THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD.
'Thou Shalt not kill.'
1. What sins does the Fifth Commandment forbid?
The Fifth Commandant forbids all sins by which we may injure our neighbor or ourselves, whether as to the life of the body or of the soul.
2. When do we injure our neighbor as to the life of his body?
1. When we kill, strike, or wound him in an unjust manner; and 2. When, by vexation or harsh treatment, we embitter and shorten his life.
3. What sin does he commit who deliberately kills his neighbor in an unjust manner?
He commits the heinous sin of murder that cries to Heaven for vengeance; for 1. He wantonly invades the rights of God; 2. He undermines the safety of human society; and 3. He plunges his neighbor into the greatest temporal, and often into eternal, ruin.
The deliberate destruction of infant life before birth, even in its earliest stages, as is sometimes done by surgeons, physicians, nurses, and others is nothing less than wilful murder.
'Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed; for man was made to the image of God' (Gen. ix. 6). How murder is punished, even in this life, by tormenting remorse, and often by an ignominious death, we learn from the examples of Cain (Gen. iv. 16), of Ahab and Jezabel (3 Kings xxi. xxii., and 4 Kings ix.).
4. Is it ever lawful to destroy human life?
Yes, it is lawful, 1. For the supreme authority to do so in the execution of criminals (Rom. xiii. 4); and 2. For others, in defence of their country, or, when necessary, in protecting life from unjust attack.
5. Is it also lawful to send a man a challenge, or to accept his, to a duel in defence of our honor?
No; for such a duel in any case, even if it be not for
