A large percentage of these casualties are children. The United States government does not report on or acknowledge civilian casualties. Even if the numbers are overstated, it is likely that there are thousands of innocent children who died much like Baylee Almon. They are alive one day and then dead the next. An unexpected explosion has ended their life because someone had a cause. There are no cameras, therefore is there no compassion?
Unfortunately, I have only unanswered questions. Comments or answers are welcome.
- Do you think God has processed an amendment to the ‘Thou Shall Not Kill’ commandment?
- Does this amendment provide exemptions to leaders of governments & armies?
- To qualify for the exemption, does your reason for the war have to be justified?
- If so, then by whom?
- Does the "religious right" who elected and support our current president have the answers for thousands of explosions and thousands of innocent deaths of humans?
- I don't think the "eye for an eye" thing applies, but are the people who cause explosions counting on the "forgiveness" thing?
- Will our president and all the other leaders be held accountable?
I am at a loss. ‘Thou shall not kill’ seems pretty clear to me.
Bless the beasts and the children
For in this world they have no voice
They have no choice!
- The Carpenters, 1973
posted by Rockwell Raccoon at 5:10 AM
1 Comments:
Great job Rocky! We are definitely on the same wave length. I do believe in the Higher what's called God, and justice is a reality, its timing not always knowable. I do think it telling that, prior to Iraq, the only war America fought where the "rightness" was in question ended up badly: Vietnam . Might definitely did NOT make right, although we killed way more Vietnamese and Cambodians(3,000,000)compared to 57,000 for us. One rarely hears about the numbers of "their" casualties. We certainly agree that a
any loss of life is a tragedy.
Anyway, pray for all and keep the faith. Rd
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