I've received some questions and requests for clarification on mylast entry regarding the Biblical stance on the taking of human life.  I'll try to set things out a little more systematically here.  I tried to do this yesterday, but my blog hosting provider was having some sort of issue and I couldn't log in.

Baseline Premises:  There is a God, and that God is the creator of all things living and non-living.  As such, only God has the right to dictate the rules within which existence occurs.  This God is personal, knowable, and has revealed some critical things about Himself and about how we were designed to live.  Following these guidelines results in better lives for everyone, whether they acknowledge this God or not.  Failure to follow these guidelines results in worse lives for everyone, regardless of whether or not they acknowledge this God.  The guidelines are summarized in the Ten Commandments, but are clarified at times throughout the Biblical witness, which we accept as God's inspired, revealed Word.   

Since God is the author of all life, God has reserved to Himself the means of both granting and taking all life.  The fact that He created life in the first place is a demonstration that life is inherently good - always (Genesis 1:26-31).  God has provided guidelines to all creation regarding the taking of life (Genesis 9:1-7).  Here we see the basis laid for the protection of human life via the threat of execution.  Human life is of the utmost value and importance, and those who violate this premise are subject to the greatest punishment possible - the forfeit of their own life. 

I'm only dealing with the issue of one human being taking the life of another human being in this article.  I think that the Genesis 9 passage makes it very clear that it is acceptable for humans to take the lives of animals for food.  The issue of how and why this is done is well beyond my goals here!

There are many reasons that one person can take another person's life.  It might be a complete accident.  It might accidentally happen in the course of a conflict.  It might occur during warfare.  It might occur because a legal entity has dictated that someone die as punishment for a crime they have committed.  Broadly, life is taken either intentionally or accidentally, by either an individual or by some form of recognized authority.  These are the four parameters we need to examine.  Intentional taking of life by either an individual or a recognized authority, and the accidental taking of life by either an individual or a recognized authority.

Let's look at the situation of an individual taking another individual's life first.  Either this is done intentionally or it is done accidentally.   The Bible bears witness to the Genesis 9 passage regarding the sanctity of human life, and the seriousness which the taking of a human life must be treated.  But the Bible makes it clear that God understands the nature of our existence, and that there is a difference between an individual intending to take another life and it happening accidentally. 

It is forbidden for one individual to intentionally plan and carry out the taking of another individual's life.  This is called murder.  The Bible forbids this explicitly in the Ten Commandments - Exodus 20:13.  One individual does not have the right to arbitrarily, intentionally  take the life of another individual.  Notice that Numbers 35:16-21 provides the death penalty for someone who uses a weapon that is capable of killing, even if killing might not have been the true intent.  If we act in a manner that could kill someone, we are liable for their death even if we hadn't explicitly intended that they die as a result of our actions.

If someone is killed accidentally by an individual, the Bible recognizes this as fundamentally different than intentional, premeditated murder.  Accidents happen.  Sometimes those accidents are complete and total accidents - Numbers 35:22-25 clearly understands this.  This same passage also recognizes that we have to be very careful to avoid these situations  if at all possible.    The Bible implements steps in ancient Israel to protect those who kill accidentally from being killed in return.

Which brings us to an interesting issue.  Numbers 35:19 indicates that someone guilty of murder will be executed - by the "avenger of blood" (NIV).  In ancient cultures, it was acknowledged that if someone were murdered, someone from the deceased's clan would be given the responsibility for avenging the death by killing the murderer.   So the Bible recognizes this, and in recognizing it, does two things.  First of all, it legitimizes this as a means for carrying out capital punishment.  If Genesis 9:1-7 is true, then blood *can* be avenged with blood, and the Bible acknowledges that in this time and place (the people of God in the theocracy of Israel), one legitimate form of this was by a blood avenger.

However there is a process implicit in this.  It is not just an arbitrary action by the blood avenger.  Numbers 35:30 indicates that someone accused of murder must be judged to be guilty of this crime, as the crime of murder, by multiple witnesses.  Once someone has been determined guilty of murder on the basis of multiple witnesses, the penalty is death, and the designated blood avenger is the one who carries out the sentence.  Numbers 35:21 implies that if the guilty party fleas, the blood avenger has the authority to pursue them to carry out judgment. 

Numbers 35:30 provides a legal framework by which one person can be authorized to kill another person.  This is roughly the equivalent of our modern capital punishment, except that we carry out the execution within the penal system, rather than allowing an individual to do it. 

In summary, someone convicted of murdering someone else is guilty of breaking the law and is subject to punishment by death.  An individual who accidentally kills someone and is declared to be innocent of premeditated murder is to be protected.  If the blood avenger chooses to ignore the judgment and still seeks the person's life, that person is entitled to protection in one of the cities of refuge.

There are other situations where someone takes the life of another person, but these happen within the framework of a larger societal dictate.  In other words, when we execute a convicted criminal, someone is responsible for carrying out that execution.  Someone flips the switch to start the flow of lethal drugs, or throws the lever that electrocutes the person, or activates the mechanism by which lethal gas fills a chamber.  In other times, someone pulled a trigger, or pulled the lever to drop the person in the hangman's noose. 

In each of these examples, an individual is technically responsible for the death of the convicted criminal.  However, that person is not acting arbitrarily.  That person is acting at the bequest of society as a whole.  They are enforcing the decisions of the judicial & criminal systems, and therefore are not held accountable for the blood of the one(s) they kill.  Just like the blood avenger would not be considered a murderer once they had killed the person convicted of murder. 

The Bible clearly allows for capital punishment.  Some would say that Genesis 9 demands capital punishment for the crime of murder.  I'm not sure if I interpret Genesis 9 to be prescriptive (this is what you must do), or descriptive  (this is how things end up working).  I think that in discussions of capital punishment and our attitude towards it, we ought to take seriously (as Christians) the Biblical stress on the value and dignity of human life.  Execution is a solemn affair, a tragic affair.  I would strongly suggest that to treat it simply as a form of revenge or closure would be moving dangerously into the arena of Matthew 5:20-22.  We need to be aware of the state of our heart as we carry out this heavy punishment.  As Christians we are called always to pray for our enemies, even those convicted of heinous crimes.  We pray not necessarily that they not be punished appropriately, but  that through such punishment and even prior to it, their eyes might be opened to the truth of Jesus Christ, and that even if they are executed, they might like the thief on the cross (Luke 23:39-43) enter into paradise through the grace of God - just as you and I will enter into paradise by the grace of God.

Another situation where one person takes the life of another person is war.  Again, that one person is not acting arbitrarily, but under the command of their government.  There has been much debate on this issue in Christian circles - is it permitted for a Christian to serve in the armed forces of a government, and therefore be required to kill at the direction of their government?  The earliest Christians struggled with this question, and the struggle continues today.

By and large, Christians have followed the reasoning of St. Augustine, who wrote that it was permissible for Christians to serve in the armed forces, and therefore kill other people, in the pursuit of a just war.  Catholics have enlarged upon Augustine's brief treatment of this subject, developing a theology of warfare, of a sorts.  Other denominations of Christianity have rejected military service as antithetical to Christian teachings.  Clearly this is an issue which Christians can and should grapple today.  Romans 13 is seen as a justification for service in the military, and things like the Selective Service could probably be justified for Christians by Matthew 22:21. 

Some would note that the Israelites were called to engage in warfare by God to conquer the Promised Land.  But we need to be careful about justifying our actions by referring to the way God asked His people to conduct themselves in the theocracy of ancient Israel - a socio-political & theological entity that effectively ended in 70AD when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and scattered the Jews throughout the Roman empire.  Just as we don't insist that we must follow the dietary rules of the Israelite theocracy, or the dress codes, or other specifics of this entity, so we don't want to jump too quickly to the conclusion that if they were allowed to engage in warfare, a Christian is allowed to engage in warfare. 

Whew.  Big topic.  Undoubtedly many things that I might have overlooked or not considered, so I'll trust to my faithful readers to help flesh out where I've been less than clear, or less than faithful!