Originally posted by SuzianneAs I said, your god has an amazing lack of imagination for an omnipotent being.
Abraham's descendants were God's people because of God's covenant with Abraham. Take it up with God. Are you calling what God did in this case "genocide"? Were the Canaanites "innocent"?
And do you really think someone coming in and telling everyone living there that God would like them to move somewhere else would work? If so, maybe the Israelites should try that with the Palestinians.
09 Nov 14
Originally posted by SuzianneI think what is happening here is that people are pointing out to you [and other people with the same sort of moral compass as you have] that the thing you believe your God figure was justified in doing [and you also believe was justified] is in fact what is known as genocide and that we can all assume that many if not most ~ and possibly all ~ of the men, women and children who were murdered did not deserve to be murdered.
Abraham's descendants were God's people because of God's covenant with Abraham. Take it up with God. Are you calling what God did in this case "genocide"? Were the Canaanites "innocent"?
Originally posted by JS357You'll get no real argument from me on that.
It seeks to preserve faith in God's perfect goodness in light of the apparently irredeemable immorality of the command. However, it depends on the judgement that it is irredeemably immoral, being correct.
Either position is too easy. This could have been stated as a conditional "If our moral judgement of the command is correct, then it could not have been ...[text shortened]... solution is to question our ability and authority to judge God's commands, and leave it at that.
Originally posted by SuzianneIf there were "evil" criminals among them who deserved to be tried and executed, why weren't they rooted out and dealt with? To just kill everybody is the moral atrocity known as genocide.
This was God clearing out evil people who were a danger to His people from the lands He had set aside for His people.
Originally posted by divegeesterOf course it is. The Amaleks also worshipped false gods. They were evil.
That's an interesting video but how do you account for scriptures such as this:
1 Samuel 15:3
[b]Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"
Edit: I suppose the definition of 'genocide' is key.[/b]
Originally posted by SuzianneYou didn't. But you spoke about the destruction of a group of people based on the fact that someone believed that they worshipped false gods.
Where did I ever claim this was "genocide"?
This was God clearing out evil people who were a danger to His people from the lands He had set aside for His people.
That is genocide as we use the term today.
How many genocides have been justified by variations on your last sentence, by changing your God to another God or to a human leader?
I really don't see any difference in your justification of this act to any Muslim fundamentalist flying a plane into a building.
Originally posted by FMFNo, the rules have changed since the appearance of His Son in Nazareth, and His sacrifice at Calgary. Your "scenario" simply would not happen.
If you believed that God spoke to you ~ in a vision or perhaps as a result of you praying ~ and He told you that, say, Hindus presented the same threat as you believe the Canaanites did on account of them worshipping what people of your religion consider to be "false gods", could you imagine yourself supporting or participating in a genocide against Hindus?
Originally posted by FMFThey are allowed to have their own opinion, even if it is wrong.
I think what is happening here is that people are pointing out to you [and other people with the same sort of moral compass as you have] that the thing you believe your God figure was justified in doing [and you also believe was justified] is in fact what is known as genocide and that we can all assume that many if not most ~ and possibly all ~ of the men, women and children who were murdered did not deserve to be murdered.