<<I might just be a bit too defensive with you. Maybe you have not belittled anybody. I got the impression from your comments about condoning genocide.>>
Well let's look at a particular passage: Numbers 31
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."
3 So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them. 4 Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel." 5 So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.
7 They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba-the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. 10 They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. 11 They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals, 12 and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. [1]
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army-the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds-who returned from the battle.
15 "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. 16 "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
Now as Americans we're allowed to look at our past and say slavery was wrong, discrimination was wrong, not allowing women to vote was wrong, our treatment of the American Indian was wrong. We can grow morally. We can condemn ourselves when we think it appropriate.
But for religious fundamentalists who believe everything in the Bible happened and was the will of God (who is the definition of good), they can't look back at a story like this and say, "well if Moses did that, it was wrong."
They can't and they won't. I am morally troubled by that. I'm troubled by a moral code that can't say genocide, or what happened in Numbers 31, is always wrong.
I've had this conversation with Christian Conservatives on this thread and they've said, "God knows best, if he wanted those people killed then it was the right thing to do." They condone killing in the name of God, something you've said you and i should agree is very bad.
Am i attacking Christians (and Orthodox Jews too) by bringing these things up? I don't think so.
Steve Dietrich |
