Question: Is murder a crime in God’s sight?

Answer: Yes, a great crime. For he who takes the life of his fellow creature cuts short a life of expiation or mission. Therein is the evil.

Question: Is there always the same degree of guilt in murder?

Answer: We have already said, ‘God is just.’ He judges the intention rather than the deed.

Question: Does God excuse murder in cases of self-defense?

Answer: A true necessity alone can serve as an excuse. However, if one can save one’s life without having to take that of the aggressor, one must do so.

Question: Is man culpable for the murders he commits during war?

Answer: Not when compelled by the force of circumstance. But he is responsible for the cruelties he commits. Similarly, his acts of compassion will also be taken into account.

Question: Which one is a more serious crime in the eyes of God, parricide or infanticide?

Answer: They are equally serious, for all crime is crime.

Question: Why is infanticide a custom endorsed by the legislation of certain nations that are already intellectually advanced?

Answer: Intellectual development does not necessarily go hand-in-hand with moral development. A spirit of superior intelligence may be evil, if he has lived many lives developing his intellect but without purifying his soul: all he has acquired is knowledge.

The Spirits’ Book by Allen Kardec, Chapter 6, Part 4, 746 – 751