Monday, November 24, 2014
Death
I think its interesting that there are so many accounts of killing in the Bible. One of the excerpts we read talks about how a king some of the followers of Jesus because it was blasphemous against the Jewish tradition. This makes the king seem very devoted, but is he really? One of the ten commandments instructs the Jews not to kill, that it is a sin. It seems hypocritical and paradoxically that they are considered more devout for doing some specifically forbidden. Any thoughts?
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I feel that it's forbidden in the sense that it would disgrace God as a result. If people are being sacrilegious and making God out to seem like something lesser than He is, as we already know He is a very jealous God and will take action against this. Killing in the name of God, at least in the Bible, has seemed okay to me mainly due to this fact that it's on God's behalf, whereas if it were to not interfere with God it would be unlawful and considered to be a sin.
ReplyDeleteI think you are referring to king Herod. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk about this in class, but its okay. So the killings started happening because of the attention Jesus was receiving. This didn't happen in the beginning but towards the end when a priest decided to perform an exorcism - something that only Jesus was able to do. Unfortunately, he wasn't and thus Jesus fame grew rapidly. In response, the king felt like he needed to do something because the followers of Jesus were placing Jesus instead of the king in the drivers seat.
ReplyDeleteI understand it happens often I the Bible and that it is justified in may ways, I just still think its hypocritical and ironic since its expressively forbidden with no exceptions. It's a person doing wrong things that is heroified in a book that is meant to be something people lead their lives based on and can be the cause of very negative and dangerous actions in people who take every word of it seriously and literally.
ReplyDeleteI also found this concept very confusing throughout the Old Testament. I feel like God justifies his use of violence on humans with the fact that he constantly believes the people on earth are wicked. I also feel like humans justify their violence on one another with God. However, both God and humans know that killing other humans just because they are nonbelievers is wrong. It continues to confuse me, especially because of the teachings of the New Testament where God emphasizes love and reciprocity.
ReplyDeleteIs there a difference between killing amongst humans and in the place of God? If God is seen as above the law, even his own law, then that would be seen as hypocritical to his followers. Additionally, humans justifying their killing and violence with God is simply an excuse; I agree with Ali when she said that killing others just because they are nonbelievers are wrong. It follows that it would be wrong to kill others that have sinned or have wronged in the name of God.
ReplyDeleteAmy Shih
Since God isn't mentioned in this story (or the New Testament at all), we don't know his reaction to the killing, which is why this is so confusing to us. I think the original commandment was telling them to not commit murder, unless it was necessary (such as during wars or battles, where one must take a life). If King Herod was with the Jews and their laws, then it's possible that he may have seen this as a necessary act, since the Jews didn't believe in Jesus.
ReplyDeleteSince our conception of "good" is what God has deems it to be, the framework that we have ourselves is always malleable by God as he chooses to. In a sense, he is the "game maker," whenever he chooses to change the rules of the game he may do so without constraints. This is why, theoretically, anything that God does is considered good.
ReplyDeleteI agree that anything God does, he considers good. I think that even though killing is a sin, I think it can be justified depending on the situation. This reminds me of the woman in City Of God who is raped but still chaste. I think that if someone killed someone else out of self defense or in a non-intentional way then as long as their morality has not shifted because of it they have not sinned.
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