Divine Sanction for Killing Innocents in Old Testament

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a_cermak said:
I’m not a believer in OT as lens through which to read NT. This book was written long before Jesus roamed Nazareth.
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With all due respect, you are wrong, because this statement falls completely apart “this book was written long before Jesus roamed Nazareth” . And yet the bible is Divinely inspired, The Word of God. Ya think God didn’t know what was going to happen in two thousand years? What do you believe the prophets of the OT times were talking about? Would they not have known through the powers of the Holy Spirit exactly what they prophesied about. Did they not say that the “King of the Jews” would be born in Bethlehem to a Virgin. I suppose if telling you that Jonah in the belly of the whale for three days prefigured Christ in the tomb it would be something you wouldn’t even consider seeing as typology. Let’s say for arguments sake that Jonah did not prefigure Jesus in the tomb, then what would your explanation be for that story in the OT? What exactly would it’s purpose be?
 
CollegeKid said:
Sorry, I know this has been discussed before but I never really gave it serious thought until today. I was thinking about how the Pope has reassured us, in light of the recent controversy over his comments on Islam, that God will never act in a manner opposed to certain tenets of reason, among those that He will never sanction the murder of innocent people, as opposed to the radical jihadist Muslim belief in killing “infidels,” no matter how innocent those people actually are. I’ll be honest with you guys, I’m having a real hard time with my faith due to certain portions of the Old Testament in which it seems God commanded or at least condoned the Israelites’ killing of innocent people during wars.
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Hello CollegeKid,

It’s amazing to see that the Jews didn’t try to hide the truth. What you read today in your Old Testament is what it was yesterday (integrity). Other nations have changed their stories to not appear as embarrassed and guilty for some dubious acts. Like the Egyptians they embellished their wars stories.

Furthermore, the ancient world have nothing in common with our modern world (no human rights and no law enforcement). Your neighbor could cut your throat for no reason. Surviving was the main preoccupation for all. To survive against threats, they had to kill massively. If not, the next generations will become a threat again, and again, and again. Also, some nations had alliances and adored the same “gods”. It was tactical to inspire the terror among the nations to preserve a relative peace (the dissuasion effect). Don’t think that the Canaanites, the Philistines, or the Egyptians, would had pity for the Hebrews. It’s not true. They were also cruel and barbarian.

It was God against all other “gods” and Israel against all their enemies.

We the Christians had to stop the Muslims (crusades) because their imperialism became a very serious threat to the Christendom. We had no choice.

In conclusion, no war is clean. It doesn’t work that way. Unless we are playing chess. 🙂

Saint Augustin
 
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