Did God Really Command Genocide? A Scholar Explains the Violence in Scripture

Why does the Old Testament seem so violent? Many people, Christians and unbelievers, scratch their heads at this. Does God condone slavery, genocide, and other violence? How do we make sense of this, along with what the Bible says about love? I talk with expert Paul Copan about this, who has written extensively on the topic of violence in the Old Testament. I try to ask him about some of the most common questions people have about this.

Timestamps:

4:44- Who is Paul Copan and how is he qualified to speak on this topic?
07:28- Did Israel sometimes just claim God was on their side to justify their wars? If God is all-powerful and can bring justice Himself, why did He choose to send Israel’s armies into battle, wiping out entire nations, instead of executing judgment directly?
14:30- Does God actually endorse what looks like ethnic cleansing? Why did God command the kiIling of entire nations, including women and children? Talking about hyperbole.
23:49- Who were the Canaanites and other nations that God sent judgment to?
27:39- Is it possible that the biblical writers sometimes attributed vioIence to God that was more their interpretation than God’s actual decree? How do we know that the biblical writers didn’t just misunderstand God’s will and wrongly attribute vioIence to Him? Doesn’t this go against the commandment to not kiII?
34:05- If murder is a sin, why is God commanding people to go murder other people?
41:26- When Jesus tells His followers to “love your enemies,” what does that mean for how we interpret Israel’s enemies in the Old Testament? And an interesting conundrum with progressive theologian Greg Boyd, in his pre-progressive days, used to give one of the BEST answers to the vioIence in the Old Testament.
50:46- Why do some punishments in the Old Testament seem extreme, like stoning someone for breaking the Sabbath, or the ground swallowing up people alive? Another example is in 2 Kings when Elisha, the prophet was being teased by a group of boys, and so he cursed them and two bears came and mauled the boys. How do we make sense of passages like this?
57:13- What would you say to a skeptic who says the hyperbole argument is too convenient and is just a cop out answer? How do we know when it's hyperbole and when it's literal?
1:00:53- Discussing a very disturbing-sounding text and the difference between “descriptive” and “prescriptive” texts and God’s judgment.
1:05:31- Why does God seem to tolerate or even approve of things like slavery, polygamy, or holy war in the Old Testament?

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👀WATCH👀:
●My interview with Clay Jones about Hell:    • Hell: Unfair and Barbaric or Just and Dese...  
●Other Interviews Paul Copan has done discussing slavery, hyperbole and more:    • Is God a Vindictive Bully? (with Paul Copan)  
And:
●https://www.youtube.com/live/RSJSCj4t...

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