atheism and children

[Catholic_Lady]

I just  think saying "you can kill someone who might kill you" sounds very different from saying you have the right to exert only as much force as is necessary to stop someone who is trying to kill you. The former is not how I would describe my views on this, as it sounds much more liberal and merciless than the latter.

Whether it is more or less "merciless" than how you would phrase it, the meaning is exactly the same.  Whether you couch the phrase in the language of "use only enough force" or not, you're effectively say that if someone's actions against you would result in your death, you have the right to kill them if that's what it takes to save your own life.  It's exactly the same difference between saying "We are pursuing tactical air strikes against enemy combatants" and "Let's bomb them fuckers back to the stone age."  You may not like it, but the meaning of these phrases is the same.

Eh, I don't think it's specific enough to just say "it's ok to kill someone who might kill you." It sounds way more open than what I actually believe, and can definitely be a different meaning. It can mean you can just go to someone's house and murder them in their sleep if you feel threatened by them. And that's not in line with what I believe. Sounds like it's just a matter of semantics though, so as long as you fully understand what I mean, that's fine. It sounds like you do.