You Shall Not Murder (Revisited)

The unbelievers I refer to in the article posted in April are those specifically of the Secular Humanist crowd who despise all of Christianity and doubt that the bible as a whole and some scriptures in particular are actually the inspired word of God. Their morality and moral codes all emanate from their own self-righteousness which is in juxtaposition to God’s righteousness imputed to believers by God. They conflate the meanings of the words “kill” and “murder,” so in their economy of thought, killing an attacker would be the same as murder. This of course is what makes personal firearms and weapons ownership seem so evil to them and why it's more righteous to die waiting for the police to show up rather than to defend one’s self or another against a murderous attacker. 

Not only are they wrong in their misinterpretation, but in their own minds they have already judged and condemned God, because they have darkened minds and zero understanding of how God could allow killing when He has seemingly condemned it in the ten commandments. The fact that God is the creator of all beings, human and animal and can do with them as He wills escapes them entirely, as they supplant themselves on His throne.

Then Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; now therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1Samuel 15: 1-3)

Saul was a classic example of a typically humanistic attitude and failed to follow through perhaps thinking that the Lord’s command was too harsh and he spared the best animals for himself and for that God removed him as King of Israel.

So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt. He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. (1Samuel 15:7-9)

I suspect that the commandment "Thou shall not murder" was interpreted "KILL" in the King James Bible as it may have been politically expedient at the time to keep peasant populace in line. A lot of other versions were spin-offs of the King James Bible, however the New King James version reverts back to the original Hebrew text that says, "You shall not murder." I wrote the initial commentary specifically to lift the veil of confusion and doubt for those that suffer guilt recriminations over having taken a life in self defense or in warfare.