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War and Torture: Not Biblical???

Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by righteousdude2, Nov 4, 2007.

  1. righteousdude2

    righteousdude2 Well-Known Member
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    What Will You Do Should The Terrorists.....come over here and take us captive; torture us; rape our women and children; and cut off the heads of infidels like killing those menacing summer flies?

    Tell me, where does it say in the Bible that we need to be the doormat to our enemies? True, war is often wrong; war is hell; but, war is necessary when it comes to defending our right to live and worship the way we want to live and worship: IN A FREE SOCIETY.

    Believe me, Abu Grav was wrong, and I don't like torture, but, I hate killing others just as much. But I'm not blind enough to know that todays terrorists may well be a friend or co-worker today, and suicide bomber tomorrow.

    The liberal approach to fighting a war and fighting terrorism will only bring the U.S. to its knees, and once we are there, we will wish we would have said nothing against those who tortured and fought in this war.

    Do some simple research my Liberal friends: Talk to your granddad and see if he didn't see torture being used in WWII. Talk to your dad and uncle and see if they didn't see torture used in Viet Nam.

    Torture is the ugly part of war; the part of past wars that was well hidden from the American public. The media is more plentiful today, and hungry to get a good story before the eyes of the people, and therefore, torture and other atrocities have been well publicized. True, it seems inhumane, but it is all part of the ugly side of killing and defeating our enemy in order to maintain our freedoms.

    A lot has been done to maintain our freedom folks, a lot of things that we would be horrified with had we known what was being done.

    You have the right to believe that torture is bad....that is why men and women are dying, and have died in other wars...to preserve your right. So keep believing what you want, but, please stop trying to bend the Scripture to fit your thoughts.

    Don't forget, God did a lot of things in the OT that was bloody and often without regard for the sanctity of life. He did these things in order to protect His chosen people. So give it up folks....the scripture does not, and can not be used to justify or condemn the act of warfare. After all, God commanded Israel to go to war, and other times, He had the enemy defeat His chosen to teach them a lesson. Often the Israelites were enslaved to the enemy, and this involved torture. Finally, the Bible tells us how bloody the end times will be, and if we don't have a pre-trib rapture, we will suffer if we refuse the mark of the beast. Will the army and people who follow the lead of the Anti-Christ listen with compassion when you condemn this end times torture???????? I think not! But, you may lose your head for your passive thinking.

    Pastor Paul :type:
     
  2. Timsings

    Timsings Member
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    Oh, good! Now we have three threads on torture. I wonder how many more we can start.

    I still can't believe this is going on and on and on. . . . :BangHead:

    Tim Reynolds
     
  3. JustChristian

    JustChristian New Member

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    God did these things to support the nation of Israel, His nchosen people. Since the United States was never declared to be God's chosen people none of this pertains to us. In the political area you can argue that we should invade any country that our leaders want to. That doesn't say that it's supported by the Bible.
     
  4. righteousdude2

    righteousdude2 Well-Known Member
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    No Argument from Me............

    I agree....we are not a chosen nation by any means. That makes us pagan and gentile, and not subject to doing as the Bible teaches. All those who are born-again and are Americans, should of course follow the Word of God to its last jot and tittle.

    With that said, Bush and any other leader [past, present and future] do not have a responsibility to live according to the Word let alone GOVERN by the Word.

    So kill the bad guys and torture them "silly" because this is a war, with several pagan nations leading the way. America is not subject to the Word, but those of us who live here and in every nation around the world will answer to God, but not for what this nation does or does not do.

    If torture is wrong, let's hear a big AMEN! for ending abortion. And partial birth abortions is the most horrific form of legalized torture to come upon mankind.

    If you folks are going to criticize torture, let's not forget the babies that never will be.

    Shalom,

    Pastor Paul
     
  5. pinoybaptist

    pinoybaptist Active Member
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    dude:

    I don't think there is anybody on this board who condones abortion, much more the use of torture.
    But I can certainly understand your point.

    War is war.
    We don't like what happens, we would prefer to be hundreds of miles away from it, and we get depressed if the task of "gathering intelligence" falls on us.
    But we do what we need to do.

    I've had my share of torture, with me as subject.

    Have been hung by the thumbs, with the toes barely touching the floor, and swung, and a hard rubber bat meet me wherever it lands.

    Face have been covered by a face towel, seven-up poured down on it, and then hit in the stomach with a flat board, all in the name of democracy as understood by a dictator.

    Didn't like it. Wouldn't wish the likes of it on anybody, but ......
     
  6. JustChristian

    JustChristian New Member

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    I agree with you in saying that Bush doesn't have the responsibility to govern by the Bible. That being said let's please stop calling him a christian president. He found it advantageous to run as a christian to pick up the christian right vote but that's about as far as it goes. Should the U.S. break international law by torturing its prisioners? I don't believe we should. You can argue for being barbaric if you like. By the way, two wrongs do not make a right.
     
  7. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    Quite frankly if the questioning does not maim or kill the detainee, in my mind, it is not torture.
     
    #7 Palatka51, Nov 8, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 8, 2007
  8. pinoybaptist

    pinoybaptist Active Member
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    Really. What is it, then ?
    I shared my experience during the time of the Philippine dictator.
    What I went thru gave me TB, and caused one of my friends to have severe mental depression. He offed his wife and then himself.

    Not to say I won't use it if I have to, emphasis on have to.

    But a spade is a spade, even if dressed up like a rose.
     
  9. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    I stand by my post. TB could have been contracted before or after your experience and your friend was maimed mentally either by that experience or from other reasons. If you were subjected to TB at that time then you have been maimed and have experienced physical torture and if your friend did leave there demoralized he was mentally maimed and therefore tortured. This being the case I sincerely hope you find peace. May God be with you.
     
  10. Palatka51

    Palatka51 New Member

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    Was that under Marcos?
     
  11. pinoybaptist

    pinoybaptist Active Member
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    Yes.

    And I do have peace. I have forgiven those who hurt me. In fact, one is now my "compadre", which basically means, I am his son's wedding sponsor.

    I bear no ill feelings towards anyone of our torturers, vengeance is the Lord's and all that.

    I do not like torture, but understand that sometimes those in the field may resort to it due to urgency, or stress, or just plain frustration. But as a means of acquiring accurate information, it is absolutely zilch.

    I would have confessed to being the dictator's wife's secret lover if they just whacked me a little harder :laugh: , you know.

    On the other hand, treating the enemy with kid gloves don't do no good,either.

    A proper mix of carrot and stick will work, if you know what I mean, plus some psychology and accurate information relevant to the subject either directly or obliquely which could break down resistance.

    In our case then, they simply wanted us to sign "confessions" so they can release us, say we "escaped", and up the ante on our heads.

    Business.
     
  12. donnA

    donnA Active Member

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    If we are going to torture them, how can we object if they torture us?
    Do you have scripture allowing us, telling us it is ok to torture anyone?
    Where does the bible guarantee us freedom, or even tell us we are to do what ever we deem necessary to obtain or maintain it? We aren't the first to do what is right in our own eyes, and it didn't work out so well for the others either.
     
  13. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    Mentally, verbally, tacitly, or in writing.

    No. Is there any scripture saying we can take prisoners of war-- or any prisoners-- in the first place?

    At no place.

    Then do what? Determine what is "right in our own eyes" and automatically do the opposite?

    You better be careful-- it seems right in your eyes to never torture anyone-- correct? Watch that doing what's right in your own eyes!

    One more question... Do y'all who say a function of our government must not include torture because we have no authorization from God to do it, use that same reasoning for other topics-- such as making it illegal to for a teacher to lead public school students in prayer, fighting a war, and imprisoning thieves and murderers? Wd do not have God's authorization for these things, but do you think it's an acceptable, if not salutary, function of government?
     
  14. Ulsterman

    Ulsterman New Member

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    It seems you do not understand where the principle of the sanctity of life is derived from. Sanctity of life is drawn out of the fact that life is God given, and as such is to be treated with reverence. To accuse God of committing acts without regard for the sanctity of life is to charge Him with sin. The acts of God in the OT have no bearing on the sanctity of life, but rather are a reflection of the Sovereignty of God over nations ans men,, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39).

    I am not certain exactly what you mean by this, but President Bush, like any other world leader rules only with God's permission (Romans 13:1-5). Whilst he is under no obligation to reconstruct OT law in full, he still has a moral obligation to rule righteously and will answer to God for such.

    Regardless of what went on in WW2, Vietnam or any other conflict, torture is wrong. The Christian is to "love his enemy," that doesn't mean he cannot defend himself, but it does mean he accords his enemy respect as a human being.
     
  15. Timsings

    Timsings Member
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    I have read every word on these four threads about torture, and I have been amazed at the mental acrobatics people have gone through to make a claim for torture being legal, appropriate, allowed by God, biblical, you name it. This whole deal has been an exercise in picking and choosing scripture to support a position rather than taking a position based on scripture. This was done to support slavery in the 19th century. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now.

    Ordinarily, the argument is presented that the NT has priority over the OT, but, in the case of torture, the situation has been reversed. Despite the fact that the Israelites tortured some of their enemies, that does not give us the justification to torture ours. Some things are just wrong. The NT scriptural passages that speak against the use of torture have already been cited on all of these threads.

    As for the list of things you have asked about, I infer that you are asking what are the legitimate functions of government, and what is the source of their legitimacy? Governments oversee external relations between entities (e. g., cities, states, countries, etc.) and internal relations among their citizens. On the larger scale, that can sometimes mean war. On the smaller scale, it can mean the incarceration of criminals and the prohibition of certain activities that violate laws and relationships that are defined in our legal documents such as the Constitution. Some of these things have scriptural basis, and some are based on prior experience. Every law does not have to have a scriptural basis.

    And, just so you won't be wondering where I stand, I am opposed to public school teachers leading their students in prayer. That kind of instruction is a matter for parents and churches, not schools.

    Tim Reynolds
     
  16. Timsings

    Timsings Member
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    Well said!

    Tim Reynolds
     
  17. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    There you go. No Biblical basis for torture. So, why are Christians supporting it?

    Non-sequitur. Irrelevant.

    I've linked to a report here about torture from members of the Intelligence Science Board who testified to Congress.

    Here's an op-ed about torture from Charles C. Krulak, former commandant of the Marine Corps, and Joseph P. Hoar, former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command.

    From the linked article from the Intelligence Science Board:

    Quote:
    President Bush has insisted that those secret “enhanced” techniques are crucial, and he is far from alone. The notion that turning up pressure and pain on a prisoner will produce valuable intelligence is a staple of popular culture from the television series “24” to the recent Republican presidential debate, where some candidates tried to outdo one another in vowing to get tough on captured terrorists. ...

    But some of the experts involved in the interrogation review, called “Educing Information,” say that during World War II, German and Japanese prisoners were effectively questioned without coercion.


    “It far outclassed what we’ve done,” said Steven M. Kleinman, a former Air Force interrogator and trainer, who has studied the World War II program of interrogating Germans. ... Mr. Kleinman, who worked as an interrogator in Iraq in 2003, called the post-Sept. 11 efforts “amateurish” by comparison.

    Why are we modeling our interrogation programs after those of the Soviet Union, the "Evil Empire" and poster-child for neverending hostility? These are our models for freedom and security?

    Torture is ineffective, corrosive and a certain path to military defeat. Again I ask, why are Christians supporting torture?
     
  18. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    This is consistent reasoning, ain't it? On one subject-- "Don't do it because we have no biblical basis." On another-- "It's irrelevant whether we have a biblical basis."
     
  19. ccrobinson

    ccrobinson Active Member

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    Are you suggesting that the U.S. shouldn't be taking prisoners of war? That sounds like a different topic and a different thread to me. I don't see the relevance to this discussion, which is what I was trying to point out. If I were more cynical than I am, I would think that you took the path you did because it's easier than actually discussing anything else that I wrote in my post.

    Since this is the only thing you responded to, does that mean that you agree with everything else I wrote?
     
  20. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    Nope.'''''''
     
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