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Old 10-29-2003, 11:35 AM   #97
Arwen1858
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Gondor
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Silmaril

Quote:
quote:
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Would it really be any different than having said killer executed?
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Yes.

Murder is very, very different than executing a person convicted via due process.

Many would say that Frodo would have been justified in killing Gollum. But he chose to show mercy, and Tolkien's oint is that the mercy of Frodo towards Gollum actually saved the world on Mount Doom.
I definitely agree with this. I was just posing some questions I had thought of to see the responses they would bring, and toget people to think about them, too. Frodo's mercy is one of my favorite aspects of the book. If Frodo hadn't shown mercy on Gollum, thering wouldn't have been destroyed when they got to Mount Doom.

I guess what I'm trying to get at here is this: If we don't know from our conscience most things that are right and wrong, or don't follow God and try to do what's right to please Him, or behave morally for some other religious belief, why do some of us try to behave morally? What's the point and the reason behind it? To benefit all of society? But why do that? Why not just benefit yourself? I'm pretty much trying to play the devil's advocate here to find out how y'all would answer these questions.
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