Murder is a sin, no matter who you're killing

If you believe that God's word is contained in the Holy Bible, which I do, it's exceptionally clear that He frowns on murder.

Some will fervently and righteously point out that the Old Testament contains the "eye for an eye" passage. But the Temptations also said, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, vote for me and I'll set you free", and that didn't make me want to run out and punch somebody in the mouth, even though I listened to "Ball of Confusion" until the grooves wore out on the 45-rpm on which I listened to it. Yes, I had LP's and 45's. I am a "Boomer." Deal with it. I'm an IPod geek now, so there.

God is very clear that He is the ONLY one who can give and take life. He didn't mean we should all go around offing each other when we pissed each other off. He wasn't calling for us to take His law into our hands and act as we felt He would. There are times when humans start thinking they can act as God's proxy or His appointed executioner. They can defend their actions until the Holy Cows come home and it still won't be God's will.

Humans are not allowed, under God's law, to take life on a whim or because somebody is doing something we think is illegal or morally repugnant, no matter how vile their actions might be.

There are self-righteous faux Christians who feel it's both acceptable and heavenly-guided to use deadly force against those who provide, or perform, abortions.

You can call it "choice" all day, and it's still murder. By providing abortions, George Tiller was sinning in God's eyes. BUT that was between him and God. What Tiller was doing is legal under Kansas law. There is a higher law, of course, and Tiller will now have to answer for that. Because Tiller was sinning NO human had the right, or the Godly instruction, to murder him. And it IS murder. It's not righteous. One can argue all day that God wants such sinners smited, struck down, etc. But God is clear that life is His to give and take. And there is no passage I can find in Holy Scripture that commands me to go kill somebody.

I bring up His word so frequently in this because those who are now celebrating Tiller's murder as a "righteous kill" will bring up His word in its defense.

They say, "we're acting in defense of the innocents." Isn't that God's job? Excuse me, but I didn't see a decree, written on parchment of fire, that gave you the position of judge, jury, and executioner. Christ said, "suffer the children to come unto me." He didn't say, "hey, guard them kids by murdering people." I realize some say the Bible is open to interpretation. You can't get close to an interpretation of any scripture that puts the right to murder in the hands of humans.

What sickens me about this senseless loss of life is the celebration I hear from some zealots in the anti-abortion movement. I read the self-righteous statements and press releases coming from some organizations today, and I can see the "gotcha" dripping from them.

I abhor abortion. I believe it's the murder of innocents. But those who get, and those who give, them are not mine to maim, injure, or murder.

This also is not an argument against the death penalty, although I must admit my feelings on that are starting to waver. I used to be one of its staunchest of supporters. But I don't see any empirical evidence that it reduces killings. My opinion is that it could it we didn't have so many appeals, legal briefs, and other procedures that kept most murderers on Death Row for a decade or longer. Texas executes more people than any other state, yet in 2007 it had its highest murder rate in five years.

This is about God's law and how it's misused, deliberately, by some who call themselves "Conservative Christians."

Somebody who is willing to murder a human being because they feel he is sinning is NOT, I repeat NOT, a true Christian. Would Christ have murdered somebody because they were not following His law? Why do we feel we are smarter than Christ? The last I checked, Christ commanded us to love our enemies. Yes, that's probably the hardest thing for me to accept of everything He teaches me. But it is His instruction to us, as inconvenient of a truth that might be for some.

And then there is sin. Christians know that one sin is not worse than another. Christ is quite clear in His teachings about this. I remember in Catholic grade school there was a book that said some sins are bigger than others. But the Bible doesn't say this anywhere and, if we believe that one sin is worse than others, we are again placing ourselves above God.

So, should I go cap my friend because he cheated on his wife? Should I blade another friend because he beat up somebody over a bar tab? Should I run over my neighbor with my car because he piled rocks against my fence to keep rainwater in my yard and out of his?

God doesn't want us to be victims. I have no doubt that He forgives me if I hurt or kill somebody who breaks into my house and tries to attack my family. And, make no mistake, I would have absolutely no compunction, or hesitation, to do this. But to simply attack somebody because their value system offends me, or because I think he is a sinner, or because I object to what he is doing on moral grounds, is sin. That's it.

George Tiller was morally wrong. I believe that. But, legally, he was protected. Remember "render unto God what is God's, and render unto Caesar what is Caesar's?"

The legal system had a chance to punish Tiller several times. It did not. I believe there is no doubt that he will answer to the highest court now.

But, as humans, we can't simply take the law into our own hands. It's against God's law. It's against the law of the land. And you simply can't accurately call yourself a Christian if you do. Christ would not command us to, and that's at the root of this.

So, if you are celebrating George Tiller's murder, get thee away from me, Satan. If you are praying for his family and friends, then your attitude is what, I believe, God would have for us.

We Christians can't stay silent about abortion. We should teach in our homes and churches that it's wrong, that it's a sin. We can elect people who will make laws that make it illegal.

We already have those laws that say murder is a capital crime. Are you teaching in your home and church that murder is wrong? Christ commands that you do. And don't use His name in front of me to defend yourself if you are not.

If you believe the man who murdered George Tiller is someone to be admired, or if you are saying today, "well, I understand why he did it,", then please don't lump your religion in with mine. It's not the same. Don't tell me God commands you to be his avenging angel. There is no Bible passage that gives you this right.

Christ will return in His own time. God acts in his own time. And if you're telling me that you're smarter than God, well, please remove the "Christian" from "Conservative."