Genocide

[Jayhawker Soule]

I wouldn't say a small handful, Jay. I'd say the majority of Christians addressing the issue here at RF have espoused such a view, ...

And just how many is that?

 

[spiritually inclined]

What purpose did it serve? It eliminated the enemy. Leaving women and children behind meant leaving enemies behind. Think about the old testament and how crimes were punished 7 fold. You kill my father I kill your whole village and so on.

Was this morally right? Not by our standards. Did the people of the time consider it morally right? Probably. It is easy for us to sit around drinking beer and eating McDonalds while looking down our noses and those horrible barbarians squatting in the desert and killing their neighbors over a few goats but what if it were you? Can you visualize yourself as a shepherd in 1200bc trying to survive in a hostile environment and surrounded by enemies? What would you consider moral and right? Probably whatever ensured your survival and the survival of your family.

It is true that I cannot say what I would have been in another time and place, and it may be that there were times when genocide was necessary for the survival of a group. My contention is that this is a revenge killing; perhaps they had other reasons to do this, maybe not. If you believe it is not wrong to unleash genocide on people for their ancestors' actions then we will just have to disagree.

I do not doubt that this text is not history; much of the Bible is not history. I am attempting to point out the dangers of literalizing a text and then applying it to modern times. Certainly that is what I have done in this thread, but only for hypothetical reasons. I'm no fundie. Even if you do believe that in this case the genocide was acceptable, hopefully we will agree that it is certainly not acceptable in our time and place.

James

 

[spiritually inclined]

No, you simply offered ...

Quote:
Originally Posted by spiritually inclined
Christians often jump to defend this genocide and slaughter of non-human life ...

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By which, of course, you meant ...

Quote:
a small handful of Christians often jump to defend this genocide and slaughter of non-human life ...
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Thank you for your clarity ...

If you just finish reading the post, you will see that I said:

Why do *some* Christians defend these actions?

I have actually already apologized for my generalizations and attempted to clarify myself, but you seem intent on bashing me today. Go right ahead, I honestly don't care if you think I am a bigot. I am well aware that there are wonderful Christians, Muslims, Jews, and so forth who do good things in the world.

James

 

[Trey of Diamonds]

If you believe it is not wrong to unleash genocide on people for their ancestors' actions then we will just have to disagree.

Now, now, there's that trap again, we are not discussing what I believe. You asked what purpose it served and I answered. You seem to be looking for an absolute. You want to be able to say "This is Wrong" and have it be so, past, present and future. My only point is that it can't be done. You can not hold up a moral standard of today and judge the past by it. The two are not compatible.

hopefully we will agree that it is certainly not acceptable in our time and place.

James

Of course.

 

[Autodidact]

How many is that?

I haven't counted, but I'd say it's around 7 of 10 here at RF, as well as in my previous life at TWeb.