I told Mr. Zaft I would respond to his questions about my post-modern relativism so here goes.

Seriously, though. How can one claim to accept the teachings of the Bible (for example, the 10 Commandments) if they are situationally interpreted? Is murder wrong for some people but not others?

This is a hard one for me. If you take this commandment literally - thou shall not kill, then what about the following types of people:

1) law enforcement people like police - are they murderers because they sometimes have to kill people in the course of their duty? I for one, am very grateful that the police do exist? But if you interpret the commandment of "Thou shall not kill", then all law enforcement persons are murderers. If the police are considered murderers, what does one call a serial killer or a person who makes a career out of killing?
2) military personnel - you know, the people who defend our country. These pepole must also kill in the line of duty. Are they murderers? I know it's not politically correct to say, where I live, but I happen to appreciate the military and what they do to protect our country. And yes, sometimes to protect our country they have to kill. What about the soldiers who fought in world war 1 and 2? Are they murderers?
3) the founding fathers of our country - those american revolutionaries. There was much blood shed in the creation of the United States of America. Were these people, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude for creating our country, murderers?
4) member of juries or judges who sentence people to die - are these people murderers? True, they did not commit the actual crime, but they decided that a person should die. In intent, juries and judges are as guilty as the person who flips the switch or administers the injection.
5) the jail personnel who administer capital punishment - are they murderers too? They kill people, sometimes it's their job. Are they murderers as well?
6) The president of our country/the congress - he is the commander and chief of the country's military. It is on the president's orders, that the military kills. Or our congress. Congress can declare war, and the last time I checked, war involved murder on a massive scale. We are deciding to go to war with Iraq. Does this mean we shouldn't go because well, we'll be approving the murder of the Iraqi people and whoever else happens to be there at the time the planes are dropping the bombs.
7) Those people in states that have capital punishment? Are they murderers, because well they did approve the murder of people who commit crimes?

Do you see my dilemma? Do you see why sometimes post-modern relativisim is not such a bad thing? Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in "The Scarlett Letter", that when people start a town, the yfirst create two things, a church and a jail. Our whole notion of law and justice is based on punishment and enforcement. For societies to exist, we've had to create a system of law enforcement, so a community of people can live together in relative peace. If we condemn those that punish and enforce, then what happens to society and community?

Personally, I do believe that killing another person is a sin, yet I find it hard to condemn those who would kill to protect others or who would kill because it is part of their job. I have a hard time with capital punishment, because for me, it means we as a community approve of murder. If you can help me with my moral dilemma, please let me know.