Commandment One

How do you and I decide to kill that man?

How do we decide to spend our money to kill that man?

How do we decide to spend the blood of our youth to kill that man?

How do we decide to kill his duckling?

How do we decide to kill his puppy?

How do we decide to kill his daughter?

How do we decide to kill his daughter's baby?

How did we decide to kill that Korean baby?

How did we decide to kill that Panamanian duck?

How do we decide to kill that Iraqi puppy?

How did we decide to kill that Afghan man?

How did we decide ti kill that Laotian son?

How did we decide to kill the Cambodian wife?

How do we decide to to pay others to kill men in other places?

How do we handle our responsibility as citizens of  this republic?

How do we reconcile our words about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with out decision to kill so much, to kill so many, to kill so often?

Who says that we kill without deciding1

Literate in English

A person in the English-speaking world is not literate without a basic knowledge of the Bible With basic knowledge you understand what is meant when someone describes a contest as being between a David and a Goliath. You know whether a person who has the wisdom of Solomon is wise or foolish You know whether a person saying, "My cup runneth over" means he feels fortunate or unfortunate. Those who cannot understand such allusions find it difficult to participate in literate English or our culture in general. One benefits by understanding something of the Old Testament and the New Testament; by a bit of the Book of Isaiah, by the story of Abraham and Issac, by the parables and sayings of Jesus.

A minimally educated person needs basic knowledge of Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Judaism, as well as Christianity.

In the English speaking world we benefit by knowing a bit about the sos of Abraham, Ishmael, and Issac. Knowing about Adam and Eve, alpha and omega, 'Am I my brother's keeper?' angels, Annunciation, Antichrist, Apocalypse, the Twelve Apostles, Ararat helps. Having some familiarity with Noah's Ark, Armageddon, "Ask and it shall be given you." Tower of Babel, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Jacob and Esau, "Love your enemies." helps too. A good bit more such as Ruth, Apostil Paul, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. doesn't hurt.

More Sense

Wouldn't it make more sense to burn the Saudi flag?

If a bunch of guys from Boise came and burned down my friends' house with my fiends in it, I don't think I'd be prompted to burn the Bible.