Early Christian Beliefs About Killing
Early Christians taught that murder and innocent blood were wrong. The Didache, Barnabas, Athenagoras, Clement, Tertullian, Lactantius, Origen, and the Apostolic Constitutions all speak against killing in direct terms. Some also rejected abortion, child killing, and even taking part in violent spectacles. A smaller set of passages allows just punishment by rulers, so the evidence is broad but not one-note.
148 early-church witnesses · 230 source quotations · compared with Scripture
What did early Christians believe about killing?
Early Christian teaching is clear that murder was forbidden, and several major writers also rejected needless bloodshed, abortion, child killing, and watching violent public shows. The Didache, Barnabas, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Lactantius, Origen, and the Apostolic Constitutions all give direct witness to this moral pattern.
The strongest and broadest evidence is about murder and innocent blood, while a smaller set of texts goes further by treating support for killing, such as spectacle viewing or unjust judgment, as part of the same evil. Some passages are only background, quote Old Testament law, or discuss martyrdom and biblical judgment, so they support the topic indirectly rather than teaching a full ethic of killing on their own.
Many more early Christian quotations, Bible passages, and source links are gathered below so you can study the evidence for yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Early Christian writers repeatedly said, “You shall not kill” or used the same command against murder.
- They also rejected abortion, child killing, and bloodshed for pleasure or entertainment.
- Some texts allow just killing by rulers, so the teaching is against murder and innocent blood, not every use of force in every setting.
Questions Answered by the Sources
Did early Christians teach that people should not kill?
Early Christian sources repeatedly quote or restate the command not to murder and present it as part of Christian moral teaching. The Didache, Barnabas, Tertullian, and Theophilus all use direct "you shall not kill" language or its equivalent.
-
Didache, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles Direct teaching
And the second commandment of the Teaching is this: You shall not commit murder. You shall not commit adultery, Exodus 20:13-14. You shall not commit pederasty. You shall not commit fornication. You shall not steal, Exodus 20:15. You shall not practice magic. You shall not practice witchcraft. You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill the child that has been conceived. You shall not covet the things of your neighbor, Exodus 20:17. You shall not forswear yourself, Matthew 5:34. You shall not bear false witness, Exodus 20:16. You shall not speak evil. You shall bear no grudge. You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued, for to be double-tongued is a snare of death. Your speech shall not be false or empty, but fulfilled by deed. You shall not be covetous, nor rapacious, nor a hypocrite, nor evil disposed, nor haughty. You shall not take evil counsel against your neighbor. You shall not hate any man. But some you shall reprove, and concerning some you shall pray, and some you shall love more than your own life.
-
Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Supporting witness
...onomy 5. And so on. These things must be kept, along with whatever else is commanded in reading the Bible. And by Isaiah He commands us: "Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean. Put away wickedness from your souls before my eyes. Learn to do good. Seek judgment. Rescue the wronged. Judge for the orphan, and justify the widow. And come, and let us reason together," says the Lord. And we will find many examples in other places also. For example, about prayer, Scripture says, "Good works are an acceptable prayer to the Lord." And the manner of prayer is described: "If you see the naked, cover him, and do not overlook those who belong to your own seed. Then your light shall break forth early, and your healing shall spring up quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall surround you." What, then, is the fruit of such prayer? "Then you shall call, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking, He will say, 'I am here.'"
-
Tertullian, De Spectaculis (On the Shows) Direct teaching
Nay, He puts His interdict on every sort of man-killing by that one summary precept, You shall not kill.
-
Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
You shall not kill; that is, you shall not destroy a man like yourself: for you dissolve what was well made.
More related quotations from this section 5 shown
-
Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness
...an obstinate refusal to offer sacrifices, he found in their religious services nothing but meetings early in the morning for singing hymns to Christ and God, and sealing their way of life by a united pledge to remain faithful to their religion, forbidding murder, adultery, dishonesty, and other crimes. In reply, Trajan wrote back that Christians were by no means to be sought out. But if they were brought before him, they should be punished. O miserable deliverance. Under the necessities of the case, it is a self-contradiction. It forbids them to be sought out, as innocent, and it commands them to be punished, as guilty. It is at once merciful and cruel. It passes by, and it punishes. Why do you play this game of evasion with yourself, O Judgment? If you condemn, why do you not also inquire? If you do not inquire, why do you not also absolve? Military stations are set throughout all the provinces for tracking robbers. Against traitors and public enemies every man is a soldier. Search is made even for their confederates and accessories. The Christian alone must not be sought, though he may be brought and accused before the judge, as if a search had any other end than that! And so
-
Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness
It is an old precept not to kill, which ought not to be taken in this light, as though we are commanded to abstain only from homicide, which is punished even by public laws.
-
Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
For when God forbids us to kill, He not only prohibits us from open violence, which is not even allowed by the public laws, but He warns us against the commission of those things which are esteemed lawful among men.
-
Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book II Supporting witness
and not only is the actual murderer held guilty of having killed another to his own damnation, but the man also who is angry with his brother without a cause: who commanded [His disciples] not only not to hate men, but also to love their enemies;
-
Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness
and instead of that which runs thus, “Thou shalt not kill,” He prohibited anger;
Did early Christians condemn killing innocent people?
Several sources explicitly narrow the issue to innocent or unjust killing and condemn shedding innocent blood. Apostolic Constitutions, Cyprian, Irenaeus, and related Bible passages like Exodus 23:7 and Numbers 35:33 support that emphasis.
-
Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas Direct teaching
...e the name of the Lord in vain. You shall love your neighbor more than your own soul. You shall not kill a child by procuring abortion; nor shall you destroy it after it is born. You shall not withhold guidance from your son or daughter, but teach them the fear of the Lord from infancy. You shall not covet your neighbor’s possessions, nor be greedy. You shall not associate with the haughty, but shall be counted with the righteous and lowly. Accept the trials that come to you as good. You shall not be double-minded or use double-talk, for double-talk is a snare of death. You shall be subject to the Lord and to other masters as the image of God, with modesty and fear. You shall not issue orders bitterly to your servant, who trusts in the same God, lest you fail to show reverence to God who is above both; for He came to call people not by appearance, but as the Spirit prepared them. Share all things with your neighbor; do not call things your own; for if you are common partakers of things incorruptible, how much more of those which are corruptible! Do not be hasty with your tongue, for the mouth is a snare of death. As far as possible, be pure in your soul. Do not be quick to take,
-
Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness
...t, through uncontrolled lust, to become the murderer of his children. Again, the humane law forbids killing the young and the mother on the same day. From there also, in the case of a pregnant woman condemned to death, the Romans do not allow her to suffer punishment until she has given birth. The law also plainly forbids the killing of animals that are pregnant before they have given birth, indirectly restraining man's readiness to wrong man. In this way also it has extended its mercy to irrational creatures, so that by practicing humanity toward creatures of different kinds, we might practice a great abundance of it among those of the same kind. Also, those who kick the bellies of certain animals before birth in order to feast on flesh mixed with milk make the womb, created for the birth of the fetus, into its grave, though the law plainly commands, "But neither shall you boil a lamb in its mother's milk." This means that the nourishment of the living animal must not become sauce for what has been deprived of life, and that what causes life must not help in consuming the body. And the same law commands that the ox treading out the grain must not be muzzled, for the laborer mus
-
Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness
...nk it can be possible for so tender, so little a body to receive those deadly wounds, for anyone to shed, pour forth, and drain that fresh blood of a little child, of a human being scarcely come into existence? No one can believe this, except one who would dare to do it. And I see that you at one time expose your begotten children to wild beasts and birds. At another, you crush them, strangled in a miserable kind of death. There are some women who, by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very wombs, and thus commit parricide before they bring forth. And these things surely come down from the teaching of your gods. For Saturn did not expose his children, but devoured them. With reason, infants were sacrificed to him by their parents in some parts of Africa, caresses and kisses repressing their crying, so that a weeping victim might not be sacrificed. Moreover, among the Tauri of Pontus, and to the Egyptian Busiris, it was a sacred rite to sacrifice their guests, and for the Galli to slaughter to Mercury human, or rather inhuman, sacrifices. The Roman sacrificers buried alive a Greek man and a Greek woman, a Gallic man and a Gallic woman.
Did early Christians forbid abortion and killing unborn children?
The Didache, Barnabas, Clement of Alexandria, and Minucius Felix directly reject abortion, killing the unborn, or child murder. These are some of the clearest early Christian statements on the topic.
-
Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching
...at is, you shall not destroy a man like yourself, for you destroy what was well made. Not as if all killing were wicked, but only the killing of the innocent; for killing that is just is reserved to the magistrates alone. You shall not commit adultery, for you divide one flesh into two. They two shall be one flesh: Genesis 2:24 for the husband and wife are one in nature, in consent, in union, in disposition, and in the conduct of life; but they are separate in sex and number. You shall not corrupt boys: Leviticus 18:22 for this wickedness is contrary to nature, and arose from Sodom, which was therefore completely consumed with fire sent from God. Genesis 19 Let such a one be accursed, and all the people shall say, So be it. Deuteronomy 27 You shall not commit fornication, for He says, There shall not be a fornicator among the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 23:17 You shall not steal, for Achan, when he had stolen in Israel at Jericho, was stoned to death; Joshua 7 and Gehazi, who stole and told a lie, inherited the leprosy of Naaman; 2 Kings 5 and Judas, who stole the poor's money, betrayed the Lord of glory to the Jews, John 12:6 and repented, and hanged himself, and burst open
-
Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
Not as if all killing were wicked, but only that of the innocent: but the killing which is just is reserved to the magistrates alone.
Did early Christians refuse bloodshed for entertainment?
Athenagoras, Theophilus, Minucius Felix, and Lactantius say Christians would not watch gladiator shows or treat killing as entertainment. They connect the refusal to avoid sharing in guilt or pollution from bloodshed.
-
Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Supporting witness
But we, deeming that to see a man put to death is much the same as killing him, have abjured such spectacles.
-
Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians Direct teaching
What sane person, then, would claim that we are murderers, when this is the kind of people we are? For we could not eat human flesh unless we had first killed someone. So the first charge is false. And if anyone asked them about the second charge, whether they had actually seen what they claim, not one of them would be shameless enough to say that he had. And yet we have slaves, some having more and some fewer, and it would be impossible for us not to be seen by them. But even among these, not one has been found to make up even such accusations against us. For when they know that we cannot bear even to watch a man being put to death, even justly, who among them can accuse us of murder or cannibalism? Who does not count gladiator fights and contests with wild beasts among the most exciting things, especially the ones presented by you? But we think that watching a man be put to death is much the same as killing him, so we have renounced such shows. How then, when we do not even watch them, so that we may not take on guilt and defilement, could we kill people? And when we say that women who use drugs to cause an abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the a
-
Theophilus of Antioch, To Autolycus Direct teaching
... are forbidden even to watch gladiator shows, so that we do not become partners in or supporters of murder. Nor may we watch the other spectacles either, so that our eyes and ears are not defiled by taking part in the songs and words sung there. For if anyone wants to speak of cannibalism, in those spectacles the children of Thyestes and Tereus are eaten. And as for adultery, both among men and among the gods, whom they praise in polished language for honor and prizes, this is made the subject of their dramas. But far be it from Christians even to imagine such deeds. Among them, temperance lives, self-control is practiced, monogamy is observed, chastity is protected, wickedness is destroyed, sin is rooted out, righteousness is practiced, law is administered, worship is performed, and God is acknowledged. Truth rules, grace guards, peace protects them, the holy word guides, wisdom teaches, life leads, and God reigns. Therefore, although we have much to say about our way of life and the commands of God, the maker of all creation, we think that for now we have reminded you enough to lead you to examine these things, especially since you can now read our writings for yourself. So, a
-
Minucius Felix, Octavius Supporting witness
... who does not shudder at the madness of the people brawling among themselves? Or at the teaching of murder in the gladiatorial games? In the scenic games also the madness is not less, but the debauchery is more prolonged. For now a mimic either expounds or shows forth adulteries; now a nerveless player, while he feigns lust, suggests it. The same actor disgraces your gods by attributing to them adulteries, sighs, and hatreds. The same actor provokes your tears with pretended sufferings, with vain gestures and expressions. Thus you demand murder in fact, while you weep at it in fiction.
-
Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Supporting witness
If, then, it is in no way permitted to commit homicide, it is not allowed us to be present at all, lest any bloodshed should overspread the conscience, since that blood is offered for the gratification of the people.
More related quotations from this section 2 shown
-
Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness
...speak about the thing itself rather than its origin. What is so terrible, what is so filthy, as the killing of a human being? That is why our life is protected by the strictest laws. That is why wars are hateful. Yet custom has found a way for a man to commit murder without war and without laws. And this becomes a pleasure to him, because he thinks he has punished guilt. But if being present at a killing means sharing in the guilt, and the spectator is involved in the same guilt as the one who did it, then in these slaughters of gladiators, the spectator is no less stained with blood than the one who sheds it. Nor can the person be free from the guilt of bloodshed if he wanted the blood to be poured out. Nor can the person seem not to have killed, if he both supported the killer and asked for a reward for him. What about the stage? Is it any more holy? On it, comedy speaks about sexual sins and love affairs, and tragedy about incest and killing a parent. The shameless movements of actors also teach lust, as they imitate immoral women and express these desires in dancing. For pantomime is a school of corruption. In it, shameful things are acted out by symbolic representation, so
-
Lactantius, The Divine Institutes Background
...l who have written on their foreheads the sign of blood, that is, the sign of the cross on which He shed His blood. For the forehead is the top of the doorway in man, and the wood sprinkled with blood is a symbol of the cross. Finally, the killing of the lamb by the very people who do it is called the Passover feast, from the word paschein, because it is a figure of the passion, which God, knowing the future beforehand, gave through Moses to be celebrated by His people. But at that time the figure was effective in the present for turning away danger, so that it may be seen how great the power of the truth itself will be for protecting God's people in the greatest crisis of the whole world. But in what way, or in what place, all who have marked on the highest part of their body this sign of the true and divine blood will be safe, I will show in the last book.
Did any early Christian writers distinguish murder from just killing?
Apostolic Constitutions explicitly says not all killing is wicked, only the killing of the innocent, while just killing is reserved to magistrates. This is a minority-style clarifying statement alongside the broader anti-murder teaching.
-
Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching
...e with Noah, “For your lifeblood I will require a reckoning, from every beast;” and again, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” Similarly, the Lord said to those who would later shed His blood, “All righteous blood shall be required that is shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” He thus indicates the culmination in His own person of the shedding of blood from the beginning, of all the righteous people and prophets, and that through Himself there would be a reckoning for their blood. Now this blood could not be required unless it also had the capacity to be saved; nor would the Lord have summed up these things in Himself unless He had become flesh and blood in the manner of the original formation of man, saving in His own person at the end what had perished in Adam at the beginning.
-
Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Supporting witness
...s blood cries to Me from the ground." For what cries to the Lord is not properly the blood that was shed. Rather, the blood is said improperly to cry out, because vengeance is demanded against the one who shed it. They also understand the apostle's statement, "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind," as if he had said that the one who wants to devote himself to the word of God is, because of bodily necessities and habits, which like a kind of law are ingrained in the body, distracted, divided, and hindered, lest by devoting himself vigorously to the study of wisdom he should be enabled to behold the divine mysteries.
-
Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Supporting witness
...nt of the crime, you will give an account on the day of the Lord. For it is written, "You shall not slay the innocent and the righteous." Exodus 23:7-8. "You shall not take gifts to strike the soul, for gifts blind the eyes of the wise and destroy the words of the righteous." And again, "They justify the wicked for gifts, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him." Isaiah 5:23. Be careful, therefore, not to condemn anyone unjustly, and so help the wicked. For woe to him who calls evil good, and good evil, bitter sweet, and sweet bitter, who puts light for darkness, and darkness for light. Isaiah 5:20. Take care, therefore, lest in any way you become acceptors of persons, and so fall under this word of the Lord. For if you condemn others unjustly, you pass sentence against yourselves. For the Lord says, "With the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and as you condemn, you will be condemned." Matthew 7:2; Luke 6:37. If, therefore, you judge without respect of persons, you will uncover that accuser who bears false witness against his neighbor, and will prove him to be a sycophant, a spiteful person, and a murderer. He causes confusion by accusing the man as if h
-
Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness
But inasmuch as blood cries out (vocalis est) from the beginning [of the world], God said to Cain, when he had slain his brother, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me.” And as their blood will be inquired after, He said to those with Noah, “For your blood of your souls will I require, [even] from the hand of all beasts;” and again, “Whosoever will shed man’s blood, it shall be shed for his blood.” In like manner, too, did the Lord say to those who should afterwards shed His blood, “All righteous blood shall be required which is shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
-
Numbers 35:33 Supporting witness
So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it.
-
Genesis 9:6 Supporting witness
He that sheds man’s blood, instead of that blood shall his own be shed, for in the image of God I made man.
More related quotations from this section 3 shown
-
Tertullian, Apology Supporting witness
...hat? Or is it baser blood because it comes from the veins of a wicked man? In any case, it is blood shed in murder. O Jove, yourself a Christian, and truly your father's only son in cruelty! But as for child murder, it does not matter whether it is done for a sacred purpose or simply by a person's own impulse, although, as we have said, there is a great difference between parricide and homicide. I will now turn to people in general. How many do you think, among those who crowd around and gape for Christian blood, and even among your rulers, known for their justice toward you and their severity against us, could I accuse in their own consciences of killing their own children? And as for the method of killing, it is certainly the crueler way to kill by drowning, or by exposure to cold, hunger, and dogs. A more mature age has always preferred death by the sword. But in our case, since murder is forbidden once for all, we may not destroy even the fetus in the womb, while the human being is still drawing blood from the other parts of the body for nourishment. To prevent a birth is only a quicker man-killing. It does not matter whether you take away a life that has been born, or destr
-
Cyprian, Epistles Supporting witness
...Christ’s passion, because in the offerings they are learning to be troubled about His blood and the shedding of His blood. Moreover, the Lord says in the Gospel, "Whoever is ashamed of Me, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed." And the apostle also says, "If I pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ" Galatians 1:10. But how can we shed our blood for Christ, if we are ashamed to drink the blood of Christ?
-
Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians Supporting witness
...to the field. And it happened that while they were in the field, Cain attacked Abel his brother and killed him.” You see, brothers, how envy and jealousy led to the murder of a brother. Through envy, our father Jacob fled from Esau his brother. Envy made Joseph be persecuted to the point of death and brought into slavery. Envy compelled Moses to flee from Pharaoh, king of Egypt, when he heard these words from a fellow Israelite, "Who made you a judge or ruler over us? Will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?" Because of envy, Aaron and Miriam had to stay outside the camp. Envy caused Dathan and Abiram to be taken alive to Hades, due to the rebellion they incited against God’s servant Moses. Through envy, David suffered hatred not only from foreigners but was also persecuted by Saul, king of Israel.
Common Questions
Did the early Christians think killing was always wrong?
No. They clearly condemned murder and innocent blood, but some texts also say just killing was reserved to magistrates.
Did early Christians speak against abortion?
Yes. The Didache and Barnabas both forbid killing the unborn child by abortion.
Did early Christians avoid violent shows?
Yes. Writers like Athenagoras, Theophilus, Minucius Felix, and Lactantius say Christians would not watch bloodshed for entertainment.
Source Index for Killing
The guided sections above show the strongest quotations. This compact index highlights 160 ranked source links from 230 compiled sources for deeper study.
Source index 160 ranked links shown
Early Christian Writings 80 shown of 148
Primary-source quotations from early Christian writers and church documents.
Bible Passages 80 shown of 82
Related Bible passages saved for comparison with the early Christian quotations.