Letters to the Editor
Thou Shalt Not?
As a veteran, I hold Desmond Doss, the WWII conscientious objector who refused to use a weapon of any type because of his Christian religious belief against killing, in the highest regard for earning the Medal of Honor (“Desmond Doss: His Only Weapon Was His Conscience,” November 7 issue). This comment about him does not detract from his heroism in any way. But his religious reason for conscientious objection was unjustified.
Some opponents of capital punishment cite the Sixth Commandment as the basis for their objection. Doss was one. As translated in the King James Version of the Bible, the Sixth Commandment reads, “Thou shalt not kill.” However, that is an inaccurate translation that has misled people to conclude that the commandment prohibits all killing. Biblical scholarship shows that an accurate translation is “Thou shalt not commit murder.” There is a significant difference.
In Hebraic law of Old Testament times, murder was defined as unlawfully taking a life — i.e., causing the death of an innocent person. There were various degrees of homicide ranging from accidental and unintended cases to the worst form of homicide: premeditated murder. The penalty prescribed for premeditated murder was capital punishment. (See the entry for “murder” in Harper’s Bible Dictionary.) So opponents of capital punishment who argue that the Bible prohibits all killing are misinformed (as are conscientious objectors to military service who base their position on the Sixth Commandment). Actually, the Bible prohibits taking an innocent life.
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