Can a believer explain the brutality of this Bible example in an agreeable way so we all understand your God?
821595
First of all, it does not say that these were chldren, just the kings sons.  Perhaps some were children.   You have to understand about bloodline to get this-  God's people were under opression-  God gave them the means to be free from that oppression, sometimes war and death is necessary.  History just repeats itself with the descendants of the oppressor taking up the throne and makingthings worse.  This is a picture of sin in the physical-  if every remnant of that sin is not wiped out, it will just come back and take over again-  God commanded that the entire bloodline of those that refused to submit to His authority or at the very least respect His people and let them live in peace be wiped out or it would come back to haunt them.  \nI will not even go into the explanation of understanding Hebrew words and concepts to explain "thou shalt not kill"  I am sure you have heard it and if you continue to reject it because it does not fit in with your ideals , it does not make it any less true.   Either way , what is true is that either by the laying down of all arrogance or because you have no other choice- every knee will bow and every tongue will confess - there will be no room for, and no way to deny the majesty of God!\nThere is no contradiction,  His ways and thoughts are not my ways and thoughts-  I was not there at the foundations of the earth and I had no part in hanging one star in the heavens and neither did you.
79152
Greetings,\n\nThe Bible is both literal and metaphorical. There is not always a clear line between the two. God uses a literary devise that no other author can use. I call it the "literal metaphore". \n\nFor example the story of Abraham and Isaac is both a literal story, and a figurative one. That is to say that it is a picture of the sacrifice of Christ, while at the same time is a true story.\n\nThe same is true of story of Jonah. His three days in the belly was a metaphore of the death and ressurection of Christ.\n\nThere are a number of places where the language seems strictly metaphorical, but it is probably rather a simplification. That is to say for instance John in Revelations did not understand all that he saw. His discriptions were no doubt literal to him, and he described them in the simplest terms he could relate to others with. \n\nGod Bless,\n\nRobert
549876
Proof that our "friend" is a hypocrite and a mental case, see above.\n\nI ask myself every time I read the Bible, what does this mean FOR me.
1160419
Hell Yes!\n\nREAD:\n\nKill the Entire Town if One Person Worships Another God\n\n    Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods.  In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully.  If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock.  Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it.  Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God.  That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt.  Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction.  Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you.  He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors.  "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him."  (Deuteronomy 13:13-19 NLT)\n\n\n======================\n\n\nKill Nonbelievers\n\n    They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.  (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)\n\n\n===============================\n\n\nKill Followers of Other Religions.\n\n    1) If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him.  Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you.  You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.  And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst.  (Deuteronomy 13:7-12 NAB)\n\n \n\n    2) Suppose a man or woman among you, in one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, has done evil in the sight of the LORD your God and has violated the covenant by serving other gods or by worshiping the sun, the moon, or any of the forces of heaven, which I have strictly forbidden.  When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then that man or woman must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death.  (Deuteronomy 17:2-5 NLT)
1057677
Ugggh, homework? It's summer soltice!  Give us a break!  \nI take issue with this article's assumptions, which are very general.  First the author makes the statement that Christianity's two prime articles of faith are "revelation and Crucifixion."  There are major divisions amongst Christianity itself on the person of Jesus Christ, the saving nature of his life, death, resurrection, teachings. And the question of whether or not he is the definitive and only saviour for all people of all times, is not universally agreed on by all Christians.  \nThe role of the Crucifixion is also not understood uniformly across the board by all Christians.  The question has long been asked and debated, "how is Jesus' death and crucifixion redemptive?" Is it? Redemption, atonement, sacrifice, are all traditional understandings, but theology has always had several understandings of and interpretations of soteriology, and Christology.\nInterestingly enough the earliest Christian art showed nothing of the crucifixion...\nBut I'm off the hook since your author inists that "no man" this and "no man" that...
664571
that's really amazing what shocked me most is this:\n\nQUR'AN: "GOD does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. GOD loves the equitable."(60:8)\n\n"If they withdraw from you and fight you not, but (instead) send you (guarantees of) peace, then God alloweth no way for you (to war against them)." (4:90)\n\n"If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace, and trust in God." (8:61)\n\n\nBIBLE: "And the Lord said, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:\n\n9:6 Slay utterly old [and] young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom [is] the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the elderly men who [were] before the house.\n\n9:7 And he said to them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.\n\nEzek. 9:5-7 \n\ni was really shocked..thank you for that brother..it's amazing how the bible describes god and how the qur'an does.\na true God never sleeps nor rest.
621871
I read these many entries speaking against God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the Christian people... and it breaks my heart. \nYour question was beautifully written and asked. Remember what Jesus told us to do when the "unbelievers" reacted to Him and to His Word in this manner.\n\nMatthew 5:11 \nBlessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. \n\nMatthew 5:44 \nBut I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; \n\nAnd when you've said and done all that you can do:\n\nMark 6:11 \nAnd whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.\n\nGod bless you my Christian friend.
228395
49:9 Hence, if two groups of believers fall to fighting, [9] make peace between them; but then, if one of the two [groups] goes on acting wrongfully towards the other, fight against the one that acts wrongfully until it reverts to God’s commandment; [10] and if they revert, make peace between them with justice, and deal equitably [with them]: for verily, God loves those who act equitably!\n\n2:165 And yet there are people who choose to believe in beings that allegedly rival God, [131] loving them as [only] God should be loved: whereas those who have attained to faith love God more than all else. If they who are bent on evildoing could but see - as see they will when they are made to suffer [132] [on Resurrection Day] -that all might belongs to God alone, and that God is severe in [meting out] punishment!\n\n6:127 Theirs shall be an abode of peace with their Sustainer; and He shall be near unto them in result of what they have been doing.\n\n8:61 But if they incline to peace, incline thou to it as well, and place thy trust in God: verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing!\n\n9:10 respecting no tie and no protective obligation with regard to a believer; and it is they, they who transgress the bounds of what is right! [16]\n\n9:26 whereupon God bestowed from on high His [gift of] inner peace upon His Apostle and upon the believers, and bestowed [upon you] from on high forces which you could not see, [34] and chastised those who were bent on denying the truth: for such is the recompense of all who deny the truth!\n\n9:40 If you do not succour the Apostle, [60] then [know that God will do so -just as] God succoured him at the time when those who were bent on denying the truth drove him away, [and he was but] one of two: [61] when these two were [hiding] in the cave, [and] the Apostle said to his companion, "Grieve not: verily, God is with us." [62] And thereupon God bestowed upon him from on high His (gift of] inner peace, [63] and brought utterly low the cause of those who were bent on denying the truth, whereas the cause of God remained supreme: [64] for God is almighty, wise.\n\n10:10 [and] in that [state of happiness] they will call out, [15] "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory, O God!"-and will be answered with the greeting, "peace !" [16] And their call will close with [the words], "All praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds!"\n\n10:25 AND [know that] God invites [man] unto the abode of peace, and guides him that wills [to be guided] onto a straight way. [40]\n\n13:24 "peace be upon you, because you have persevered!" How excellent, then, this fulfilment in the hereafter!\n\n36:58 peace and fulfillment through the word of a Sustainer who dispenses all grace. [29]\n\n37:79 “peace be upon Noah throughout all the worlds!”\n\n27:59 SAY: “All praise is due to God, and peace be upon those servants of His whom He chose [to be His message-bearers]!” Is not God far better than anything to which men [falsely] ascribe a share in His divinity? [54]\n\n:195 And spend [freely] in God's cause, and let not your own hands throw you into destruction; [173] and persevere in doing good: behold, God loves the doers of good.\n\n2:222 AND THEY will ask thee about [woman's] monthly courses. Say: "It is a vulnerable condition. Keep, therefore, aloof from women during their monthly courses, and do not draw near unto them until they are cleansed; and when they are cleansed, go in unto them as God has bidden you to do." [209] Verily, God loves those who turn unto Him in repentance [210] and He loves those who keep themselves pure.\n\n3:31 Say [O Prophet]: "If you love God, follow me, [and] God will love you and forgive you your sins; for God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace."\n\n3:134 who spend [in His way] in time of plenty and in time of hardship, and hold in check their anger, and pardon their fellow-men because God loves the doers of good;\n
1104086
Nice book. (If you’re a sadist)\n\n\n(edit)\nWhy would the old testament be in the book if this god decided to change his cruel, voilent and hatefull ways. Then you shouldn't present the old testament to me. If I tell you "Hey man, here is the word or GOD, the creator of all the universe! He is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-present!!!! ..But why then is there a part in his word that doesn't apply to our time?? I thought he is all-present which would mean his word will be timeless.
718642
It also says that God is VERY angry.  The bible clearly describes how he brought plagues, floods, and firestorms to kill thousands of people.  He also had millions more killed in the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust.  In the Bible people are supposed to be stoned for violating any one of the hundred biblical laws.  If the church got its way then very few of us would still be alive.  It is a good thing they lost the power to execute people at will without any justification.  I hear the church is still bitter about that fact.
1101568
Go count up the number of humans the "God" of the Bible caused the death of then count up the number "Satan" killed. Methinks they got the labels mixed up ; )
863314
It is interesting how people with no understanding of Bible prophecy try to explain the book of Revelation. One person said that the church will be raptured prior to the time of the antichrist, How does he explain these verses in\n2 Thessalonians 2:1-4?\n\nNow we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: FOR THAT DAY SHALL NOT COME, EXCEPT THERE COME A FALLING AWAY FIRST, AND THAT MAN OF SIN BE REVEALED, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God\n\nNotice the timing of the rapture. Even a child would understand that the man of sin must first be revealed, then the rapture takes place.\n\nIn addition, the mark of the beast issue is about worship not ID numbers. The beast in Revelation 13 wants our worship, our obedience. He wants to be as God. ID cards or chips have nothing to do with worship or obedience. In fact, there is nothing religious about them. They are purely secular in nature, having much more to do with security. The real issue is over allegiance to God and His law, versus allegiance to Satan and his law.\n\nThe booklet, The Beast, the Dragon, and the Woman explains the issues surrounding the final conflict between Christ and Satan as it relates to God's people and the mark of the beast. It can be found at the following website.\n\nhttp://www.amazingfacts.org/items/Read_Media.asp?ID=668
180536
I love when people say "read the bible!" after the guy just posted the verses he wants to discuss.\n\nIf the example he gives shows moses killing CHILDREN!!  How can you possibly say he did it b/c he had to or it was justified?  If god told you to go kill children you would do it?  You are sick.  Does that mean that the woman in texas or wherever who drowned her kids b/c she thought they were demons did the right thing?
918725
Ah ...the soft-shoe routine you can get from people who believe in the "inerrant" Bible - when a text clearly states something so awful that it must be re-re-reinterpreted.\n\nSo .. a word from our sponsor:\nIsiah 45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and CREATE EVIL: I the LORD do all these things."\n\nAnd now let's hear the various (laughable) renditions of what "evil" means "in this context," or "the actual Hebrew means something totally different." - obviously it couldn't just mean "evil," .... could it? \n\nThere is no one answer to your question. Current theology, in a vain attempt at sidestepping the mystical trend that produced the citation above, holds that God did NOT do what He says He did, or that it's a "mystery to be revealed in the end to us all."
1022540
This verse was meant to be an example of the usefulness of tolerence - to not be quick to judge or fight - yet so many misconstrue it to mean that Christians should not show anger or fight - which is not true - Christ himself showed anger when he cleared the temple of the money changers who had turned the place of worship into a place of business - many good men of God have gone into battle at His command - I believe what this verse intends is that we as Christians set an example for peace and choose our battles - it does not mean we are cowards and do not take a stand - as the story goes "the Bible only says once!"
1105624
1. I love the website linked! It has every verse in the King James Bible listed directly and exactly as it is and reveals it for what it is. \n\nBibleGod killed babies, commited mass genocide and more and is all clearly there! \n\n2. The answer is no. There is some literature that is equally cruel and violent, but not anywhere close to having the vast amount of it as the bible does. \n\nBTW, I found a link to this great video clip on that site!\nhttp://throwawayyourtv.com/2006/06/bible-is-bullshit.html\n\nThanks abunch!
1180286
You are not completing these scriptures. Matt: 5:22  reads However, I say to YOU that everyone who continues wrathful with his brother will be accountable to the court of justice; but whoever addresses his brother with an unspeakable word of contempt will be accountable to the Supreme Court; whereas whoever says, ‘You despicable fool!’ will be liable to the fiery Ge·hen′na.\n\nGehenna was a waste heap outside of Jerusalem where the bodies of the dead criminals were burned. This is one of the reasons that man has taught a hell fire doctrine.  Which is not true by the way.  Jesus is talking about non believers and what might happen to them.  Not that it will.  It says liable (or deserving).\n\nMatt: 23:17 Fools and blind ones! Which, in fact, is greater, the gold or the temple that has sanctified the gold?  Meaning spiritual laws or the one who made the laws.  The Jews of Jesus time put more emphasis on obeying the Mosaic laws rather than showing love.  God commands love before the law.\n\nPsalm 14:1The senseless one has said in his heart:\n“There is no God” They have acted ruinously, they have acted detestably in [their] dealing.There is no one doing good. \n\nPeople that claim there is no God are doing so to sooth their consciences.  So they say in their heart "there is no God" and they act detestably in their dealings.\n\nWhy are these contradictory?