Thou Shalt Not Kill

We all learned the Ten Commandments when we were children.  We can find them in our catechism, our moral theology manuals, and of course, in the Scriptural Book of Exodus.  They were written by none other than God himself, miraculously engraved upon two tablets of stone and presented to Moses.  The first tablet contains the first three of the commandments, those pertaining to our relationship with God.  The other seven on the second tablet deal with our behaviour towards our neighbor.

The Fifth Commandment, forbidding us from killing our neighbor, is a fundamental law of God and of nature, and a universally recognized moral law.  However, many people do not understand what it means.  The original language of the Jewish people was Hebrew, and it is in this language that the commandments were written.  However, if we compare our English translation, “Thou shalt not kill,” with the original Hebrew, we see that the word “kill” is not quite adequate.  The words given to Moses were Loh Teertzach, which is literally translated as “Do not murder”, do not maliciously kill another with premeditation.  Our generally accepted translation of “Thou shalt not kill” is therefore too broad, with no distinction made for killing by the state as an act of justice, or for killing in self-defence or in war.

The woke modernists take full advantage of this poor translation by condemning capital punishment.  However, the fact is that the Church has always taught the right of the state to exact the supreme punishment as a deterrent and proportionate punishment for extremely serious crimes such as murder and treason.  Ironically, they also see fit to completely ignore the commandment when it comes to the murder of the unborn, a crime that was historically regarded by the Church as one of the most serious forms of murder, punishable by excommunication.

Yesterday’s March for Life in Washington continues the laudable opposition to the practice and legality of abortion in this country.  Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, we have not unfortunately seen the end of this practice.  The decision to return to the individual states the right to make laws on abortion within its own territory may have been a step in the right direction, but unfortunately there are far too many states which refuse to outlaw the practice once and for all.  We should not forget in our prayers those poor lost souls who suffer most from being deprived of life, and more importantly, salvation, by the savage and inhumane crime of abortion, and continue our fight to uphold the Fifth Commandment in our land.  The deliberate murder of an unborn child is most certainly the malicious killing with premeditation and against the law of God.  Loh Teertzach!