Month: May 2025

Killing, Murder, and War

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From May 2006 until May 2007, I served with a military intelligence battalion in Iraq. I didn’t see combat every day, but we were regularly mortared, rocketed, and fired upon with small arms. Our unit was blessed…we all came home in one piece.

Compared to most of my colleagues, my combat tour was a cakewalk. But I saw enough violence and battle results in our installation hospital and during my years working in hospitals.

Killing a human being is a serious matter. Life is not created by people, and we are not programmed to take it away. In the past, I met and talked with Soldiers and civilians who killed. In most cases, they live the rest of their lives with a dark cloud over them. The ones who do not concern me.

I hear amateurs in biblical theology preach that killing violates the Ten Commandments. “Thou shalt not kill!” they say. But they also don’t seem to note that the texts also instruct the Israelites to kill their enemies in combat. There is a distinction between killing and murdering in Deuteronomy.

Killing is the taking of a life. It encompasses all motives and means. Some killing is immoral, but some killing is not. An example is the accidental taking of a human life. A person is chopping wood, the blade falls off the axe, and strikes an innocent person in the chest, piercing the heart. Such a death, while regrettable, is not punishable.

Murder is another matter. Such killing is done for personal reasons: revenge, lust, and anger are examples. Murder is a crime. The perpetrator of murder forfeits her or his own life if found guilty. It is among the highest felonious behaviors possible for a human to commit.

The Bible does not call killing in defense of oneself or on behalf of one’s country murder. It is killing. A person who kills an enemy combatant from a nation acting on behalf of their government is granted a reprieve from punishment.

But does that mean there are no consequences for killing in combat? Experience is clear on this point. Even when a person is justified in taking a human life or lives, there are scars, especially under certain conditions. Killing innocent babies and children is especially difficult, causing severe psychological trauma in many people.

Another consequence occurs in the human soul after killing. Some people reach a state of psychosis. Some get that state because their moral compass becomes skewed. They become desensitized to killing and need help rebuilding their souls. Others find killing pleasurable and hunger for more. It’s an addiction to them.

This is why I am an opponent of war and killing.

Habemus Papam!

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The pontificate of Leo XIV began on Thursday, May 8. The 1.3 billion Roman Catholics were ecstatic. Most of us from America were intrigued by the College of Cardinals electing an American as the Vicar of Christ – partly because we were told it could never happen. Most of the people in my orbit were pleasantly shocked and rejoiced with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in this choice.

I do not envy Pope Leo. He becomes Pope at a time of turmoil in both the Roman Catholic Church and the world. His predecessor (who made him a cardinal, btw) left him a church that has more questions about the future than it has answers. Francis was steeped in the liberation theology of his time and was swayed by the social side of the church. Some found his liberality and synodality a welcome change from the conservatism of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Others saw Francis, the first Jesuit Pope, as a heterodox leader whose initiative for priests to bless same-sex unions as a serious violation of the church’s moral teaching about the sacrament of marriage. Pope Leo is inclined to follow the same path as Francis socially, but there is a sense of strength in Leo’s adherence to Catholic dogma. We shall see how he handles this.

There are several hot spots in the world that reminds us that violence and war are still seen as viable tools in statecraft. The most obvious is the war between Russia and Ukraine, now entering its third year with no apparent end in sight. Another sore spot in the world is the ongoing war between Israel and the terrorists in Palestine sworn to murder not the Jews of the Middle East, but around the world. Finally, the on-again, off-again tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir flared up concurrently with Leo’s election. Leo needs to use whatever influence the Vatican can muster to bring these warring nations to the negotiation table and bring the conflicts to an end. Can Leo do it? Time will tell.

This I know…we Christians should be quick to pray for our dear brother now Pope Leo XIV. He needs our spiritual support to accomplish his mission as the leader of the largest sect of Christianity. At the same time, we should be reluctant to judge too harshly or quickly. Give the man a chance.

THATISALL

Athanasius: A Role Model

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Great men like him are role models. When his time came for him to shine, he did not bow to the political pressure of Rome…he stood fast to sound doctrine that the Son is fully God. Let me be an Athanasius or Martin Luther…here I stand! I can do no other.