David Engelhardt

“love how magnificent and tragic our faith is. I am compelled to release the vilest sinner, but if you do not forgive your brother then your Father in heaven will not forgive you. And even further, the Christian is not called just to forgive the deviant or murderer but to love him. Forgiveness is so large it's scary, but there is a paradox. We are called to hate sin so much that we cast those in sin out of our midst, 1 Corinthians 5, that when our own members walk in rebellion we call them witches’ 1 Samuel 15, or fools (Luke 24:25), and even if angels start turning others away from Christ we damn them to hell, (Galatians 1). This is not a faith full of weak edges, pulling punches. It is provocatively violent in mercy and in justice.”
― David Engelhardt, Good Kills: God, Good, and The Sword

“For Christians, this is clearly established in biblical law. Exodus 21:12, “He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” On the other hand, if you steal, you don’t get put to death. Exodus 22:1, “If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.” The same is true for our nation as it derived the basis of our laws from scripture. So, stealing is a lesser penalty than killing someone. In North Korea, on the other hand, stealing food is a capital crime. Most westerners believe that it is insane to execute a man for stealing food, but that belief is found rooted in a biblical hierarchy of moral value.[77]”
― David Engelhardt, Good Kills: God, Good, and The Sword