Does the Bible god have to be so vicious?

Question

When instructing Moses' army in the art of conquest and pillage, he commanded "Leave alive nothing that breatheth."
(Deuteronomy 20:16)

Does that include children and babies?

Answer 1

Yes, that includes children, babies, and even pregnant women.

Christians will either say that you're taking the verse out of context (as if there is a context to killing babies) or that those babies were going to grow up worshiping other Gods and therefore deserved to die.

Neither argument holds much water. There are dozens and dozens of examples in the Bible where God kills children and infants. Take Hosea 13:16 for example were God speaks through Hosea about punishing Samaria. He gloats about how he is going to smash their infants against the rocks and cut babies from the stomachs of pregnant women.

And to say that the babies killed by God deserved to die because their parents were sinners completely discredits every Christian argument about abortion. But I guess delusions don't need to be logical, huh?

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Sweet Suzy 777!, let's hope your babies never meet the righteous judgment you hold so dear.

And Thinking, why would you worship the SON of a god that you admit is a homicidal maniac?

Answer 2

God is a God of Love. He is not vicious. I know there are verses in the old testament that make us feel this way, but God has a reason for everything He does and it is always for our good as a whole. One big mistake is to look at the Bible through the teaching of tradition. The whole Bible is there for us to learn to know God Better and His Son. The old testament talks about Jesus all the way through it. It pointed to the coming of God's Son and gave many clues about Him. I would suggest that you read and study the Bible for yourself. Ask God to help you understand what is there for You. God is not vicious, He is a God of Love and forgiveness. When judgement came on people in the Bible it was on the Wicked or those who rebel. Only God knows if they would ever be good people again. He would never kill anyone that had any hope of changing. The Bible has the answers and todays Churches are not always to best places to go for these answers. We need a place to worship but we need to study for ourselves also.Then you will realize why it is that God is portrayed the way He is....it is all a lie and what God really is can only be found by studying the "whole" Bible on in. This is how we get the true picture...not by a verse or two that can be easily taken out of contents.

Answer 3

You mean stuff like this?

Joshua 6:21
They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.


They justify in two ways

1. That was the OT god

My question is, isn't it the same god they still worship? Why does that make it OK

2. They were wicked people and god needed to cleanse the land

Hmmmm, where have we heard that before? Hitler, Hussein, Stalin, Amin, Bin Laden.....

So under certain circumstances genocide is acceptable for these people

Wow, I could never agree to that, I don't care if it's god or not

Answer 4

Many of the tribes which lived in that part of the world were nomadic, not building cities, but traveling from place to place in tents and living by raising livestock and raiding their neighbors.

God did not want the Jews to develop the habit of raiding their neightbors. He did not want them to get use to the idea that they could get food, money, wives, slaves, etc., by plundering those around them. So on the occasions when God permitted the Jews to war against another tribe (usually one that was already rading them) he did not permit them to profit from the raids. They were not permitted to take anything from the battles.

Another reason for the total slaughter when the Jews took Canaan was that STDs were rampade amoung the Canaanite people. Any women or children take as slaves would have brought the disease in the Israeli population.

Answer 5

If you are goign to take the story in context, then you are forced to conclude that the people whom Moses was instructed to kill were destined to be evil.
You can criticize the idea that people can be born to be evil, but when discussing actions taking by biblical characters you must assume for at least the purposes of the discussion, that the Bible is true. By that I mean, you can't take issue with one part of a story and ignore the parts that justify what you take issue with. Thus is G-d says those people deserved to die, then we have to assume for the purpose of discussing this passage that they were.

It is like how people take issue with G-d commanding Abraham to kill his son. We cannot criticize Abraham for making the attempt because taking the story in its context, he was ordered by the most powerful being in the Universe.

Answer 6

The Bible god is viscous, you got a problem with that?

There are many more quotes where that one came from. The Bible is the best tool for atheists and other thoughtful people.

Answer 7

Yes. I don't have a verse on top of my head, but having recently read the first few books of the old testament, God repeatedly says that the people living in the lands he was giving to the Jews had earned their destruction.

The children and babies, though innocent of the sins of their fathers eternally, still bear the burden of their fathers' sins on earth.

Answer 8

Yes it does include them and it had a purpose. It was both representative of how God deals with evil and that we shouldnt allow things in our life to tempt us. God told different ordered his armies on many occasions not to take prisoners because then they would intermarry and cause division. And they didnt listen and it did just that.

Answer 9

Yes it includes children, babies.

Why, well evolution had not yet taken full effect into thier spirits; yes evolution is physical, mental, and spiritual. Remember, the begining of the Bible (Old Testatment) is about seeking knowledge of good and evil. It's recorded, and then Jesus teaches us how to convert the knowledge of good and evil to wisdom so that we can return to God eating from the fruit of knowledge and eternity at the same time.

Answer 10

Yes, it did. By using the Hebrews to both fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and punish the Canaanites for their sin, He called for their complete and total annihilation. Note that this command included animals and livestock as well. They didn't do it, and in time paid the price for their disobedience. However, justice is often harsh, and it's necessary for it to be if the crime is sufficient to warrant it. We have the death penalty in this country, and there's a reason for that. Some crimes just cannot be tolerated, and if you commit the ultimate crime, the ultimate penalty is required of you.