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Posted on 11/19/2001 5:18:03 AM PST by JHL

Can Christians reconcile 'Thou shalt not kill' with the war on terrorism?

War against terror puts Christianity to the test.

But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good unto them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.
--Luke 7: 27-29

I venture to say that you haven't heard a sermon on this subject since Sept. 11.

If these are the times that try men's souls, these are also the times that put Christianity to the test.

And preachers, if they want to remain employed and keep the collection plates full, had better watch what they say from the pulpit.

Now, I like to preach a sermon every once in awhile, and I am seldom ever politically correct, so I thought this might be a good time to spew a little hellfire and brimstone concerning the hypocrisy of mankind--Christians included. We Christians talk a good game as long as things are going our way, but we too often fade into the fabric of political correctness when our world turns sour. The way I read the Bible, that's not the way God intended things to be. The true test of any Christian is how he or she reacts when times are tough. That's when I believe God pulls out His measuring stick.

Now, I know I am not worthy. In fact, the Baptists have been trying to excommunicate me for years.

But when the world starts crumbling, I at least try to consider my responsibility as a Christian, even though I too often react like a heathen.

One thing I have a hard time reconciling as a Christian is killing. We say we deplore it yet we cry out for it, we pay men to go out and do it and we honor those among us who have slain others. The Christian view of taking lives a philosophy in direct contradiction with itself. The sixth of the Ten Commandments states, "Thou shalt not kill."

These, friend, are words straight from the Almighty, inscribed on stone tablets, the Bible says, by the finger of God.

When presenting man with the Ten Commandments, God did not use an intermediary who could mess up the translation or alter the meaning of his instructions.

If the finger of God wrote, "Thou shalt not kill," then I assume God meant, "Thou shalt not kill."

Christians always try to worm their way around this by saying that there are certain instances where killing is OK. Perhaps their Bibles are different from mine, but I can find no exceptions listed under this command in the Scriptures I read.

Ordinarily, Christians do not condone killing--except when the state does it. Soldiers, policemen and executioners can kill and we never blink an eye. In fact, we often applaud such deeds and occasionally honor those who carry out deadly acts.

This is another great Christian contradiction. We take great pride in the separation of church and state in our country yet we applaud the state when it commits a deadly sin.

Could it be that we Christians are more afraid of the government than we are of God? Or do we just use the state as an excuse for our sins?

We don't like to think about such things right now because it complicates matters. And such talk is both politically incorrect and unpatriotic.

Since Sept. 11, I have not heard one Christian who demanded anything short of Osama bin Laden's head on a plate. And I have heard no preacher who has spoken out against such parishioner demands.

Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek but we don't listen. It is not politically correct to listen to such words in times like these.

We can cry, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!" and say that's what God wants. But is it?

This is Old Testament stuff. The fact is, the rules changed-- with the exception of the Ten Commandments--when Christ was born. Christ, you see, is what Christianity is all about.

What are my views? If Osama bin Laden was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, then he should be brought to justice. But justice, either in the Biblical or constitutional context, does not mean seeking him out and slaying him. If we believe otherwise, are either good Christians or good Americans? Or are we simply heathens no more civilized than our caveman ancestors?

We, as Christians and as a society, seem to preach one thing and practice another.

We teach our children to refrain from violence. When two students are caught fighting in school, both are usually sent home for 10 days--no matter who was the aggressor. When two adults fight or retaliate, the police and judges want to send them to anger-management classes and let some psychiatrist straighten them out.

As a nation, however, we think nothing of bombing another country to hell and back in the name of patriotism. And we are sure that God is an American, always on our side. I am as distraught by the events of Sept. 11 as any American, but I am not convinced that retaliatory killing is the answer. Bloodshed seldom tempers grief. Perhaps, as Jesus said, if we do unto others as we would have them do unto us, the world would like us better. That would be a unique approach.

Maybe all this makes me a bad Christian and an unpatriotic American. Good Christians and patriotic Americans seem to want heads on plates these days.

In times like these, many Christians find it easy to identify with Peter, who denied Christ three times on the eve of His crucifixion.

It is easier to turn from the teachings of the Savior than to face the consequences of political incorrectness. It is much easier to declare, "Those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword" and pull the trigger.

Being a true Christian is often an extremely complicated--and unpopular--matter. Maybe that's why there are so many heathens in the world today.

Now, if you will turn in your hymnbook to No. 235.

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