Old Testament Violence (1)

The Old Testament contains some graphic descriptions of violence. Some Christians are disturbed by the thought that God commanded his people to totally annihilate the people of Canaan. The bloody violence seems to be inconsistent with one of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not murder”. It also seems to be inconsistent with the message of the gospel. Jesus urged his followers to turn the other cheek, when some one strikes them. The violence of the Old Testament does not make sense in the light of the gospel.

A common response to this violence is to reject the validity of the Old Testament as a revelation of God. Many people just assume that the Old Testament people got things wrong.

My approach is different. I agree that the Old Testament characters often got things wrong. They misunderstood the character of God and they did not understand his attitude to violence. Their behaviour was often tainted by the violence of the cultures in which they lived. However, I am not prepared to accept that the Old Testament describes a God who loves violence. The picture of a violent and blood thirsty God that many authors see in the Old Testament is totally wrong.

Christians have tended to confuse the Israelites’ behaviour with God’s character. There is a big difference between what God actually commanded and what his people did. When studying the Old Testament, I focus on God’s words and actions. This gives quite a different picture of God. He is not bloodthirsty and violent in the way that many people claim. His people were sometimes aggressive and bloodthirsty, but they were acting presumptively rather than obeying him. He did not command their violence and bloody destruction.

In this series of posts, I will expand on these issues with particular reference to Moses, Joshua and Samuel. I will look at a few other incidents along the way.

The full series can be found at violenz.