As far as I can tell, they're NOT behaving like "godless pacifists." They're behaving like God-fearing pacifists. (Some folks take "Thou shalt not kill" literally.)The Commandment is, "Thou Shalt Not Murder". Bad Translations do not Good Theology make.
Defense of Family is not Murder, it is Duty.
OrthodoxPresbyterian writes, "The Commandment is, 'Thou Shalt Not Murder'. Bad Translations do not Good Theology make."
If the translation was "bad," it was by someone who probably knew a
h@lluva lot more about ancient Hebrew than you do. (Since the translation, "Thou shalt not kill" apparently first came about circa 420 AD.)
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/001102_ThouShaltNotMurder.html
From that website:
"Viewed from this perspective, we may appreciate that the translation 'thou shalt not kill' was not the result of simple ignorance on the side of Jerome or the King James English translators. Rather, it reflects their legitimate determination to reflect accurately the broader range of meanings of the Hebrew root."
"As usual, careful study teaches us that what initially appeared ridiculously obvious is really much more complex than it seemed at first glance. We should be very cautious before passing hasty judgement on apparent bloopers."
OrthodoxPresbyterian also writes: "Defense of Family is not Murder, it is Duty."
Yes, and if and when Quakers ever have the opportunity to fight for "defense of family," we'll see what they do. (Please don't insult post readers' intelligences, by claiming Korea, Vietam, the Gulf War, Kosovo, etc., were wars involving "defense of family"...unless you mean Korean, Vietnamese, Kuwaiti, and Kosovar families.)