"violence in the Bible"

Submitted by Lactantius Jr (European Union), Nov 11, 2008 at 11:42

To Masood,

The questions you ask raise very troubling issues Masood, they trouble me too, and I'm suspicious of anybody who claims to have glib, easy answers, and so I refer to Internet publications which have given me some insight, and I hope they give you some insight too.

What can I say about "The Crusades" except that they represent a shameful episode in the history of the Christian Church. They didn't arise in a vacuum though, being a response to around 500 years of violent jihad starting shortly after Muhammad's death, which, using violence, decimated the Christian Church. Unlike the Islamic jihad which led to them however, violent crusades are not commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace, or modeled by Him for His followers to copy, remember Masood, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the night before His crucifixion, told one of His disciples to

"put away your sword, don't you know that whoever lives by the sword will die by the sword?"

Matthew 26:52

I have often been challenged by Muslims about "The Crusades," and because I need all the help I can get in dealing with this, I refer to the following publications I have found helpful,

‘Christian Statement on the Crusades"

http://www.answering-islam.org/crusades.html

‘Islamic Crusades vs. Christian Crusades'

http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/crusades.htm

‘Timeline of the Islamic Crusades'

http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/crusades_timeline.htm

‘The Crusades in Context'

http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Stenhouse/crusades.01.htm

Old Testament violence is not easy to "defend," and is not given to glib one-line answers. It is extremely troubling when we seek understanding of it, but seek to understand it we must, in order to respond with understanding and compassion, when challenged by Atheists who say "the Bible contains a lot of violence," or by Muslims who say, "I don't know why you complain about the Qur'an, the Bible is also very violent, especially the Old Testament."

I'm surprised at the examples you quote that trouble you Masood, those of Noah, Lot, and the fleeing Israelites being pursued by the Egyptians.

There's much work to be done Masood in seeking to ‘understand' this troubling issue, and rather than prepare a massive "bumper bundle" of an email, I mention some Internet publications which deal with this troubling issue, and here they are,

"Muhammad's wars versus God's wars"

http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/12/muhammads_wars_v_gods_wars.html

‘Violence in the Bible and the Qur'an a Christian Perspective'

http://www.answering-islam.org/Terrorism/violence.html

‘How could a God of Love order the massacre/annihilation of the Canaanites?'

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qamonite.html

Good Question---------shouldn't the butchering of the Amalekite children be considered war crimes?

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/rbutcher1.html

Good Question-----------What about God's cruelty against the Midianites?

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/midian.html

Good Question-----------Was God being evil when He killed all the firstborn in Egypt?

http://www.christian-thinktank.com/killheir.html

There's a lot of information here Masood, and I hope that you find some of it helpful in seeking to ‘understand' what is a very difficult problem.

With kind regards and best wishes

Lactantius Jr

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