Thank you for your response.
First let me say that I did not take any of the scriptures quoted out of
context. You and I and I dare say most of the people on this list know that
god, on numerous occassions, ordered his people to kill children. This is
what I hoped to get across by posting these verses. And we both know that
there's a lot more where that came from!
You asked me if i would defend a satanic cult that crucified and 16 year old
or if i would defend Hiltler's Nazis. Of course not. But that's because
they killed innocent people -- specificaly children and infants. Can you at
least see how a person like myself might have a little problem with this?
You painted a rather hideous picture of those god commanded his people to
kill. Specifically you said,
>>The peoples that God commanded the Israelites to destroy were >>completely
given over to evil. Consecutive generations were involved. >>Veneral and
other diseases were rampant with no cures, child and infant >>sacrifice were
common, idol worship of false gods, which destroys men's >>souls, was
practiced.
Is it that you want me to believe that these people, because they were sooo
wicked, somehow deserved to be butchered into oblivion? I find it hard to
believe that if my nieghbor has murdered one of his children, that justice is
somehow served if I step in and kill ALL of his children. Yet, that's
exactly how god deals with the situation in the bible (see the entire book of
Joshua).
Moreover, god didn't restrict his murderous wrath to Israel's enemies because
of their perverse life-style. God was very generous with his wrath! He
loved to spread it around -- even TO HIS OWN people, and for the most
innocuous of offenses. Leviticus 10 tells how two israelite priests (Aaron's
sons) had once botched a ceremony. God's reaction? He sent fire down from
the sky and burned them to death! Or how about the story of the guy who god
ordered stoned to death because he was found "gathering wood on the sabbath."
(see Numbers 15:32-36) Or how about the most famous one in the bible -- god
sentences all humanity to a default state of eternal damnation because Eve
ate a piece of fruit?
Jeff, we aren't talking about Hitler or some murderous satanic cult here,
we're talking about children! Believe me, if i saw someone nailing some 16
year old to a cross -- I would kill him! ("him" being the cultist doing the
nailing - just in case you weren't sure)
Finally, let me say that regardless of how you justify the murder of children
in your own mind, consider that from within a purely biblical framework of
thinking all of this killing and punishing and blood and guts is totally
unnecessay! Correct me if i am wrong here, but didn't ALL humanity enter a
fallen state with the transgression of adam and eve? And did not jesus pay
the price of sin on the cross, thereby satisfying god's demand for justice?
And is not the only way out of this fallen state (not to mention eternity in
hell) to accept jesus' free gift of salvation? Given all this, wouldn't you
agree that god's demand for justice has been satisfied through jesus? Now,
if all this is true, if justice has been satisfied -- THEN WHY ALL THE
KILLING? What point does all this hideous butchering serve other than for
god's amusement?
Jeff, the reason people on this list don't believe in your god is because
your god is a murderous beast. And let me tell you something else. You and
I both know that were people to be introduced to the bible's darker side as
children -- instead of being fed these lies about how wonderful and good and
loving the bible is -- VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD BELIEVE IT! And those who did
knowingly embrace the bible's twisted morality would be looked upon as
twisted themselves. Jeff, i dare say that you are a case in point!
By the way, my name is not geraldine ferraro!
Sincerely,
Mike Earl