Tom Wright says this:
"Avoid the easy solutions to these: that these bits weren’t “inspired”, or that the whole Bible is wicked nonsense, or that Jesus simply abolished the bits we disapprove of. Live with the tensions. Goodness knows there are plenty of similar tensions in our own lives..."
Tom also advises us to practice patience (i.e. I may not get this now), and humility (i.e I may not get what God is saying here).
He is a good evangelical, even if he doesn't get invited to all the evangelical meetings.
Paul Copan's views in his book Is God a Moral Monster I have already mentioned.
Bill Craig is an American defender of the faith who is feared by Dawkins. He says the idea was to drive the Canaanites out of the land, not necessarily to kill them. And there was no record of women and children actually being killed. He says the moral problem of why God would command a slaughter is an internal problem for Christian theists, but essentially God can do as he pleases. (link)
So maybe all that helps provide a cumulative case for a reply to why God does some seemingly bad things in the OT.
It is important to remember that Jesus is there throughout the Bible, like the word printed all through a stick of rock. And the character of God is revealed most clearly in Jesus.
I don't like the way people sometimes refer to the Bible as the "Word of God" (with a capital W). The Word, logos, Way of God is Jesus - not just a book.
Just started another new book, Wired for Ministry which says this:
"The Word, which binds the people of God to their Creator, moves from law to prophetic word, to flesh."
That's more like it.
One more post on the Bible: translations. Coming soon. Bet you can wait.
John 1:1,14
"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. "
Location:Shed
My initial response to the comment about women and children is that since only the men were considered important the women and children would not necessarily be mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIn Deuteronomy 20 they are mentioned though. God says that first the Israelites should try to make peace with a city, only if the city refuses peace are they to make war and to kill every male (well I assume that's what it means when it says 'strike every male with the edge of the sword'). It goes on 'But the women, the little ones... you shall plunder for yourself' which I think means that they should be taken and enslaved not killed.
Unfortunately that only applies to cities that are far away from them, those that God gives them as their inheritance 'you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them'. Unless you believe as Bill Craig apparently does that the women and children will have fled those cities then they must have been killed as well.
I don't like this aspect of God but I do see the reasoning he uses because in v18 it says 'lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God.'
Given the way that his people constantly stray and give in to temptation I have to feel that here he was trying to protect them and knew that this extreme was the best way to do it.
Not sure that is a particularly good defence, feels a bit too 'end justifies the means' but then I actually don't think God needs me to defend his actions either, this is all just how I feel about it.
Completely off topic - just out of curiosity, all these books you keep mentioning, are you reading the real paper versions or the Kindle versions?
I was bequeathed some paper books, such as the Tom Wright ones, so had to put up with them! Took me all yesterday evening to type up quotes from one, which could have been copied and pasted had I had the Kindle edition. I've endeavoured to buy the Kindle version whenever possible of course! If you want to borrow a papery one, you are welcome.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for the word 'kenning' - must use that sometime...