Yes, a shepard should lead his flock by example. I'm sure you've never heard of him, but St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the greatest theologians ever (especially post Christ theologians) said in his confessions "But how can people call upon someone in whom they do not believe? And how can they believe without a preacher?" This is also Romans 10:14. So bust out your RebelKev Bible and look it up. Augustine is saying that in order to believe in God, there must be someone who preaches to you, and leads by example. Much like the Pope does for Catholics, there must be someone who plays the role of Christ; who is the mediator between God and man. The Pope, a very pious person, is a teacher and shepard to his sheep just like the 12 disciples were sheep of Jesus.
God would be very proud of Stanley Hauerwas (the man in question). Please bust out your warhawk Bible and find me incontrovertible evidence that using societal profanity is a sin. It isn't. Cursing in the Bible or any other religious document is solely taking the Lord's name in vain. Any other "curse", like ******, ****, ******, slut etc... is strictly a societal curse.
I'm confident that the Lord is more proud of either myself, or Dr. Hauerwas than you. Ever think about your insistence on taking life that God created? As St. Augustine further states in his confessions, "No, my God, I would not exist, I would not be at all, were you not in me. Or should I say, rather, that I should not exist if I were not in you, from whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are all things?" So, because we exist, God is in us. We are Godly creatures, created in his own divine image. Therefore, would it not be hating God to hate another person, especially enough to kill him/her? To sum it up in one line: To kill another person is to hate God.
Your good friend Dr. Hauerwas wrote in his book "The Truth About God", about each commandment in each chapter. When it came to "Thou shalt not murder" there wasn't too much fudgery. How much can you fudge around with "THOU SHALT NOT MURDER". John LeNoue, with his wife Kaywin, born-again Christians, explaining why they own handguns, said "In the commandments, the actual Hebrew is not, "Thou shalt not kill." It is in fact, "Thou shalt not murder." So this is self-defense." In reality, the Hebrew verb "to kill" does mean murder in certain contexts (1 Kings 21:19), but it can also refer to unintentional killing (Deuteronomy 4:41-42), as well as to execution of a duly convicted killer (Numbers 35:30). "Thou shalt not murder" is a sweeping, broad statement which is terse, simple and to the point. God does not say "Thou shalt not murder; only in certain circumstances", He says "THOU SHALT NOT MURDER."
I eagerly await your eloquent response.
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