Why Did Elijah Kill?

[Moneybags]

I had a question from someone who is very unfamiliar with religion.

[quote]Why did Elijah slit the throats of the prophets of Baal when [the third commandment states,]"You shall not kill"?[/quote]

What is the Catholic answer to this question?

[Moneybags]

Any ideas?

[cmotherofpirl]

Its actually "thou shall not murder" but we translate it badly. The prophets of Baal were idol worshippers trying to lead the people away from the worship of the One True God. THey were evil. Many times in the OT it says to destroy anything to do with idol worship.

Deut 29: 18: Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations; lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit,

19: one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, `I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.' This would lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.

20: The LORD would not pardon him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy would smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book would settle upon him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven.


and psalm 106
34: They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them,

35: but they mingled with the nations and learned to do as they did.

36: They served their idols, which became a snare to them.

37: They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;

38: they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood.

39: Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the harlot in their doings.

40: Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;

41: he gave them into the hand of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42: Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43: Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low through their iniquity.

44: Nevertheless he regarded their distress, when he heard their cry.

45: He remembered for their sake his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

46: He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive.

47: Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to thy holy name and glory in thy praise.

48: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD!

[Guest JeffCR07]

This follows along the same lines as the questions about "how could God tell the Israelites to kill all the people who occupied the land when they got there?"

The fact is, murder, as Cmom said, is what the third commandment prohibits. Now God has a right to end any human being's life whensoever he sees fit, and he has a right to do so by whatever means he desires. Thus, in these cases, God used the nation of Israel, or the prophet Elijah, in order to effect his Divine Will. Such cases would not constitute murder, because God always has a right to begin or end life.

Your Brother In Christ,

Jeff

[Groo the Wanderer]

Another point on this:

Israel had always been kinda wishy-washy about their level of devotion to God in the OT days. It seems everytime they had weak leadership, they reverted to pagan/polytheistic ways. As a result, methinks, God knew they could not be trusted to intermingle with those elements, lest they be so easily led astray.

Twas better to remove those corrupting influences than to trust the Israelites to stay faithful. Think of it as avoiding temptation or the near occasion of sin.


Nowadays, we are much stronger in faith. Mingling with the diverse faiths (and lack thereof) at work does not make me question the Holy Trinity nor want to build an alter to 'o holy twig'. So, it is not necessary for me to kill the blasphemers at work. Instead, I try to use my life to bring them into the light.