[wcbtinman]

If a man points a gun at my head, and I somehow overpower him, and then kill him to stop the threat, then I have made a pre-emptive strike under the rule you propose. I don't think that God ever intended us to remain passive in the face of a mortal threat.

The Bible is full of common sense laws, and I have no doubt that to kill someone who has announced their intention to inflict death and mutilation is within the purview of permitted actions in the Bible, notwithstanding the legal system.

We don't seem to take the Bible in the literal terms as I suppose it used to be, or we wouldn't have the homosexual problem that is so 'in your face' today.

[aruanan]

If a man points a gun at my head, and I somehow overpower him, and then kill him to stop the threat, then I have made a pre-emptive strike under the rule you propose. I don't think that God ever intended us to remain passive in the face of a mortal threat.

If you attempted to overpower him in an effort to protect yourself from a contemporaneous attempt on your life and he got killed in the attempt, you wouldn't be guilty of murder. However, if you managed to overpower him, disarm him, and had control over him and then shot him to prevent any future attempt on you, this would be premeditated murder.