format_quote Originally Posted by
AntiKarateKid
Hey! I am reading about "moral reasoning" in my philosophy class and my instructor claims that the commandment, Thou shall not kill is absurd. I get points in class for debating so I am going to try and counter this claim of his.
You can't say that that commandment is absurd because at the time it was generally known that killing in self defense was allowed. No sensible person would question killing in self defense. The problem then was the act of senseless killing. Killing for no reason other than gain or perverse pleasures. Thus Good sent this commandment to the Jews at the time to set this measure against them.
Is there anything wrong with my logic? I am new to debating in class.
:sl:
there MAY be something wrong in the logic of debating subjects that you are unsure of, you ask for help with Islamic questions and the Ten Commandments are Jewish/Israeli!
while the word
IS translated as most often as kill even in Jewish translations, it is taken for granted that you understand it as "
illicit" killing.
lets look at the chapter in question:Ramban tells us [note 173 in Artscroll's
Ramban The Torah With Ramban's Commentary Translated, Annotated and Elucidated by Rabbi Yaakov Blinder, Rabbi Nesanel Kasnett, Rabbi Yehudah Bulman and Rabbi Avie Gold
Shemos/Exodus Volume 1 publidhed by Mesorah Publications Ltd June 2006 ] that The Commandments are also arranged in order of descending severity...
the four methods of execution prescribed in the Torah are( in descending order of severity): stoning, burning, beheading, strangling.
[note 174] The punishment for idolatry is stoning (Dueteronomy 17:5)
[note 175] The punishment for murder is beheading (see Sanhedrin 52b)
[note 176] The punishment for adultry is strangling (see[Sanhedrin] 84b)
so you have a religion set up with
KILLING as punishment! so for one to say things such as:
[QUOTE Originally posted by
wilberhum
The professor is correct "Thou shall not kill is absurd".
As you have pointed out,
there are exceptions yet the law does not allow for exceptions.
[/QUOTE]
IS ABSURD! unless i'm missing his point. however as
Originally posted by
anatolian
Did he/she say why found it absurd?
good question!
and let's not forget that Joshua was instructed to go into the "Promised Land" and "kill everybody in it!" and they suffered because they didn't!
:w: