Jerry,

>snip<

>
>Excellent summary of 1st century culture!
>
>In the Gospels Jesus told Peter, "Put up again thy sword into its place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." In in Paul's writings he told the Corinthians that, paraphrasing, "the powers that be are ordained by God and they do not bear the sword in vain", refering to the roll of Govenment to enforce the laws and protect its citizens. On one hand Jesus is saying that individuals, acting on their own volition, should not resort to violence to solve their problems. On the other hand, a person my be an 'ordained' officer of the law with the power to exercise captital punishment. A breakdown in behavior in either mode (civilians taking the law into their own hands, or govenrment failing to protect its citizens) would spell the end of civil society. Revenge following revenge has become a way of life in several countries. It is also interesting to locate a Quran browser on the internet and search for the verses that contain the word 'fight', then compare them
>with a similar search in the New Testament.

I agree.

Interesting in that capital punishment was given to governments but there was the right of revenge. There were 48 cities of refuge provided for in the Jewish law given by Moses. So, you have both the establishment of government and the protection in cases of manslaughter or accidental killings.