How Do You View Seemingly Immoral Passages of the Bible?

Question

When we are read to in Sunday school and in church, often what we hear are the passages of the Old Testament that can be explained away; they were sinners, they were not believers, God sought judgement on them. But what about passages like this?

2 Kings 2:23-24: "And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

How do you view the passages like this that litter the Old Testament?

Answer 1

The bible is a mixture of useful and dysfunctional claims. The God of the Old Testament was often a God of wrath. In my heart of hearts I know God is a God of love and would not kill little children even if they mocked a "prophet of God".

If you take the bible as infallible you go to great lengths to justify this claim, some even to the point of harding their own hearts becoming all that much less spiritual. Others simply will over look it by blocking it out and focusing on the more benevolent passages.

But the best approach is to see it for what it is and to make the best of the passage. Or better yet, chuck this bit out as a guide for moral teaching.

Answer 2

In the old testament, God was a bit tougher than in the new testament. God was very jealous and easily tempted, hence the Great Flood. Life was alot tougher back in those days and many immoral things happened all the time, as they do even today.

This is how I read the Bible and how I have understood it to be read. If a passage is meant for you to understand, it will stand out, seemingly come alive to you. That particular passage doesn't really fit the story that was being told and many times you will find such things in the Bible but times were different.

For Instance, Paul said that women had no place in the church but times back then were different. The fact that they tortured Jesus before they killed him is a perfect example of how harsh those days were. You just have to take some of the things in the bible with a grain of salt. The Holy Ghost will make it clear to you if you are meant to understand.

Answer 3

Inspired literature is just that, inspired. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the direct word of God. Yet what God inspired this person to write. There's usually a moral or a motive behind it. The Old Testament (much like the New Testament) was passed down orally for generations before all of it was written down. That doesn't make it's statements untrue. However, certain things were not meant to be looked at with such scrutiny. For example, If Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's only children, than who did they marry to have children?

The old testament is about the origins of the Jewish faith, the story of the hebrew people. The revelations God gave to them. Yet, he used them, to bring Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus Christ who came not just for the Jews but for the Gentiles as well. Not for the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance.

Look for the wisdom in the bible. Do not look for what people called "contradictions". Because the true message conveyed does not contradict itself. It in fact runs like a wide river with incredible parallels and relevance. It's like a sphere, slowly expanding, by the breath of the one. The one in whom we all share. This book that spans over thousands of years is relevant in all that we do even to today.

This is why we have the church, to explain to those who do not understand. It is only pride that holds a man (or woman) back from wisdom and proper instruction.

Answer 4

Little children in the bible are 19 to 25 years of age.

Gen.21:14,15; The child is age 19. Gen.22:12; The lad is age 25.

A mob is a mob or a gang and they can not only try to do harn to the prophet but to others. Mobs or gangs were the same then as they are now. Many a person had to wish that they could do as the prophet did and save their fellow man from harm.

Prophets, judges and priest have a right to establish law and order, so does God.

Answer 5

Its a very good question. I look forward to the other answers.
To me it shows just how culturally based scripture can be. People who understand the Bible as God's direct revelation, that it is literally God's writing, with all his divine knowledge and supreme goodness, need to step back and see their position as facile. When we understand scripture as inspired by God, but through human agency, then we can say for the author of Kings, this passage shows that God's authority and power were present and available to Elisha.

The approach I am suggesting, allows respect for the limitations of the authors and their audience's time and place. The alternative is to impose our cultural understandings on literature thousands of years old. All the scientific based criticisms of scripture demonstrate how unhelpful and disrespectful the literal interpretation can can be.

Answer 6

The Old Testament is a history lesson on why God sent Jesus to earth. It doesn't have anything to do with how people should act today. Note there are 10 Commandants in the Old and only two in the New.

Answer 7

Elisha cursed them in the name of the Lord. Or in other words, he called upon the Lord to deal with them, and he did. I see this as a way to send a message to others, adult and children to respect God and his chosen people.

Answer 8

I personally feel that as mortal being with finite knowledge, we can only follow what was inspired by a infinite God. I don't question God's reason because he is Author and the finisher of faith. I know it's wrong and I have changed my thinking, but I used to wish God had done the same thing to people like Hitler and Stalin, etc when they were children. Everything happens for a reason, whether the answer in readily available to you or not.

Answer 9

Elisha was a man of mild and kindly spirit; but that he could also be stern is shown by his course when, on the way to Bethel, he was mocked by ungodly youth who had come out of the city. These youth had heard of Elijah's ascension, and they made this solemn event the subject of their jeers, saying to Elisha, "Go up, thou bald head; go up,

thou bald head." At the sound of their mocking words the prophet turned back, and under the inspiration of the Almighty he pronounced a curse upon them. The awful judgment that followed was of God. "There came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two" of them. 2 Kings 2:23, 24.

Had Elisha allowed the mockery to pass unnoticed, he would have continued to be ridiculed and reviled by the rabble, and his mission to instruct and save in a time of grave national peril might have been defeated. This one instance of terrible severity was sufficient to command respect throughout his life. For fifty years he went in and out of the gate of Bethel, and to and fro in the land, from city to city, passing through crowds of idle, rude, dissolute youth; but none mocked him or made light of his qualifications as the prophet of the Most High.

Even kindness should have its limits. Authority must be maintained by a firm severity, or it will be received by many with mockery and contempt. The so-called tenderness, the coaxing and indulgence, used toward youth by parents and guardians, is one of the worst evils which can come upon them. In every family, firmness, decision, positive requirements, are essential.

Reverence, in which the youth who mocked Elisha were so lacking, is a grace that should be carefully cherished. Every child should be taught to show true reverence for God. Never should His name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly. Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces. With what reverence should we, who are fallen and sinful, take it upon our lips!

Reverence should be shown for God's representatives-- for ministers, teachers, and parents, who are called to speak and act in His stead. In the respect shown them, God is honored.

Courtesy, also, is one of the graces of the Spirit and should be cultivated by all. It has power to soften natures which without it would grow hard and rough. Those who profess to be followers of Christ, and are at the same time rough, unkind, and uncourteous, have not learned of Jesus. Their sincerity may not be doubted, their uprightness may not be questioned; but sincerity and uprightness will not atone for a lack of kindness and courtesy.

Answer 10

Some kids need to be ripped apart by bears. Anyone who attended a public school will agree.