NECESSITY of killing?

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 141951

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_svirn" <a_svirn at y...> wrote

a_svirn:
> Well, if it comes to that I believe there is no such thing as 
> killing for the Greater Good sake from the truly Christian point of 
> view, is there? Christ said in no uncertain terms that, "Whosoever 
> therefore shall break one of these least Commandments, and shall 
> teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of 
> heaven". Of course, there is and always has been a certain  
> disparity between the Christians'  Moral Absolutes and their 
> everyday life but that's again the difference between the morality  
> and necessity.

Geoff:
You are quite correct in highlighting that comment of Jesus. In the 
modern New International Version (NIV) which I use, the quote is 
translated as "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these 
commandments  and teaches others to do the same will be called least 
in the kingdom of heaven". (Matthew 5:19a)

Just after this comment, Jesus goes on in the Sermon on the 
Mount "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago `Do not 
murder' and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment". (Matthew 
5:21 NIV)

Interestingly, the version I am actually have in front of me while I 
write this has footnotes and it makes the following comment about the 
word translated above as `murder': 
"Several Hebrew and Greek verbs mean `kill'. The ones used here and 
in Exodus 20:13 specifically mean `murder'". 

Exodus 20:13 is part of the list of the Ten Commandments and says (in 
modern versions), `You shall not murder'.

So we have in actuality come full circle to the question of murder 
versus accidental killing/killing in battle which has occupied some 
of our minds recently. That of Harry successfully dealing with 
Voldemort in the next book and whether that will classify as murder 
and split his soul.

On the question of the greater good, taking the Nazi example, would 
it have been better for Von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators to 
have killed Hitler in 1944 which would possibly have saved thousands 
of lives or shrugged their shoulders and said "Well, its up to God"? 
God works through human agents and, in a situation like this I feel 
that it would be incumbent upon us to try to stop the murder, injury, 
torture and terror dealt out to innocent people at the whim of this 
megalomaniac not out of hate or anger but because it needs to be 
stopped even if that includes killing.

And so it is in the wizarding world with Voldemort. 

a_svirn:
> As for Draco looking for the biggest bully, why should he? He is  
> not in the least like Wormtail. 

Geoff:
I believe he is in some ways. Wormtail is the sort of character whom 
you sometimes meet tagging along on the coat-tails of someone more 
powerful because he gets a vicarious thrill and feeling of being with 
the top dogs although, in reality he is just small beer in the game. 

In Hogwarts, Draco is the king of Slytherin. He has had it drummed 
into him from early years that he is a Malfoy, he is privileged and 
he is expected to achieve great things. He is fawned on by his 
cronies, he enjoys trying to rile those he doesn't like and he is 
smarmy to teachers he likes. But he is looking to be with the biggest 
bully currently on the playground - Voldemort. He wants to be a Death 
Eater and thinks that that will be a passport to a life of pleasure 
and ease.

By the end of HBP, tiny cracks are appearing in the façade and he is 
possibly beginning to see that life will not always be a bed of roses 
if he continues the way he has begun. Remember that I write this, by 
the way, as one of the opinion that Draco /could/ be redeemed.