Actually, Posh, God kills EVERYBODY and every living thing on Planet Earth. We all die. By the millions and millions. Evil?

People who are killing terrorists are not sociopaths. If we didn't have these people, we would be ruled--or murdered--by sociopaths. Are you suggesting we all march to our deaths like sheep to the slaughter? Should we bow to terrorists and let them guide our national policy? Should we change our religion because we are being forced by sword?

As far as semantics go, killing and murdering are diametric opposites; and frankly, I'm surprised to see you taking this stance.

A hackneyed thought experiment: If--God forbid--a terrorist was about to murder someone you love, and you have a gun in your hand, would you turn it against the terrorist? If you "turn the other cheek," then in essence it could be argued that you just murdered your loved one insofar as you were able to prevent the act. Whether or not you perceive this to be an act of murder on your own behalf or as an act of free will by the killer, evil reigns irrespective. Nobody has to feel good about killing, but in a world where evil is present, "killing" is sometimes very necessary.

As you point out, maybe the terms are relative to a degree. Relative to societal constructs, relative to cultural perspectives; relative to religious beliefs or ethics. For example, in some religions, the act of infidelity might warrant a death sentence. The executor would not be considered a murderer by that society. Neither would the committee that judged the man. However, the Hague might condemn both the committee and the executor as murderers. Ethical? Can we know what objective reality is? What right and wrong really are in any objective sense? Of course not. But for some reason, most humans on the planet would not view an act of killing in self defense as an act of murder. Majority rules? Common sense? Who knows.

I personally believe that a horrible person is one who enjoys killing others. But the act of killing itself is in a vacuum, to be judged by circumstance.



Quote Originally Posted by Posh View Post
This is semantics. I prefer the word kill. This makes my stance unique even within my own family. And my interpretation, along with my relationship with G-d, is my own. Somebody can replace the word "kill" with "murder" or "dance," I'm still going to look on somebody who takes somebody's life away as a horrible person. If you think it's "murder" and you can "kill" whomever you please based on this view, by all means go ahead. Everybody has their own psychological constructs in which to see and work with the world in which they live.

Some people can take another person's life and sleep at night. Good for them. The government needs some sociopaths in order to have an effective department of war.

G-d has the right to to take lives and command for lives to be taken, obviously, because He is G-d. Recently, He hasn't done this, to my knowledge. When and if He does, I'll be first person looking for a gun.