? From reading what both Shoghi Effendi and the
House of Justice said regarding active military service it seems clear that
they are saying that we should try our best to avoid combat, but that if we
can't avoid it we must be involved. That would potentially involve murder.
Here is one letter I would refer to:
Killing (as in armed forces) does not equal "murder".
"Main Entry: [1]kill
Pronunciation: 'kil
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, perhaps from (assumed) Old English cyllan; akin to Old English cwellan to kill —more at QUELL
Date: 14th century
transitive senses
1 a : to deprive of life b (1) : to slaughter (as a hog) for food (2) : to convert a food animal into (a kind of meat) by slaughtering
2 a : to put an end to <kill competition> b : DEFEAT, VETO <killed the amendment> c : to mark for omission; also : DELETE
3 a : to destroy the vital or essential quality of <killed the pain with drugs> b : to cause to stop <kill the motor> c : to check the flow of current through
4 : to make a markedly favorable impression on <she killed the audience>
5 : to get through uneventfully <kill time>; also : to get through (the time of a penalty) without being scored on <kill a penalty>
6 a : to cause extreme pain to b : to tire almost to the point of collapse
7 : to hit (a shot) so hard in various games that a return is impossible
8 : to consume (as a drink) totally
intransitive senses
1 : to deprive one of life
2 : to make a markedly favorable impression <was dressed to kill>
synonyms KILL, SLAY, MURDER, ASSASSINATE, DISPATCH, EXECUTE mean to deprive of life. KILL merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner <killed in an accident> <frost killed the plants>. SLAY is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive <slew thousands of the Philistines>. MURDER specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility <convicted of murdering a rival>. ASSASSINATE applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives <terrorists assassinated the Senator>. DISPATCH stresses quickness and directness in putting to death <dispatched the sentry with one bullet>. EXECUTE stresses putting to death as a legal penalty <executed by lethal gas>."
A soldier does not murder, he might have to kill.
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