Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Bible and Quran - Violence in the Old Testament
Some people compare the violence in the Bible to the violence in the Quran.
They then say that Christians should have to follow the teachings of the whole Bible.
"What about the wars in the Old Testament and the violence in the parables of Jesus?" they ask.
"And what's with the Book of Revelation in the New Testament and the wars mentioned there?"
Since Christians believe that Jesus has been there in every period of time
Why do they not follow the example of Jesus in the Old Testament and begin combat?
One Muslim adhering to this line of thought is Pierre Vogel.
Is he right and is there any truth to the assumption of violence in the Bible?
In truth, at the time of the Old Testament many tough wars were waged and some of them were commanded by God.
Regardless, for us Christians, the greater given commandment is to love your enemy, not to fight him.
But what about the passages in 2 Timothy and Matthew 5? They clearly say that all commandments are valid. That includes the Old Testament.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching ..."
Should Christians then also teach and practice the passages about war?
All Scripture is useful for teaching, however, only as Christ has taught and lived it.
He has shown us how commandments are to be properly understood.
This is a big subject, but let me just give you one example.
At one point Jesus refers to a commandment in the Old Testament and says:
"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law, Jesus replied. But at the beginning of creation God ..."
But this is about marriage and divorce. What does that have to do with the wars we are talking about?
That's correct. However, it is interesting for us to see how Jesus is applying a portion of the Old Testament.
In the time of Moses the scripture answered to the weakness of man
meanwhile Jesus uses his authority to stress God's original intentions for us.
And that's why Christians look to Jesus Christ and how he taught the law. Even in the present he is our example.
Alright. I understand the whole "Jesus is an example" thing.
It is relevant for the time of the New Testament and the period of time that follows.
But the violence in the Old Testament remains.
How do you explain all the women and children and even babies who were killed?
Ok, let me try to answer that.
First of all, God reveals himself in context.
In other words: He uses the reality in which people live. God saw the violent life that people had chosen for themselves early on.
He was unhappy with their decision.
In Genesis 6,11 we read: "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence."
"God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways." Genesis 6,12
We may not be able to fully relate to the people of this time.
For instance, look at what God said through the prophet Jeremiah 19.5
"They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal- something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind." Jeremia 19,5
Ostensibly, this did not please God in the same way he was displeased with much of the other things people in biblcal times did.
You see, it was a crass time.
God often showed patience,
but at other times there was a judgement, a penalty,
and that penalty was sometimes not just given to individuals but extended to an entire group.
In spite of it all, he wants something better for us.
He wants to lead us through history to Jesus Christ.
Somehow that sounds strange.
I understand. You have to know that eventhough we don't do it in our culture:
In the Bible God is also referred to as a judge.
A judge's priority is justice and that is a good thing.
In the Old Testament it looks like he used Israel as his executive against the disobedient peoples.
And if the Israelites screwed up, he for example used the Assyrians and the Babylonians to fight and punish them in return.
How about the Book of Revelation in the New Testament describing the end of the world?
Well, the Bible does speak about an end of the world and about a Day of Judgement at the end of it all on which Jesus will return.
The descriptions in the Book of Revelation paint a picture of some sort of the hell on earth.
A time in which every person must answer to God for her/his life choices.
Jesus often speaks about this time, for instance in Luke 19.27, he talks about the king, who has his enemies, people who denied him, killed before his eyes,
or in Matthew 13 some people are weeds, which are burned
or in Matthew 25, some people are goats that are thrown into the fire at the end
We have to distinguish between the literal and figurative nature of what Jesus says.
Jesus often explained things with simplified pictures,
so if we read a few verses beforehand that he is about to explain something figuratively, using a parable, we should be careful not to transfer it 1:1.
No one will be transformed into weeds or into a goat. There are also other parts of the parables that weren't intended as literal references for us.
Still, there is one clear message:
There will be a judgement at the end in which good will be rewarded and evil will be punished.
How do I explain this to you?
Just imagine people like Hitler would not see God's judgment. Receive no more punishment.
How would that be fair? They would have won!
I think it's good, that God is the judge and everyone will stand before him.
I believe we can trust him to be a better judge than any human could be.
Hmmm... God as a judge?
You are right. I've hardly ever heard that. But somehow ...
I can not explain everything.
But what encourages me and might even help you is
what God promises in the Old Testament. He promises better times when
He says that there will be a time:
Micah 4:3 b "They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more."
Micah 4:4 "Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig-tree, and no-one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken."
God promised us so many wonderful things in the Old Testament
and most of that came true in Jesus Christ.
People who follow him, Christians, trust the Bible the way he taught and exemplified it.
If you have any questions about the difference between Jesus and Muhammed, or between the late and early Quranic suras
Or if you want to know more about violence in the Old Testament: Watch one of these videos.
Paul and the Law
Violence in the Bible
Quran criticism/miracles