There was an interesting question posed on the latest Law and Order that got my wife and I to discussing. I was curious as to what the response is here.
The generic situation is that of a man (or, if we want to get past the biblical requirement for 2 or 3 witnesses, 3 men) who has (have independently) claimed that he (they) has (have) been told by God that another man must die. The western judicial system is in large part a Godless institution (or is portrayed as such) inasmuch as faith is all but legislated out of acceptance. So when a man claims to have been told by God to do something like kill a man, he is either considered crazy or scheming. The thought rarely crosses the mind that he in fact may be doing what the Lord has instructed.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone or anyone who claims this is right, but in theory is there anything that dictates that this could never be the case? Besides the general inclination of thought that it seems absurd, how would we respond to God telling us to kill someone - much less our own son?
Any thoughts?
The generic situation is that of a man (or, if we want to get past the biblical requirement for 2 or 3 witnesses, 3 men) who has (have independently) claimed that he (they) has (have) been told by God that another man must die. The western judicial system is in large part a Godless institution (or is portrayed as such) inasmuch as faith is all but legislated out of acceptance. So when a man claims to have been told by God to do something like kill a man, he is either considered crazy or scheming. The thought rarely crosses the mind that he in fact may be doing what the Lord has instructed.
Now, I'm not saying that everyone or anyone who claims this is right, but in theory is there anything that dictates that this could never be the case? Besides the general inclination of thought that it seems absurd, how would we respond to God telling us to kill someone - much less our own son?
Any thoughts?