Is torturing prisoners Biblical?

[npetreley]

The problem with that is that Americans ARE the lawmakers of our land. That is what our votes do. We DO get to decide what the law will be.

Welllllllll.....sort of. The system is so messed up it's hard to know where to start when countering this point.

We have the Supreme Court redefining (instead of interpreting) the Constitution, and legislating from the bench in spite of the fact that it isn't their job to do so. And we can't vote out the Supreme Court Justices. We can vote for a president who MIGHT appoint better judges, but, c'mon, is that even the least bit dependable? The Judges play games with retirement so that the right president will be in office, so they can get their liberal/conservative friends in the court. Even then, the approval process is so politicized... well, you get the idea.

Then there are TONS of laws that do not reflect what the majority of the people want. Our lawmakers are constantly pleasing campaign contributors and themselves rather than their constituents.

And what can we do if we're unhappy with what the government is doing? Not a whole lot. This isn't a democracy. It's a constitutional republic. If it was a democracy (and depending on the practices adopted in the democracy), we might be able to get a vote of no confidence called, after which we'd trade our current lawmakers for new ones. Right now, we have to wait until a term is up, or wait for someone to commit a crime, get caught, get tried (impeached), get convicted, to get them out of office. And that doesn't always work, anyway (Clinton, anyone?). The whole process is so cumbersome few people even want to deal with it.

Anyway, it isn't as simple as "we get to decide". We get to vote and then we usually tolerate the jerks in office until the next time we get to vote, after which we tolerate...etc.

 

[menageriekeeper]

Npet, did you just have to go and make things so complicated?! :BangHead:

:laugh:

Anyhow, I have found that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Right now, torture is in the public eye, especially the part about Mulrooney (Mulhaney?) not wanting to define waterboarding as torture as part of his hearings to become AG. So get busy and call your senators and representatives and let 'em know how you feel. At least in my part of the country their numbers are in the phone book. If you do it just right, you can even get an appointment to into the office and speak to them.

I gotta tell you, not enough normal working folk do this and the legislators listen a lot more than you would think.

Oh and then go vote for Saggy Woman for President in '08 down in the polls forum!

 

[canadyjd]

God permits governments to do all sorts of thing He doesn't permit individual Christians to do.

Yes, and Christians are not obligated to support anything that contradicts the teachings of Christ.

If the government can find a man willing to torture an enemy into revealing where Osama is hiding (killed way more dogs than my innocent neighbor) I doubt God is going to care anymore now than he did when they cut off thumbs and toes back in the OT.

He isn't going to care less, either.

We believe it is barbaric to order the deaths of women and children, yet God ordered on more than one occasion.

Only God has the absolute holiness and righteousness and judgment to allow such things.

A great many subjects aren't dealt with in depth with in scripture. Torture is one of them.

Torture is dealt with, at least indirectly, because it contradicts the teachings of Jesus Christ concerning love, mercy, forgivness, etc.

As far as this government's excuse that they are saving lives by torturing so called enemy combatants, my belief is that there are certain things worth dying for. Holding ourselves, as a country, to a higher standard than the Islamic barbarians my just be one of those reasons.

I agree, but would add that holding ourselves, as Christians, to a higher standard is more important.

peace to youraying: