There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (KJV)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (NIV)
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (NASB)
If we want to avoid sin, God will always make a way for us to do so. Hungry people do not need to steal food. Cold people do not need to steal clothing. Lonely people do not need to have sex with another person's wife. Poor people do not need to covet another person's possessions. Fearful people do not need to bomb apartment buildings or torture their prisoners. Oppressed people do not need to murder innocent civilians.
God will always make a way for our legitimate needs to be met without causing us to sin. Count on it! Sin is always avoidable. It is never necessary for any of us to sin against other people or against God. If we keep on looking, trusting God to give us what we need, He will always provide us with an acceptable way to accomplish any good purpose.
THE TICKING BOMB
"Yes," you may say. "But what about the Ticking Bomb scenario, where a nuclear bomb has been planted, set to go off in an hour. You have captured a prisoner who knows where the bomb is located. If you don't torture the prisoner, to make him tell you where the bomb is located, a million innocent people will surely die."
This is the kind of situation most frequently given by those who feel it is necessary to use torture to extract information. "Isn't it better to torture or kill one person than to allow a million other people to die?"
In reply, let me point out that people being tortured will tell you anything they think will stop the pain, whether it is true or not. During the Satanic period of medieval Christianity -- when they had the Inquisitions and the Crusades -- Christian priests would routinely torture suspected witches in order to extract "information" about other witches. As it turned out, most of this information was completely wrong, because the tortured prisoners would simply start naming innocent people in order to stop the pain. And thousands of non-witches were burned at the stake as a result. For details see http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=inquisition&btng=google+search
Similarly, in the Ticking Bomb scenario, the tortured prisoner could very well give false information, just to stop the pain: "The bomb is in the big green barn in the next town." You go running off to the big green barn to disarm the bomb, but it's not there! Meanwhile, at the true location of the bomb, it goes off as planned, killing the million people. Your torture has gained you nothing.
And so it is in our present situation. Our badly-advised President truly believes we need to torture our prisoners to extract needed information to protect innocent Americans. (Disregard the obvious lie that "what we are doing is not torture." Of course it's torture. Are you blind?)
But he is wrong. And it is the moral obligation of every Christian to oppose him in this sinful, needless pursuit.
When Judgment Day comes for you, and the Lord asks you, "Why did you let them torture the prisoners?" - what are you going to tell Him, "The President said we needed to do it?" I hope not.
Blessings to you. May God help us all.
Html page is located at
http://www.loveallpeople.org/tortureofprisonersisanobvioussin.html
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