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NASB | Mark 16:18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 16:18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well." |
Subject: Lack of Indifference |
Bible Note: Greetings Zoe! Thanks for the response! I have to be quick, as I need to get a couple hours of sleep before going back to work. :-( Your definition of murder is an example of what I am talking about when I say that we need to stick with precisely what Scripture actually states. Murder is never defined in Scripture as 'willful killing'. If this is the definition of murder, then God commanded people in the OT to violate one of the 10 commandments. :-) My understanding of murder has always been that it is 'unlawful killing'. There are times in the Bible when it is appropriate to take another life. For instance, 1) Certain sins are punishable by death. 2) Wars were commanded by God, in which people died as a result of a direct command of God. 3) Self defense is permissible in Scripture. All of these are 'willful killings', but they are willful killing done under the authority of God. In other words, murder involves killing, but all killing is not murder. We certainly are told to turn the other cheek, but the context of the passage deals with our attitude toward those who have wronged us personally. I may allow someone to treat me unfairly, but there is no indication that God meant that I should just stand there and watch someone else be killed by an evil person. So, for instance, if I saw a man beating a woman on the street, I would intervene - physically if necessary. That would not be a violation of the 'turning the other cheek' principle. We are also certainly to wait on the Lord and seek His direction, but sometimes God directs us to act as well. The God of the New Testament is the same God as in the Old Testament. If He commanded wars in the Old Testament, then obviously all wars are not evil; otherwise, a holy God could not command them. :-) Having said that, there certainly are evil wars as well - too many! :-( As for 'being like children', even children have sin natures. Read the papers and one can see that even children are capable of murder. Well, I have to get to bed my friend! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |