Does God forgive soldiers?

[HiddenDjinn]

What if instead of telling me, you pointed a gun to my head and told me to shoot someone else? Is that morally equivalent?

I can't speak for others, but I recall being taught that there are three situations that command a Jew to lay down one's life: 1) Threatened with death if one does not disavow Judaism and our G-D. 2) Threatened with death if one does not murder another. 3) Threatened with death if one does not commit an act of sexual impropriety(like rape, beastiality, incest, etc).

Otherwise, it is a Jew's duty to shed the rest of the Torah, at least temporarily, to save a life, be it his or another's.

 

[Levite]

I can't speak for others, but I recall being taught that there are three situations that command a Jew to lay down one's life: 1) Threatened with death if one does not disavow Judaism and our G-D. 2) Threatened with death if one does not murder another. 3) Threatened with death if one does not commit an act of sexual impropriety(like rape, beastiality, incest, etc).

Otherwise, it is a Jew's duty to shed the rest of the Torah, at least temporarily, to save a life, be it his or another's.

Absolutely correct. Although most of the great medieval Jewish legal scholars say that if one is weak under threat of death, and does one of these three things in the moment, to stay alive, and then when the danger has passed, repents, we accept his repentance and do not hold him liable. This justification was used to accept back into the fold Jews whom the Inquisition forced to convert to Christianity, who after doing so, fled from Christian lands and sought to rejoin the Jewish community.

 

[Zardoz]

what this is, is an attempt to portray Soldiers as murderers. ...

Ya, that's pretty much what I'm thinking.

 

[Axel]

Definately not an attempt to portray soldiers as murderers!

I have immense respect for those out there doing their jobs, taking orders and protecting their country.

One of the commandments states - Thou Shall Not Kill

This is simply a question trying to understand if the bible is black and white, shades of grey or do we simply pick and choose what suites us at the time?

 

[Valjean]

I don't understand how the soldiers are protecting the country, Axel. Can you give examples?

Re: "Thou shalt not kill," Isn't that a well known mistranslation?

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Absolutely correct. Although most of the great medieval Jewish legal scholars say that if one is weak under threat of death, and does one of these three things in the moment, to stay alive, and then when the danger has passed, repents, we accept his repentance and do not hold him liable. This justification was used to accept back into the fold Jews whom the Inquisition forced to convert to Christianity, who after doing so, fled from Christian lands and sought to rejoin the Jewish community.

I like the wayThe Jews have a very mature and pratical way of looking at things.
Christianity loves to argue about detail, but rarely about what things mean or how they can be interpreted in practice.

 

[HiddenDjinn]

Definately not an attempt to portray soldiers as murderers!

I have immense respect for those out there doing their jobs, taking orders and protecting their country.

One of the commandments states - Thou Shall Not Kill

This is simply a question trying to understand if the bible is black and white, shades of grey or do we simply pick and choose what suites us at the time?

Again, that "Thou Shall Not Kill" was a mistranslation of a verse in Hebrew scripture. Just in case you missed it, Levite expounded on that point.

 

[McBell]

One of the commandments states - Thou Shall Not Kill

It should read:
Thou Shalt not kill unless the one being killed:

rejects the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 17:12)
is a homosexual (Leviticus 20:13)
acts as a medium or fortuneteller (Leviticus 20:27)
strikes his father or mother(Exodus 21:15)
curses his father or mother (Proverbs 20:20) (Leviticus 20:9)
commits adultry (Leviticus 20:10)
follows another religion (Exodus 22:19)(Numbers 25:1-9)
are nonbelievers (2 Chronicles 15:12-13)
are not a virgin on wedding night (Deuteronomy 22:20-21)
speaks blasphemy (Leviticus 24:10-16)
working on the sabbath (Exodus 31:12-15)
is the son of a sinner (Isaiah 14:21)​

 

[waitasec]

i guess when god tell's you to kill it's, ok...

duet 7:1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girga****es, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.

 

[HiddenDjinn]

Have you noticed that many of the atheists here don't let the facts get in their way when they go forth to bash anything religious.

 

[Mellonhead]

I can't speak for others, but I recall being taught that there are three situations that command a Jew to lay down one's life: 1) Threatened with death if one does not disavow Judaism and our G-D. 2) Threatened with death if one does not murder another. 3) Threatened with death if one does not commit an act of sexual impropriety(like rape, beastiality, incest, etc).

Otherwise, it is a Jew's duty to shed the rest of the Torah, at least temporarily, to save a life, be it his or another's.

Wow, furries must have missed that day at mass.

 

[RitalinO.D.]

Have you noticed that many of the atheists here don't let the facts get in their way when they go forth to bash anything religious.

What facts are you refering to?

 

[Vendetta]

Well I personally know soldiers who used a .50 Caliber rifle on children used to detonate bombs. These bullets can go through 3 cop cars and still kill you. So imagine a single shot towards a target? Would God forgive that? Sure. But can the soldier forgive him or herself? PTSD after war is worse than hell.

 

[averageJOE]

Well I personally know soldiers who used a .50 Caliber rifle on children used to detonate bombs. These bullets can go through 3 cop cars and still kill you. So imagine a single shot towards a target? Would God forgive that? Sure. But can the soldier forgive him or herself? PTSD after war is worse than hell.

As a soldier myself I find this really hard to believe. 50 cal. are mass casualty weapons, used on either vehicals or large groups of people, and they don't really fire in single shot. If this story is true was he court marshelled for excessive force? And what exactly do you mean by "children used to detonate bombs"?

 

[rusra02]

Does God forgive soldiers? They are simply doing their job in order to protect us.

God will forgive repentant sinners. This includes those who may have murdered others in war. However, the Bible is very clear that the bloody wars of men do not have God's backing. A true Christian will not participate in the wars fought by or between nations. Nor can one be a true Christian and do so. (1 John 3:10-12) The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from [the] beginning, that we should have love for one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother.

 

[averageJOE]

God will forgive repentant sinners. This includes those who may have murdered others in war. However, the Bible is very clear that the bloody wars of men do not have God's backing. A true Christian will not participate in the wars fought by or between nations. Nor can one be a true Christian and do so. (1 John 3:10-12) The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from [the] beginning, that we should have love for one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother.

So all the thousands of military chaplins throughout history to the present were not "true christians"?

 

[kai]

As a soldier myself I find this really hard to believe. 50 cal. are mass casualty weapons, used on either vehicals or large groups of people, and they don't really fire in single shot. If this story is true was he court marshelled for excessive force? And what exactly do you mean by "children used to detonate bombs"?

I beleive he meant the 50 cal BMG is used to detonate ordnance? Its also regularly used against people. The Barrett is an example

 

[Where Is God]

God has to be real for him to forgive.

 

[Vendetta]

As a soldier myself I find this really hard to believe. 50 cal. are mass casualty weapons, used on either vehicals or large groups of people, and they don't really fire in single shot. If this story is true was he court marshelled for excessive force? And what exactly do you mean by "children used to detonate bombs"?

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Much of my buddies don't go into much detail cause its "classified" so to speak however on this particular mission what I do know isone of my buddies from 1st-SFOD was attached to USMC doing sniper detail attached to a USMC company. From what little information I know the Iraqi kids are being used to detonate IED's. Apparently one of the marine patrols was going through the city (I want to say Anbar province but I forgot exactly what city he mentioned) and apparently, my buddy was briefed on how kids are being used to detonate these bombs. According to him, he said he saw a kid to what looks to be a remote device in his hand. I am not sure what he was told by chain of command on engaging targets but from what he told me he took the kid out before he could detonate the device. Forgive me. When I say kid I am not saying a small child im talking about 16-17 year olds

 

[Vendetta]

I beleive he meant the 50 cal BMG is used to detonate ordnance? Its also regularly used against people. The Barrett is an example

Correct