Scripture as metaphor part two
Do not do murder? I can almost hear the laughter regarding some of the points I made, after all, what does harvesting a potato have to do with murder? Isn't murder reserved for the killing of humans?

Maybe.

I'd prefer to limit murder to the deliberate killing of a sentient being other than for reasons of self defense.

OK.

Isn't Homo Sapiens Sapiens the only sentient being we know about?

Maybe.

Sentience is most commonly understood as the ability to feel or perceive subjectively. We know animals can do this. Bears have been observed taking note of an especially beautiful sunset, etc.

We don't know if plants can do this.

Yeshua ben Yusef (Jesus of Nazareth) was an excellent teacher of Torah, and taught to build a fence around Torah. I can almost hear him say:

"Amen I say to you, you have heard it said, 'Do not perform murder,' yet I say if you think about killing your neighbor, you have committed murder."

That fits well with his teachings.

In fact, it is recorded in Matthew that he said:

"You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, You shall not kill(Jerusalem translation - and I have no idea how accurate); and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer for it before the court; anyone who calls a brother "Fool" will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and anyone who calls him "Traitor" will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. In truth I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny."

So, if we're to avoid murder, we must avoid even thinking of it, we must avoid anger. By avoiding the taking of life of animals, we build a better fence around this important commandment. By the avoiding the deliberate taking of life, we build an even better fence.

Yet we must eat, and Torah commanded the consumption of certain foods at certain times, and Yeshua did not abstain from eating the flesh of animals. There are guidelines within Torah on how to slaughter an animal. They turn out to be very humane when followed.

Yeshua commanded us to consume him. Not literally, but metaphorically. And he let himself be killed.

It is not death we're avoiding, nor killing, it is murder, which involves intent and motive - things only God can see/understand.

So, when we kill an animal the way the Torah instructs, and if we kill an animal to sustain us or protect us, then we do not commit murder. We must not kill an animal out of anger. I would argue that perhaps we should also not kill a plant out of anger - and worry about weeding.

If we kill a plant or animal for sport, out of anger, or for other reasons that have nothing to do with our need for food/protection, that may or may not be murder.

I am not God, I am not wise, and those who are wise differ greatly on these issues.

There is one other fence we should wisely build:

In his epistle, St. John wrote: "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you are well aware that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him."

We must certainly avoid hate. Ironically, hate seems reserved for our fellow humans. I have yet to know of anyone who hates plants or animals, though I've known those who treat animals cruelly.

And we certainly should not go to Eucharist when our brothers have anything against us.