I hate to beat a dead fly, but I want to review the question I asked last week.

I was wondering if Jesus would stomp a spider or smash a fly? Your responses stirred deeper issues. Not about Jesus, but about each of us. Like me, many feel a nip of guilt when ending a bug’s life.

“I grab a paper towel and catch bugs to throw out the door,” said Pat K. of Ottawa. “My 4-year-old great grandson traps them and any other bugs with a little kid’s bug vacuum that I bought him.”

Walt F. of Woodstock agrees: ”I’m not a fan of bugs, spiders and creepy crawlies but they’re a part of life so rather than swatting or squishing them, I’m of the catch-and-release state of mind. We use this gizmo called a Bug Wand – a long tube with a mini-vacuum motor at one end which generates enough suction to pull the bug from its perch (most times in the corner of the ceiling) into the tube. Then I take it outdoors and release it back into the wild. It probably laughs at me while it finds another entrance. On the other hand, I kinda wish Noah had swatted those two mosquitoes before he set sail. It would’ve saved us lots of trouble."

Some households are split. Don G. of Canada says: “It is a balancing act in this household. I gently encourage spiders to live elsewhere while Joan (his wife) beats the daylights out of them.”

Jim B. of Champaign added this intel: “FYI, Jainism, a religion from India, considers it a ‘sin’ to kill an insect or any living thing. Practitioners will go out of their way to not step on an ant.”

David K. of Joliet would agree: “I take every insect outside when I find them in my house. It is a self discipline I am proud of but then I cherish the animal kingdom over mankind so actually not a stretch for me.”

I especially appreciate thoughts shared by R.R.O. of Lockport: “There is a thousand-legger in my shower. … It has been there for two days. … I won’t kill it. I try to avoid getting it wet when I shower.

“Last week I saw a fly on the bathroom window as I shaved. I keep a plastic container nearby the sink so that I can catch bugs or spiders and let them go. I let that one out the front door. ... If I let a captured critter out and it freezes, did I make its death more cruel?

“Will I whack a fly at the dinner table? You bet. Kill mosquitoes? No question. Ant traps around? Sure. Mouse traps in the shed? Yep. I don’t need them nesting in the tractor. Besides, they scare me. Your column stirred up questions of morality. My sister would not kill a fly to save her soul, yet loves beef. It is alright with her as long as she doesn’t have to kill it. Doesn’t this relate to life in general? Will we sometimes help those in need, and at other times turn away?

“I love the daily prayer that is said in the Catholic church: ‘I confess to Almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do. ...’ We do and fail to do much, as it affects life in all forms. Our inconsistencies extend far beyond dealing with insects.”

So ... guilt or conscience is a powerful motivator. Right versus wrong debates are part of our DNA. But fear also drives decisions. What’s your reaction when you see a spider on your pillow? I mean, after the scream. My wife calls me – “It’s a man’s job to kill spiders.” And I do.

So I’m a hypocrite. I put bugs outside. But sometimes I don’t. I guess that’s OK on an insect level. But not so good on higher levels with other living things. Thank you all for reminding me of those simple truths.

• Lonny Cain, retired managing editor of The Times in Ottawa, also was a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet in the 1970s. His PaperWork email is lonnyjcain@gmail.com. Or mail the NewsTribune, 426 Second St., La Salle IL 61301.