|
God of the Old Testament
- the
dark side
Violence in the Old Testament Violence is the most talked about human activity in the OT - individual killings, jealousy, hatred and wars are covered in some 600 passages - starting from the stories of Cain & Abel and later those of Joseph and his brothers, Saul & David. When Joshua conquered the land, "he left none remaining but utterly destroyed all that breathed" (Josh 10:40). The OT God, Yahweh, is described as a 'divine warrior' and over 1000 texts refer to divine vengeance. As early as the time of Noah, Genesis chapter 6 tells us that God found the earth 'corrupt' and 'full of violence'. So how would God deal with this situation? "I am going to put an end to all people... I am going to destroy both them and the earth." It is strange that God blames his creatures for the corruption and violence, and vows further violence of his own to deal with the situation.
------------------------------------------------------------ Dec09: Added from
Richard Dawkins The
God Delusion (Bantam Press 2006) Examples of God's violence and arbitrary decrees The Bible (Old Testament) is a treasure house of horrors. Even a casual reading reveals the OT God as violent, vengeful, racist, sexist, terrorist… Here are some examples.
# Sexist & sadistic - God punishes Eve for a minor offence: “I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing… your husband will rule over you.” [Genesis, chap 3] - Two male ‘angels’ had arrived in Sodom and a person called Lot put them up. When a band of gay men wanted sex with them, Lot beseeched them: “Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you and you can do what you like with them.” It was Lot whom God judged righteous. Only he and his family were spared from destruction.[Genesis, chap 19] - When a local king (Abimelech) was troubling Abraham’s wife, God arbitrarily decides “to close up every womb in Abimelech’s household”, including the slave girls. [Genesis, chap 20] - A male (aged 20 to 60) is worth 50 shekels [30 kg] of silver and a female in that age group 30 shekels. In the age group 5-20, a male at 20 shekels is worth twice a female.[Leviticus, chap27]
# Racist violence The good God has his favourites: “The Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” [Exodus, chap 7-12] He unleashes a series of calamities on the Egyptians – plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, boils, locusts and finally, “At midnight the Lord struck down all the first born in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh. to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon and the firstborn of all livestock as well." [Exodus 12:29]
# Divine vengeance “If you will not listen to me… then I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight… I will punish you for your sins seven times over… I will send wild animals against you, destroy you cattle. If in spite of this you still do not listen to me … You will eat the flesh of your sons and daughters… I will abhor you… I will turn your cities into ruins.” [Leviticus, chap 26:14-31] Phew! No caring God here, more the ravings of a bloodthirsty bully.
# Dispossession & land grab The OT God calls the Israelites his chosen people. He promised Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation…I will make your name great." [Genesis, chap 12:2] "To your descendants I give this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates - the land of the Kenites, Amorites, Hittites, Canaanites, …” [Genesis, 15:18-21]. What about the people living there?
The Lord’s strategy is to liberate his favoured people by dispossessing the others. : “My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Canaanites, ... and I will wipe them out…I will send terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation that you encounter… Gradually I will drive them out until you have increased enough to take possession of the land… I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out.” [Exodus, 23:23-31]
In the plains of Moab at Jericho, God (Yahweh) spoke to Moses: "When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy their figured stones, all their cast images and demolish all their high places. You shall take possession of the land and settle int it, for I have given you the land to possess." [Numbers, 33:50-56]
"When Yahweh your God brings you into the land... and clears away many nations before you..., then you must utterly destroy them... Break down their altars, smash their pillars, hew down their sacred poles and burn their idols... Yahweh your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people." [Deut, 7:1-11] "As for the towns of these people that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive..." [Deut, 20:16-18] However, the fruit bearing trees are to be spared. And "if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and make her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing...". [Deut, 21:11-13]
# Arbitrary taboos After the exodus from Egypt, God imposed an elaborate code of conduct on the Israelites. A few examples: [Leviticus, chap 11]: 1. “You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud.” That ruled out the camel, pig and rabbit. 2. “You may eat any (water creatures) that have fins and scales.” So fish was OK but not eel. 3. A number of birds were considered ‘detestable’ to eat, among them eagle, vulture, raven, owl, stork, heron. So were animals like the weasel, rat, lizard, gecko, skink and chameleon. 4. About insects: “You may eat locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other winged insects with four legs you are to detest.” [Leviticus, Chap 19,21] 5. “Do not plant your field with 2 kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing of 2 kinds of material… Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” 6. Those wanting to become priests had to be free from defect. The following were disqualified: the blind, lame, hunch-backed, one with “an eye defect, festering sores or damaged testicles.”
A godsend for fundamentalists & imperialists The Old Testament is now considered ‘sacred’ and ‘the true Word of God’ by both Jews and Christians. But, tragically, ‘sacred’ passages in the OT have been used selectively a) by males to provide a mythical framework that legitimises women’s inferiority and subjugation; b) by European fundamentalists and colonists (in North America, South Africa, Australia & today’s Israel) to justify conquest of ‘heathen’ lands, genocides and establishment of settler states.
Reference 1. R S Sugirtharajah (Ed), Voices from the Margin, (Orbis/SPCK 1995) [See Chap 19 by the Palestinian Christian writer Naim S Ateek and Chap 20 by the Native American writer Robert A Warrior] 2. Michael Prior, The Bible and Colonialism, (Sheffield Academic Press, 1999)
----------------------------------
|