Sins of the Military

joechrist

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First off, I support our military 100% and am very thankful for their service and sacrifice.
But here's my question....
They are obviously breaking the commandment "Thou shall not kill." Do you think they should ask for forgiveness and do you think their killing is against God's will. How is their killing people any different from any other type of killing. I guess one could say the only time it is justified to kill someone is in self-defense. They have no reason to kill their enemy except that their leader told them to. The person they kill in most cases has done nothing to them personally. If I kill someone because they did something I disagreed with, is that any more sinful than someone in the military killing someone because their leader told them to, or because the other person had different views than them. Basic question, is there a difference in their killings versus any other killings in God's eyes?
 
I am not a biblical scholar so I will answer your question from my own perspective.

The current war in Afghanistan I believe is a just war and needed for the protection of the American people. Al Queada declared war on the US and other western nations on 9/11/01 and as a result our brave soldiers must protect our country. I would imagine many of them pray to God on what they must do and what they have done and their is conflict I am sure. At the same time, I understand that there are many books of the Old Testament that discuss war and the justified killing of those that persecute other societies and people.

Just my two cents.
 
Doesn't the commandment really translate as "do not murder" anyway? After all, if you're never supposed to kill, God wouldn't have contradicted himself by leading His people to war in the promised land. For example, when Jesus quotes them in Luke 18:20 it is translated as "do not murder."
 
no murder is what the military does, a cop doesn't murder does he when he lawfully tries to defend himself/herself from the suspect who's using lethal force to kill a citizen. The military is no different, has there been violations of the laws of war, yes, but that's a whole different subject, No where in the bible did Jesus say though shalt not be a soldier.

combat vet
jason
 
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