Isn't God contradicting himself?

Question

First he says "You shall not kill" then he orders everyone from Abraham to Joshua and beyond to kill, and they do. "You shall not kill" does not mean "it's ok to do it in this situation but it's not ok any other time". Even Christians throughout history (Crusades anyone?) have killed countless others in the name of God and religion. What did any of those people do to deserve death other than standing up to the Christian church and saying they don't agree with their teachings in many cases? You can't have your cake and eat it too. Knowing this, why are people flocking to follow this bloodthirsty God? Even Pagan war gods weren't known for being near this violent.

Even the Holocaust was endorsed by the Catholic church

Answer 1

Well put. But I'm sure the xians will try to justify it here.
Keep in mind the god they follow: read the bible and you'll see you don't even get out of Genisis (the FIRST book of the bible) before god kills nearly all humans and animals with Noah's flood. So...consider their role model.

Answer 2

Ok, when God said "You shall not kill", he did not mean that you couldn't wage a just war. The Israelites were making it their home, and the pagans were not only causing great offense to God, but also would have killed the Jews for trying to 'move in' (self-defense anyone?)
Also, the Crusades were more of a defense against the Muslims who were pressing further and further into Christian areas and killing many people (if you don't believe me, look it up). They were also to reclaim the Holy Lands, which had fallen into hostile hands.
God is NOT bloodthirsty. On the contrary, he is a merciful and forgiving God. We commit many offenses against Him every day, and yet when we repent he forgives us.

Answer 3

Why are you even asking this question? Our job is not to defend God's words OR actions to people who are dead-set against accepting any explanations ... but to spread the teachings of Christ to people who are willing to listen! Say what you will ... God is God. He created us, and He has the Supreme Right to do or say what HE will.

Does God contradict Himself? Well, let me see ... I'm sure many times He might've considered putting an end to YOUR existence, just because of things you might've done and not repented ... but here you are ... doing your best to test and challenge Him. Is THAT contradictory? Hmmm ... depends on the interpretation.

Oh, and this whole 'eye for an eye' thing? Well, if you know your Bible, you also know that 'everyone from Abraham to Joshua' was Old Testament. The first book of the New Testament introduced Jesus Christ ... God's son, whom God sent in human form to bring about the change that had been mentioned for thousands of years throughout the Old Testament! I don't recall God ordering crusades in the New Testament or beyond. Did I miss something? Again ... even if He had, He created us, and He has that Supreme right.

Bottom line? God is the parent ... YOU are the child!! A parent can do what a child is forbidden. Or are you gonna let your kid do whatever the hell he wants just because you do it?

If you have any more questions about God's so-called 'contradictions' ... ask Him. I'm sure He'll answer. It might not be what you want to hear, though.

And, please ... read your Bible! Even people who want to debate on politics at LEAST become knowledgeable first.

Peace.

Answer 4

It's not so much God as it is us.

One of the Hebrew names for God translated into "the Unknowable." That being the case, we might acknowledge that we don't know very much, if anything at all, about God.

Since there are so many unanswered questions in this random and unpredictable universe, God becomes a sort of catch-all explanation for things we can't comprehend. This is not such a bad thing, since unanswered questions provoke anxiety.

The difficulty arises when we juxtapose two contradictory unanswered questions and their provisional answer of "God."

Answer 5

No

1. The fault is in the translation first off. It actually reads `you shall do do murder'

2. The other problem is the folks who appoint(ed) themselves as the Representative of the Divine. Blame the policy makers, not the Divine.

It is always easy to get the less educated and worldly to do what you want if you make a good show that you speak for "God".

Daewen,
It's not self-defense when you are going into the land of other people and killing them so you can take what was not and is not yours.


Oooooo! thumbs down, I sooo depressed by that (Bwah Ha ha ha ha )

Answer 6

God wasn't in the Crusades. A Roman Catholic Pope, yes a mere man and not God caused the Crusades and against the will of God and not in the name of God as you said. One of the most dangerous men in the world is the Catholic Pope.
The Catholic Popes back then did not want the Word of God known to the everyday laymen. They couldn't control them if they could read and understand the Word of God. They couldn't do what they wanted instead of what God wanted.

Don't follow Catholic Popes. Follow Jesus!!!

Answer 7

tbh I am not a follower either but I find it rather contradictory that a lady in this conversation thinks that there is a difference between execution and murder. they are both killed by people with the intention to die so please tell me how this is different? I don't believe in killing anyone (unless they tried to kill me and I act in self-defense) I seriously don't believe in eye for an eye. I find all religions suspicious. I don't feel they fit in the modern world. I already have laws to tell me what is against the law. a book shouldn't tell people how to be good.

Answer 8

LOL...I love it when people try to hedge on the difference between "killing" and "murder." For example, when you find somebody guilty of the "abomination" of homosexuality, and you put him to death as is proper, it's not "murder," it's simply "killing" as just punishment for offending God. Need I mention that this is the mentality behind every single atrocity that's ever been committed in the name of Christianity, from the Crusades to the Inquisition to the Witch-Hunt? When the Inquisitors roasted "heretics" to death over a slow fire, they actually believed that they were being merciful!

Or "He's God and He can do what He wants; our rules are not His rules." And I suppose that's true by definition. God can say "Thou shalt not kill," but when He tells you to sacrifice your own son to Him, it's pointless to argue that He's contradicting Himself. And naturally it's God's prerogative to destroy the entire world whenever He wants, on a whim - so be good for goodness' sake! And make your check payable to...

By the way, I know people are always obliged to say "God wasn't in the Crusades" when apologizing for Christian history. But the Crusaders thought He was; and after all, they had just as much evidence that He was with them as any modern Christian does. It seems that people always believe that the only "authentic" Christians are those of the current generation.

Answer 9

LAW KEEPERS AND LAW ENFORCERS HANDLE LAWLESSNESS

When and order goes out from the order giver, "you shall not kill." all must heed the call.

All that do are law abiding and law enforceing, all who are law breakers and
trouble makers must answer to the law abiders and law enforcers.

ABRAHAM WAS GIVEN THE LAND PIRATES LAND FOR FUTURE FAMILY

Lot was kidnapped and all he had was taken by the land pirates [ not family,
not relatives, not next of kin, not neighbors, Pharoah passed to the next Pharoah and none knew which relative he was of the family in Egypt, 350 years after Abraham was there Pharoah was having all the male infants in
the family of Matt.1:1-17; Abraham son #20 in Jesus genealogy and this is the family of Christ Jesus being killed, [ Some of the family members have dropped dead already for being careless enough to break the lineage ], now Pharoah is doing the same, Moses was saved ]. Promised Land heirs and Moses is generation four, [ after Jacob ]. at 470 years after Abraham was promised the land pirates land, for his family which is family of Christ Jesus, they were still land pirates and these law keepers and law enforcers were to deal with the intruders, trespassers, and greedy mass that no one could even buy a drink of water from or a right of passage from, much like Sodom and Gomorrah, even the angels from heaven had no right or say over their own body, as the violence before the flood, Moses dies and the law keeper and the law enforcer is Joshua. Year 2554, 898th year after the flood, and 1512 before Christ Jesus will be in Rome world Empire #6. Joshua has only been 40 years out of Egypt world Empire #1.

Year 3460, 1804 years after the flood, 606 years before Christ will be in Rome world Empire #6 [ and have no freedom of speach what so ever ];
Babylon world Empire #3 has the 907 year old Promised Land desolate, no temple to God's name after 420 years, no king 391 years after Solomon dies, All are captive to Babylon world Empire #3.

We have law keepers and law enforcers in our world that deal with this type of mass that has no respect for law, order, life, property or human rights, all the time, we have prison and jails full of them and which world Empire are we in today and how many will there be before Christ Jesus is king, that is when the law keepers will be known as the fruits of the earth and there will be no such thing as lawlessness.

Answer 10

It's funny, people say God commanded them to kill, so have many murderers like Hitler and others in the name of genocide cause they don't like the color of the peoples skin or their ways. The Jews have been slaughtering in the name of God for years, just like the Spainish slaughtered native americans and so on, it's called survival of the fitist.