February 1, 2008
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Thou Shalt Not Kill
I noticed in the Ten Commandments post that many questioned whether the command “Thou shalt not kill” included not killing animals.
Do you think that the command “thou shalt not kill” included not killing animals?
Comments (117)
first
second
but then how would I eat steak?
I think it does in a way Dan
Animals have feelings too
No. It refers to humans.
God used to have animals sacrificed to him in the old testament – that is the basis for my opinion.
no I think it ment dont kill one another on purpose……
look its a contradictions in terms, there is killing and eating all throughout the bible, interpretation, is what your asking, I think it means eat but dont freakout and kill for fun
if you didnt know god talks like that….ie” dont freak out”
I think the rules in the 10 commandments are referring to how we treat each other – humans – and to how we treat God.
I think in the respect of sacrificing animals it might, but not if you are killing them for sustenance. But then again I think killing animals that you don’t intend on eating is wrong (personal stance).
Uh, NO. Just humans.
no. and it’s “thou shalt not murder” in the Hebrew text, which refers ONLY to humans killing humans out of sheer cruelty- thus negating any reference to killing animals.
furthermore, in Genesis 9 God gives Noah and his descendents the right to eat animals for food (up until this the creational law held that man only ate vegetables) but now God was opening wider the variety of food choices available to mankind. If the 6th commandment was meant to apply to animals then God would have to make it clear that eating animals is no longer acceptable. instead- he qualifies clean and unclean animals for Israel (NOT ALL BIBLE BELIEVERS- THIS IS GOD’S THEOCRACY FOR THE JEWS UNDER THE OLD COVENANT) to eat, and even lays down specific laws for sacrificing animals and for killing animals that either kill humans or had sex with humans.
Anyone answering otherwise clearly lacks a lot of BIblical understanding- using verses out of context is never wise.
Oh please, such ignorance is to hard for me to tolerate this morning.
I don’t think I even want to know, who is so stupid as to say yes
I have seen that commandment written differently as “thou shalt not murder” and have also heard that that is the more appropriate translation. In other words, I would say that no animals are not included and neither is the death penalty or war.
come to think of it, it wasn’t very specific. It could mean animals. I suppose it is also OK to covet the wife of the guy that lives across town since he is not your neighbor.
the next question will be:
Do you think that the command “thou shalt not kill” included not killing plants?
yes, i believe it does, but then i have no discipline to give up meat_i have goat meat practically every day…
I think it was referring to people.
Very much no. Animals are not people.
The Torah also includes specifications for which animals they could kill and eat for food. They were asked to make sacrifices on a regular basis. Seeing this as a prohibition against the taking of animal life is reading something into the text that a) isn’t there and b) doesn’t agree with the context at all.
The “People Confuser” all over again.
Before Christ they were commanded to kill and sacrifice animals to atone for their sin…which was only a symbol of showing the perfect Lamb of God being sacrificed for our sin once and for all.Plus in the new Testament in the dream Peter had about taking the gospel to the Greeks, God showed him all sorts of animals and told him kill and eat. So no, to kill animals for survival it isn’t a sin. But to mistreat animals kill them for sport could be considered sin. I’m pointing my finger at myself here, I’d LOVE to catch a 10 lb bass and have it mounted on the wall, would that be a sin. I don’t know! Anyway, enough rambling…something I’m REAL good at!
I agree with PreciousOnyx, it refers only to murdering humans.
@Erika_Steele - Your neighbor doesn’t have to live close to you. If you think about it a ‘neighbor’ is really someone you see and/or interact with on a daily baisis or even only once in a blue moon. Now days that mostly includes everyone you see.
No.
1) God had to kill animals to make clothes for Adam and Eve.
2) Animals were killed for sacrifice. There were laws in place regarding the distribution of food/meat among the priests.
3) Jesus broke bread and the fish and distributed among the people. He had no problem with eating the meat. (Conversely, he would have had a problem with killing people, adultry, or stealing or worshipping more than one God).
4) Jesus appeared to Peter (after the resurrection) and said to him “Kill and eat,” in regards to animals.
I know there are some people who don’t like to hear this, but Humans > animals.
Other translations say, “Thou shalt not murder” There’s a difference. It’s hard to sacrifice an animal, drain its blood, chop it up, and give it as a burnt offering without killing it.
If we took “Thou shalt not kill” to the extreme, then we couldn’t kill any life, including the bacteria in our bodies. Therefore, that rules out antibiotics, so the bacterial infections hit us and kill us off. And that goes against both the Hippocratic oath and “Thou shalt not kill”
I think it meant people
No, because animals were used for food and sacrifices. That commandment applies specifically to humans.
Not only does it not apply to animals, but the actual word is “murder” not kill, and does not apply to executions or killing someone in war but rather to killing of the premeditated and cold-blooded kind.
I love how people take things like this and try to twist it to mean something it was not intended to mean. Oh wait, no I don’t.
No, God gave man dominion over the earth and all other creatures. He clearly meant for us not to kill each other except under special circumstances.
No
No. But the adultery one does.
Absolutely not, because if that particular person would read the whole bible in context, he would notice that animals were commanded to be sacrificed to the Lord; and not a sick or disformed animal either….it had to be the BEST and healthiest.
No, but I would like it to be yes. That is, killing the animal out of cruelty, for fun- Not hunting, but like killing a cat for no reason-
Probably not, god’s people like their lamb shank rare
The Torah also includes specifications for which animals they could kill and eat for food. They were asked to make sacrifices on a regular basis. Seeing this as a prohibition against the taking of animal life is reading something into the text that a) isn’t there and b) doesn’t agree with the context at all. @stuartandabby
I couldn’t have said it better!
given that there are laws requiring animal sacrifice, i would say no.
I think I have to agree that it only has to do with humans but I respect those who believe it applies to animals.
Biblically speaking you are allowed to eat the meat of the animals, except cloven hoofed ones. Other than that you can’t kill them….Still wondering about bugs.
No, it does not include animals.
“Thou shalt not kill” is a poor translation of the Hebrew. It should be rendered “Thou shalt not murder.” And it does NOT include animals. Anyone who reads the ten comamndments in context will see that the Israelites were NOT forbidden the killing of humans or animals. In fact, it was often expected of them.
no
No, just humans. Animals were put here for our use. Food, sacrifice, clothing, tools, etc..
I guess it depends on WHY..
If it was killed for pleasure then probably yes..
And..ew..
Get up Peter, kill and eat.
seeing as how he required animal sacrifice…i think not
yes but must be used in conjunction with the passages that detail humans as the keepers of animals. this doesn’t mean we lord over them but act in tandem, so we can eat animals to survive but we should not act indiscriminatly cruel to animals. an the reverse sometimes animals will kill humans and we should not take that as some sort of slight as all gods creations are likely to be equal in his eyes.
@ChrisRusso - exactly… for instance, hypothetically, i am wallking through the park with my wife. someone jumps out of the bushes with a knife and attacks her. that person dies. end of story, it’s on their own head. the reverse, someone cuts me off in traffic, i hunt them down and kill them… that one is a no no.
What an innocently naive question. Or maybe completely ignorant and retarded.
@PreciousOnyx -
I agree, but I think we also need to do a lot more thinking when it comes to whether or not animals have souls/spirits before saying that, universally, you can’t “murder” an animal. Eccl. 3:12 says that even Solomon didn’t know whether “the soul of the animal goes down into the Earth (shoal).” And 1 Cor (39, 44) tells us that where there is a physical body, there also is a spiritual body, right after talking about the different kinds of flesh. Torah law demands that animals slaughtered for either sacrifices or for eating be killed in the most humane ways available at the time; clearly, not “murder.” And Balaam’s donkey cried out when he abused her (Numb. 22:22-33), the story suggesting that animals are able to see spiritual realms that are closed to us. Since only with the eye of the Spirit can we see God, it stands to reason that animals have spiritual bodies similar — but essentially different — from our own. From start to finish God places value on even the smallest animals.
I don’t think so unless, your just doing for recreation
The true translation of the word “kill” is murder and is done only to humans, since animals were used for both food and atonement for sins it wouldn’t make sense God would give us a double standard. The Jews would have been breaking the law while trying to keep it. Adam and Eve didn’t need to eat meat in the garden but after the fall meat became a regular source of food……
Yes.
Well people need to eat so killing animals tends to be what needs to be done for survival so I’m thinking it was talking about humans and in cold blood since it’s possible to be in a sitch where you have to defend yourself and the other person dies. I don’t know I’ve never thought about it.
Didn’t God give us dominion over the earth, and all that lived on it? I don’t think that commandment counts for animals becasue of that. Obviously we were never meant to exploit them or push some of them to extinction like we have, but we’re allowed to eat them when we need to.
considering that they were still sacrificing animals as blood offerings at the time it was written I would say no
No
No, God gave us dominion of all the animals on Earth. Biology made humans omnivores, we have ‘fangs’ to tear meat to chew. There is a food chain (everything eats something) every animal is a part of and thank goodness we are at the top of it. The Ten Commandments was given to the people as moral laws to live by, in the way we treat each other as humans and toward God Himself.
Please, this is a moot issue…move on.
I killed a bird by accident… so i guess i’ve broken all 10 lol
No, I love my ribeye
Hey Dan, here’s a video I made about the Facebook app Scrabulous. Have you ever played?
i think that killing animals is a sin becuase after Adam and Eve sined He killed animals for their clothes
he told them also to live off the land
the LAND not aniamls.
anyway did you hear about the gov. of S Carolina wanting to allow anyone in the military to drink even if they are under 21
i think its nuts but who knows.
It does. When we eat meat, we still need to be mindful that life was taken so that we may live. We must realize that an animal still feels fear and pain. To value life so little as to say it is important for some species to live (namely the human one) and that others don’t matter is absurd. When an animal kills someone, we destroy it. We are the only species to have the ability to murder then we justify it for our own means. Course I could go on, but I need to step off my soap box from the commandment post.
Also on the thought of eating. Look at your teeth they will tell you. Short, blunt in back and tapered along the flat in front. These teeth were actually created to eat fruit, nuts, vegatables, etc. We do not have the fangs of a tiger, a dog, a cat, or any of the animals we call carnivors.
no…thats just silly
@OhDear_Jetsabel -
Y’know what, if a kid is old enough to die for his country, and old enough to make a 4- or 6-year commitment to a job that forbids lawlessness, he’s old enough to have a beer with dinner. I think it’s a great idea.
@hllrider -
Thank you! I get so tired of people saying, “We have teeth like carnivores, therefore we’re supposed to eat meat.” Look at the rest of our digestive system — our stomach acids are relatively neutral, more like vegetarians than omnivores. Every other carni/omnivore eats its meat raw, because their digestive juices are strong enough to kill off bacteria. Ours aren’t, so we’re the only ones who cook our meat. The digestive tract of carnivores is relatively short, 3-5 times the length of the body, to minimize the time meat spends rotting in the colon and intestines. Our are much longer, like vegetarian animals, 10-12 times the length of the body — in order to better absorb nutrients from fruits, vegetables, legumes and seeds. Carnivores/Omnivores’ intestines are smooth; ours are porous. Their colons are very short; ours are relatively long. Once you get past the teeth, the whole digestive system is completely different from every other animal that eats meat.
And if you want to look a the Bible, man’s lifespan decreased dramatically after meat was introduced to the diet. I think that says a lot about meat-eating right there.
If an ANIMAL can read and understand, the Commandment would apply to them, as well.
However, humor aside, I can’t believe you asked that question! You would have to be a ninkinpoop to entertain that stupid notion. God’s Commandments applied to His human creatures ONLY…cause they possess an “imortal” soul…they “think” with a finely honed intellect and only humans have a conscience.
it seems to me that I remember Jesus doing something with a fish….wasn’t that once alive?
No…only people.
no
Nope. That’s just stupid!
hllrider: I think Al Gore is looking for you!
nope. if it did, cant the argument be made that a dog is a neighbor. and it sys not to covet your neighbors wife. it would be silly to covet a dogs wife wouldnt it?
I’m sure Jesus ate animal flesh.
no, because that wouldn’t have been practical at that time. people needed to kill animals for food.
Doubt it; the Bible does mention animal sacrifice and slaughter, etc, and doesn’t ever condemn it… unless I’m misremembering or something.
i don’t think its right to kill animals but whether the commandment was also for them… i don’t think so.
No. In Genesis we are told that we are to have dominion over the animals – that means we are to take care of them, but also to use them for our needs, and to control them.
As far as humans go, I believe God knows that we have to protect ourselves and others from harm and does allow for wars. He prepared many soldiers for battle – even David with his 5 smooth stones and a slingshot.
That really contradicts the animal sacrficies that occur throughout the old testament. But then again, the Bible’s nothing but contradictions.
Heck, no.
No, of course not! God placed a lot of animals on earth for us to use for food and warmth. But God still loves his creatures, and I’m not sure he approves of killing animals just for fun and leaving them there to rot. Though if you’re going to eat them, there’s nothing wrong with that. Beating and killing animals for man’s own twisted amusement is sick (i.e. dog fighting).
But, no, God clearly did not mean animals when he wrote that commandment.
I don’t know what God wanted or didn’t want, but I do know that at the time men committed the 10 commandments to scroll after a long long oral tradition, vegetarianism was not really something anyone did.
There was no organized livestock and traditional farming as we know it either. You raised a chicken, then you killed and ate it.
I can say with some certainty that “thou shall not kill” meant humans.
A perfect kinder gentler world where no one suffers?
In the Matrix, weren’t entire crops lost?
No, the commandment does not include animals. We have dominion over animals! The people in the Bible were also told to sacrifice specific animals, so obviously it does not include them.
Humans, animals, plants. It even counts bacteria and viruses.
So, in short, everyone is a sinner.
Thou Shalt Not MURDER
let scripture interpret scripture. God gave adam control over all the animals of the earth, including eating them
I have no idea.
@PreciousOnyx - exactly!
Urghhhh after reading people’s comments it just makes me hate religion that much more.
In a way, yes. We shouldn’t kill animals just for the heck of it. But, no, that does not mean we can’t eat meat.
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nah, that’s Buddhism.
If it does apply to animals, then I’m going to hell in a hand basket.
@PreciousOnyx - thank you! what an insightful, well-read reply!
No. God thought that killing entire towns because one person did something wrong was good, and that a women who was raped should be killed. I doubt he cares if you kill an animal. Though, I do believe killing animals is wrong.
It’s, “Thou shall not murder” (Or however it is), which would exclude animals by most definitions (throw out PETA). This also justifies all of his commands to kill people for various offenses, such as children disobeying their parents or those of other religions.
Well, apparently even killing humans can be exempt from time to time so I guess killing animals, unless it’;s out of pure malice, would be ok.
Well….technically I haven’t killed a single animal. :O
Are you really a theologian? I don’t know of any serious theologian who would ask that question based on the ten commandments. The question can be raised a long a number of fronts, biblical and philosophical, i.e., what was the state of humans in the pre-adamic fall and do these rules apply in redemptive history; or, on what moral basis do we have the right to take another life given our own redemptive condition? Or just raising up virtue ethics in general under the guidelines of neo-platonic or aristotelian viewpoint. I don’t know whether to laugh with you in this question or laugh at you. Really, are you kinda mocking the term “theologian”? If so, I could chuckle a little with you. Otherwise, you cannot really be taken serious. Perhaps, and this is slightly perhaps, I may have committed an oversight not of an opinion, those are just embedded emotions which prove to be more irrational than anything else, but I’m talking about thoughtful consideration. Perhaps I take myself too serious…
After the fall, God told Adam to eat. We see it in the first five books of the bible to eat of meat and Peter had that vision of eating meats, which God said to him, to not call that which God has cleaned, not clean.
Becker
I have understood that the “kill” is amis quote. I understand that it is closer to murder. This actually makes a very big difference in meaning.
Study the etymology of the word used for kill. It refers to murder, not “killing.” Granted the two are related, but the later would prevent killing under acceptable conditions as well, such as self defense.
The Hebrew word used for “kill” in that verse is listed here (from the Strong’s Concordance):
רצח
râtsach
raw-tsakh’
A primitive root; properly to dash in pieces, that is, kill (a human being), especially to murder: – put to death, kill, (man-) slay (-er), murder (-er).
It is clear to me that this is talking about not murdering, instead of killing (ie war, or accidentaly).
not at all. remember…god had his people make burnt sacrifices?
well, if it does, we’re all going to hell, unless you were a vegan or vegetarian from birth.
doesn’t apply to animals, but some of the others covered why…. according to the verses of us having to sacrifice them & talks about what we were allowed it eat during old testaments times. In the new testament all of that changes. Animals are protein for our diet.
I watched a really interesting show over the underground below jerusalem & isreals streets. Where they found the scrolls hidden in a cave. That was a fun show to watch!! And it might air again.
I think that if it did, then there wouldn’t be chapters of books of the old testament devoted to proper meat care, and telling people which meat is ok. And don’t anybody out there think that what I, as a hunter, is any different than what you do when you pick up a steak or a cheeseburger.
“It is no good quoting ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ There are two Greek words: the ordinary word to
kill
and the word to
murder
. And when Christ quotes that commandment He uses the
murder
one in all three accounts, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. …All killing is not murder any more than all sexual intercourse is adultery.” – C. S. Lewis
Mere Christianity
I didn’t know there were that many people here that could produce their own food through photosynthesis. I’m impressed.
No, God meant it to apply to humans. In other parts of the bible, there are reasons given for killing other humans, and even talks about places of sanctuary where a person who kills another by accident could go to escape from being attacked by family of the person they killed. I believe that in some cases a person should be killed.
I think it means don’t kill out of malice.
Killing animals for fun? Not o.k. in the big guy’s eyes. Kill it to eat it.
I also think he also doesn’t mind if you kill out of self defense. Try to avoid it at all cost but if that’s the last thing you can do, then he’s not going to hold it against you so long as you didn’t enjoy it.
i do not think so….mainly because, the ten commandments were invented, (thats right, invented, by people) for people. if animals were included in the audience of the ten commandments, perhaps they would be included in the protection. What do you think?
I was told by someone who actually can read Hebrew, that a better translation would have been, “Thou shalt not murder” and that the word used specifically refers to the unjustified taking of the life of another human being.
if we arent meant to kill animals & eat their meat; why do our bodies need the vitamins/proteins/minerals from meat?
x
the commandments apply only to those being who have souls. that would be humans. ONLY humans.
animals dont have souls. if they did, God wouldnt have given us dominion over them (Gen 1:26).
We should start eating people
No. We kill animals to eat. Sure, it’s definiately wrong the way they mistreat animals, but if I’m eating some chicken I bought from the store, it’s not the same as if I went out and murdered someone.
If I beat an animal or go hunting, that’s probably a different story.
no, because just a little later, the Bible describes how to sacrifice the lambs and such. Biblically, God created animals to be nourishment and companionship, not really beings with a soul.
but thats not my personal feeling. although i’m not a veggie. or vegan.
no, i don’t think so..
No, according to my brother who is a very loyal Christian God die for the people not the animals.