what an interesting find for me (page 5)

cofty

Paradise - Do you really think that the mass murder of infants is a moral good?

jonza

Suppose for a second that God did in fact do that to secure our salvation for all mankind, do you think it would have been worth it?

Also, if God truly is just, I believe he will also give those babies a chance at salvation too. Perhaps with resurrection or with the eternal souls being in heaven.

Village Idiot

jonza, I know by now that you support it but for the sake of the lurkers I present below an excerpt from the article you linked to:

"When God authorizes the nation of Israel to wipe out a people, it is a lawful execution due to their rebellion and sin against God. Furthermore, such an extermination can be seen to be merciful by delivering the young into the hands of the Lord and possibly saving their souls by not giving them time to become "utterly sinful".2 Additionally, further generations that would have arisen from the perverse culture, are likewise prevented from coming into existence and spreading their sin."

[footnote] 2. There is debate on whether or not children are saved if they die early. This paper is not meant to answer that question but to pose a possible reason for God's destruction of the young.

No commentary needed.

jonza

Yeah, thanks Village Idiot. Copy and paste for those who don't know who to click a link.

Village Idiot

jonza, as I said in that post, no further commentary is needed and I'm not the only one to sometimes cut and paste.

TheWonderofYou

The books odd old testament are mere collections of old tribal legends, rediscovered by Esra, then revised editited in babylon by theologians and scribes to suit to the situation after the exil, and puublished in jerusalem as only truth , add the dates if you like. The story about moses is surely not written by him. The countless victories of jhwh over cities in canaan are produced legends or theological type stories, to teach that trust in jhwh is more important than fighting. Numbers were ficion, in the old time it was necessary to boast as much as possible, because the people of israel were in reality not so much as the bible reports give impression. Numbers are fiction, the same with "we killed so many........."old storys were written down...to create a big history of a nation.....

Half banana

There is a reconciliation of these conflicting moral demands.

It is to recognise that gods and demons and the book which tells of them are not reality but mere constructs of the fearful human imagination.

cofty

Suppose for a second that God did in fact do that to secure our salvation for all mankind, do you think it would have been worth it? - Jonza

You still have to explain why a loving and omnipotent god could not preserve a nation without murdering babies.

cofty

Jonza - Your defense of your baby-murdering god is that his infanticide was necessary and regrettable in order to protect the nation of Israel.

Please have another read at the text and see why your argument doesn't work.

1 - The text specifically says it was in revenge for the actions of their ancestors during the exodus - an event that happened 400 years earlier. There is no mention of any current or future threat.

2 - Saul spared the Kenites "for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.”

3 - That it was an act of psychopathic revenge can also be seen from the specific instructions to kill the "cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys." Did the Amalekite sheep also pose a threat to the salvation of mankind? Is god afraid of babies and of sheep?

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."

punkofnice

This stood out to me

I agree that people can use the Bible to support their twisted ethics. But I think that's only when they twist it to support what they believe, not what the Bible teaches.

How can you tell the difference between personal interpretation and what the bible is supposed tio actually say?

what an interesting find for me

Share this