I am a christian, i and i strongly belive in my lord jesus christ, and i also belive that if you belive in him and except him as your savior, u will go to heaven. and i also believe that he created the world, not the big bang, or that we came from stupid apes.
Capital punishment is, like thisisnotanalt said, is for government; but God was the Israelites' king and therefore, the head of their government.
So? That does not explain why there it is deemed to be acceptable, by Christian standards, to wipe out an entire city and yet still claim to love thy neighbour.
Is it justifiable to kill merely because the head of your government orders you to? Those excuses are akin to those heard at the Nuremberg trials.
just like God was to me.
I guess you are one of the lucky ones God did not give the thumbs up to massacre.
but a perfect and just God would not order an entire city to be wiped out simply because it has different beliefs. If God gave humans free will, then why would he kill people for utilizing said free will? That is not a perfect and just God.
A just ruler not only rewards people, but also disciplines them. In this case, God was protecting His chosen people from going down the wrong path and, while He was doing that, destroys people who need to be destroyed. In His righteous anger, He took them out. What about that do you not understand? He gave humans free will, but He also gave us rules to follow. We rejected those rules and went off to do what we wanted. An example that you might understand better is this: a government sets up some rules. A person goes off to break those rules and becomes a criminal. He is thrown in jail and left to rot. Did he deserve it? He had free will didn't he? Why is the government punishing him?
In this case, God was protecting His chosen people from going down the wrong path and, while He was doing that, destroys people who need to be destroyed.
He also gave us rules to follow. We rejected those rules and went off to do what we wanted.
Why isn't God smiting cities left and right then? Surely North Korea would be swept with Hellfire if God followed the same laws as before; they worship a false idol, a human at that.
An example that you might understand better is this: a government sets up some rules. A person goes off to break those rules and becomes a criminal.
A government is different from a God. Divine Order does not qualify as man-made laws.
Why isn't God smiting cities left and right then? Surely North Korea would be swept with Hellfire if God followed the same laws as before; they worship a false idol, a human at that.
God is merciful. I've said that already.
A government is different from a God. Divine Order does not qualify as man-made laws.
Yes, if the head of your government is an all powerful, yet perfect and just, God.
There seems to be a lot of ambiguity with regards to God's attitude to death.
Let me clarify.
God is supposed to be merciful, is that not correct? Is it not correct that generally killing is not condoned throughout the Bible?
Yet occassionally when it is convenient to remove a nation to make way for the Israelis God has a temper tantrum and orders the deaths of thousands in his name? That doesn't sound like an omniscient, infallible God to me.
An example that you might understand better is this: a government sets up some rules. A person goes off to break those rules and becomes a criminal. He is thrown in jail and left to rot. Did he deserve it? He had free will didn't he? Why is the government punishing him?
What you have there is a straw man argument. That example, although simple, is not particularly relevant. The aim of a government is to protect its citizens and maintain order. They are not comparable to the aim of a deity and so this example is invalid.
Yet occassionally when it is convenient to remove a nation to make way for the Israelis God has a temper tantrum and orders the deaths of thousands in his name?
It is not a temper tantrum. God was punishing them for their wickedness. Do you have a problem with that?
The aim of a government is to protect its citizens and maintain order. They are not comparable to the aim of a deity and so this example is invalid.
I said, already, that God was trying to protect His chosen people. Have you already forgotten?
God was punishing them for their wickedness. Do you have a problem with that?
Punishing them with death seems a little extreme for a deity that is supposed to be merciful.
I said, already, that God was trying to protect His chosen people. Have you already forgotten?
Killing the inhabitants of a city is for one thing a gross generalisation. How can you be sure every single inhabitant was a danger to the Israelites? What about the young, the sick, the old and the weak? Are they dangerous too?
If God was infallible and just, then he wouldn't have a chosen people. That's playing favorites, which means that he would be nicer to them, which is unjust because it is unfair to those who aren't chosen. If God has a chosen people then God=unjust.
What about the young, the sick, the old and the weak? Are they dangerous too?
I am not speaking of "dangerous" as in "may come through the Israeli camp and wipe out the Israelites". The Israelites tended to worship other gods as soon as they came in contact with them.
If God was infallible and just, then he wouldn't have a chosen people. That's playing favorites, which means that he would be nicer to them, which is unjust because it is unfair to those who aren't chosen.
They were chosen because, from them, our Savior was going to arise, not because God liked them the most.
They were chosen because, from them, our Savior was going to arise, not because God liked them the most.
But that doesn't make the people any better, just the Savior that comes from them. That's still preference for a certain group, simply because the Savior came from them, which is a human tendency, not a Godlike one.
Surely the solution is not to kill all other religions they may come into contact with? That is treating the symptom of the problem not the cause.
And what is the cause?
But that doesn't make the people any better, just the Savior that comes from them. That's still preference for a certain group, simply because the Savior came from them, which is a human tendency, not a Godlike one.
Because He loved Abraham so much(and He loved Abraham because of his(Abraham's)obedience), God promised Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation and that the Savior would come from his offspring. The Israelites were only God's chosen people because of God's promise, not because they were any better than anyone else.
