Thou Shalt Not Kill

Thou shalt not kill. It's one of the ten commandments given to Moses. It's found in The Bible at Exodus 20, verse 13 and in Deuteronomy 5, verse 17.


When Mennonites read this, our interpretation is this: thou shalt not kill, even when your government orders you to kill in one of its wars.


Not every Christian reads and understands this commandment this way. Catholics think killing in war is acceptable if they consider the war to be “just.” Evangelicals believe that killing in war is acceptable if you're killing for the glory of Christian America. Mennonites do not.


If a young man joins the U.S. Military, his commanders will give him a weapon and a target. He will be told that his target is a terrorist, communist, or enemy of freedom. The United States will order the soldier to kill his target. And to kill everyone around her, too; they will just be “collateral damage.”


After he kills her (and those near her) the families and communities of the dead will reveal that none of them were terrorists, communists, or enemies of freedom. They were just innocent villagers. The United States Military lied to the soldier. The real reason the killing was ordered was to assert American power in her village.


This is what the U.S. Military did in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. It's what the European powers were doing 500 years ago. It's what Russia is doing in Ukraine today.


Mennonites read “thou shalt not kill,” and come to the conclusion that becoming this soldier is immoral.

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