(From today's reading: Leviticus 19-23)
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 19:18
Point of Interest:
Chapter 20 in Leviticus has a laundry list of offenses that people should be put to death for.
God has already mentioned that his plan is to lead the Israelites into battle against their enemies (Exodus 23:23 being just one of many examples).
All this warring and killing would seem to be at odds with the 6th commandment "thou shall not kill".
In fact, the Hebrew word for "kill" in that passage is more accurately translated "murder" - an unjustified killing.
The Bible is replete with instances where God commands the death penalty for certain offenses or assists the Israelites in killing their enemies.
This is why the death penalty and justified war are acceptable in Christian doctrine.
There is actually all sorts of information available on the web regarding "justified war theory" if you care to google it.
Whenever I hear someone trotting out the 6th commandment as an argument against capital punishment or war I know that person has either never read the Bible or is cherry-picking passages out of context in an effort to prove a point.
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