A seeming contradiction

[mjstone]

I’m doing a study of Genesis & Exodus and wondering if you can clear this up for me? After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again after the great flood he instructed them to be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. He also made it clear that humans were not to kill one another. In Exodus this becomes one of the ten commandments. How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile? There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

 

[WoundedIcon]

Yes. We’re not supposed to unjustly take life, but war can be just.

 

[john81]

I’m doing a study of Genesis & Exodus and wondering if you can clear this up for me? After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again after the great flood he instructed them to be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. He also made it clear that humans were not to kill one another. In Exodus this becomes one of the ten commandments. How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile? There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

I would read St. Thomas Aquinas on his definitions of a just war. There are always going to be circumstances where killing another man is justified, and he explains it well. Interpretation of scripture should only be done through the eyes of the church when we don’t understand passages. When we try to use our own reason, individually, we can become confused on issues like this. The Protestant reformation is a good example.

God bless!

 

[patg]

What better way to justify a war than to say that God told you to do it and that God is on your side? There are plenty historical examples of this.

 

[Reepicheep]

I’m doing a study of Genesis & Exodus and wondering if you can clear this up for me? After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again after the great flood he instructed them to be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. He also made it clear that humans were not to kill one another. In Exodus this becomes one of the ten commandments. How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile? There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

The Commandment is against murder. As others have said, there is such a thing as a just war.

What better way to justify a war than to say that God told you to do it and that God is on your side? There are plenty historical examples of this.

People can abuse a truth. That does not make it less true.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

I’m doing a study of Genesis & Exodus and wondering if you can clear this up for me? After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again after the great flood he instructed them to be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. He also made it clear that humans were not to kill one another. In Exodus this becomes one of the ten commandments.

I think the instruction not to kill is focused between god’s followers

How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile?

this is god’s followers verses those who have turned away from god and thus endanger god’s people because they can kill us, so we can in some circumstances kill them, which is our defense of their lack of obediance

There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

just war is plainly discussed in the catechism and it is a tough standard to met.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

I’m doing a study of Genesis & Exodus and wondering if you can clear this up for me? After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again after the great flood he instructed them to be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. He also made it clear that humans were not to kill one another. In Exodus this becomes one of the ten commandments.

I think the instruction not to kill is focused between god’s followers

How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile?

this is god’s followers verses those who have turned away from god and thus endanger god’s people because they can kill us, so we can in some circumstances kill them, which is our defense of their lack of obediance

There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

just war is plainly discussed in the catechism and it is a tough standard to met.

 

[Warrior1979]

After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again

Note that the above concerns God’s promise to man. In other words, it governs God’s actions, not man’s actions.

How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile? There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

God is free to do as He pleases. If He orders man to kill man, man must follow. It is not the free will of man anymore; it is man follow what God has ordered man to. Hence man is not violating any commandment.

 

[Warrior1979]

I think the instruction not to kill is focused between god’s followers this is god’s followers verses those who have turned away from god and thus endanger god’s people because they can kill us, so we can in some circumstances kill them, which is our defense of their lack of obediance just war is plainly discussed in the catechism and it is a tough standard to met.

The problem I see with this interpretation is the sometimes these actions included the killing of babies and young children. Children under a certain age cannot be God’s followers in the sense that they don’t even know what following God means, and if they’re young enough won’t even understand what God is.

 

[Naf623]

What better way to justify a war than to say that God told you to do it and that God is on your side? There are plenty historical examples of this.

Oh please don’t say this, and I sincerely hope you don’t mean it in the way it sounds, particularly as you list yourself as Christian. I admit, I see the sentiment entirely, but nobody with any real faith would ever do this.

God is free to do as He pleases. If He orders man to kill man, man must follow. It is not the free will of man anymore; it is man follow what God has ordered man to. Hence man is not violating any commandment.

The problem I see with this interpretation is the sometimes these actions included the killing of babies and young children. Children under a certain age cannot be God’s followers in the sense that they don’t even know what following God means, and if they’re young enough won’t even understand what God is.

Always remember, we do not know everything or see the full eternal picture as God does. We do as He asks because we have faith that what He says is right, even when it seems contrary to our own understanding (proverbs 3:5-6)

 

[StrawberryJam]

I’m doing a study of Genesis & Exodus and wondering if you can clear this up for me? After God made his covenant with Noah and his family never to totally wipe out man and animals from the earth again after the great flood he instructed them to be fertile, multiply, and fill the earth. He also made it clear that humans were not to kill one another. In Exodus this becomes one of the ten commandments. How do we mesh that with the later accounts of Joshua being a great warrior leading his people to battle to retake the lands that had been taken from the Jews when they were in exile? There are several other wars/battles too numerous to mention where God was most definitely on one side as opposed to the other. Is war then mandated when it is for a justifiable cause?

Goodness. What a mess. I mean thing to mesh.
God told me to do it, so I did it. Happens even today.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

The problem I see with this interpretation is the sometimes these actions included the killing of babies and young children. Children under a certain age cannot be God’s followers in the sense that they don’t even know what following God means, and if they’re young enough won’t even understand what God is.

In the OT we see repeated attempts to cleanse the earth of sin as the story of Noah and the Flood, the most important part of the flood is sin survived and thrived via the humans. The later killings being questioned are just the same. The logical is if we kill all the bad people (tribe, nationality, race) only good sinless people will be left however the bible also teaches this will never work. Just like with Noah the sin is carried by the very man. When a man kills to eliminate sin, he wastes his time.

 

[StrawberryJam]

In the OT we see repeated attempts to cleanse the earth of sin as the story of Noah and the Flood, the most important part of the flood is sin survived and thrived via the humans. The later killings being questioned are just the same. The logical is if we kill all the bad people (tribe, nationality, race) only good sinless people will be left however the bible also teaches this will never work. Just like with Noah the sin is carried by the very man. When a man kills to eliminate sin, he wastes his time.

But if God tells man to kill to eliminate sin does he waste his time also?

 

[Texas_Roofer]

But if God tells man to kill to eliminate sin does he waste his time also?

We could look at specific examples, is there a specific example you have in mind.