God in the Old Testament helped his chosen people take lands, slaughter hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, destroy entire cities, take slaves and concubines, kill men in their sleep, etc... How can you not see!?!? He TOLD them to take the women! He told them to "leave not one breathing thing alive". How do you look at modern terrorists and gasp in horror when your god did the same thing on a MASSIVE scale? Seriously, read your pentateuch.
2006-09-26 13:45:46 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
nice one hosebunny!
2006-09-26 13:51:17 · update #1
Jewish girl, you are blowing my mind. Jewish philosophers talk about how the human conception of god was so violent. Look at Abraham, the jewish people of that era envisioned a god that would ask them to kill their own son?
As for what the bible "is saying", it is CLEARLY saying over chapter after chapter that god will help his people get to and keep their promised land if they have to slaughter babies and women to get there. There is no allegory there, that's all back in Noah and Adam's time. By the time Moses comes around, it's a historical, temporal, monotheistic, religion. God slaughters the first-born children "that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel"
Ex 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
I mean come on
2006-09-26 14:01:53 · update #2
The God of christianity is no other than Baal-Zebub.
Baal[Lord] - Zebub[Of those who fly(commonly misinterpreted as "of the flies")], was corrupted into "Beelzebub", or as many now know him as, "Satan".
God is supposed to be Lord of the sky, the heavens, is he not? Angels were said to inhabit the sky, were they not??
Hmm...no WONDER he was sooo vengeful in the OT...!
:)
I just read the answer a couple above me..."The God of the OT was a PEACEFUL, LOVING God!!???? LMFAO! And she even has the arrogance to say those who think otherwise have not UNDERSTOOD IT!? HOW do you think we CAME to this conclusion!??
Who else do you attribute the genocide of the Egyptians to, for an example? (*that's* why you can never show theists they are wrong...sheesh!)
2006-09-26 13:56:04 · answer #1 · answered by googlywotsit 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The God of the Christians revealed Himself to His covenant people as One who is Holy. Holiness demands justice. While He is also a God of Love, He cannot compromise the justice that Holiness demands. The people God told His chosen people to destroy -men, women and children, were guilty of the most vile sins - the worst being the sacrifice of children to their gods to gain personal favor. One might argue that it is unjust for a holy God to wipe out even innocent children. Is this true? How can it be when, God, as revealed in the Bible does not hold anyone accountable until he/she has reached the age of accountability. This means that, the killing of a child is an act of mercy - for he/she will go to heaven to be with Him where he/she will dwell with Him forever. The adults, on the other hand, are accountable, and so, have to receive the "wages" of their sin. If the child is allowed to live in a vile and sinful society, he/she will absorp and replicate the values of that society and thus condemn himself/herself. With regard to the land, it belongs to Him and He can give it to whoever He wants.
2006-09-26 21:21:51 · answer #2 · answered by Paul N 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the G-d of the OT is peace-loving. you are having a hard time distinguishing what the bible says versus what the bible *is saying*, or rather, how christians interpret the bible. nobody blames you because you have no knowledge of non-christian biblical tradition, but when you don't know what you're talking about, its better to remain silent.
EDIT
those are always the usual things people say to dispute that G-d is warlike. if we thought G-d was warlike, why would we follow him? contrary to popular belief, jewish people are not stupid, they make up some of the most intelligent people on the planet. and moreover, our religion which has the "cruelest, most warmongering god of all", apparently, is the one that has the most peaceful history and which has abhorred religious expansionism for all time. you will not find jewish people in history spreading their religion through violence, you will find the exact opposite. in fact, jews do not spread their religion,period. we believe in live and let live. the only times jews can even be remotely connected with war is in connection to israel, and even that is not a black and white situation. if the bible says G-d wanted us to make war on everybody, obviously that's what we would be doing. the reason we do not, is because the bible says the exact opposite. the bible that you have read is only half of jewish biblical tradition. we have "another bible", so to speak, which explains what the bible says and is trying to say, and which sheds light on why the bible says what it does, and what actually happened in all those cases where "G-d slaughtered everybody."
2006-09-26 20:54:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Actually if you do read the Hebrew Scriptures (OT), you will find more of Gods' love than anything else. Maybe if you studied what the authors meant by what the authors wrote, then you would understand scripture better. That would involve understanding the Greek and Hebrew of the text.
Good luck and God Bless.
2006-09-26 21:00:12 · answer #4 · answered by BETTY ROCKER 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God of OT? God of NT? ...
It's the same God. Instead of reading the bible for the purpose of arguing. Why don't you try reading it to get insight of who God is. Jesus said that no one will go to the Father except through Him. And many will come to him on that day claiming to know him, but be cast away because they don't truly know Him. So, how do you get to know God? Read his word. And don't just take out what you want and present it out of context to deceive others. Take it all in. Learn who God is. Then maybe you can talk about Him.
2006-09-26 20:55:46 · answer #5 · answered by ScottyJae 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
God was creating a people to honor his name and through whom to bring salvation. I have yet to read of any terrorist doing such. A scalpel in a surgeon's hand is much different than 1 in a slasher's hand.
2006-09-26 20:51:25 · answer #6 · answered by Joe Cool 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ronin,
He's the same God in the New Testament. What changed is the open access to Him through Jesus Christ.
I figured that this was common knowledge by now!
If you only look at the destruction of the Old Testament, and the acts of love by Jesus in the New Testament, then you have a point. But Jesus didn't just show love, and the Old Testament not only judgement. God had the same reaction for unbelief in the New Testament, and the same reaction in the old Testament for belief, I'll give you examples.
New Testament Judgement from Jesus:
Matthew 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
The Love of God in the Old Testament:
Deuteronomy 7:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:
13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
17 If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;
The common thread, God wants trust. Disbelief is trated like trash, to be thrown away. He has no use for it, and does not need to put up with it.
2006-09-26 21:14:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Yeah, but the ones that do are all into Jeeeeee--suuusss. As if Jesus and his Dad aren't up there eternally arguing politics.
Jesus: "Dad, c'mon man, just turn the other cheek. Love everyone..."
God: "Shut up you good-for-nothing hippie!!"
2006-09-26 20:48:46 · answer #8 · answered by Ana 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
They are in denial.
2006-09-26 21:32:56 · answer #9 · answered by Atheist Eye Candy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋