DiscussMormonism.com

For the Mormon and Christians readers, I have to ask, does the behavior of the Old Testament God bother you?

Let me cite a few examples:

• "Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts." Exodus 11:4 - 5
  Do you believe that the best way for God to free the hebrew people was to kill the children of the Egyptians?
• "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." 1 Samuel 15:3
  Why did the infants need to die? What purpose did it serve?
• To punish David for his affair with Bathsheba and for Killing Uriah "The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died." 2 Samuel 12:15 - 18.
  Is it just to kill a child to punish a parent?
• "And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children" Leviticus 26:21 - 22
• "And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat." Leviticus 26:28-29

When pondering these verses does it ever make you doubt? Does the slaughter of infants bother you? Does threatening the life of children to keep the adults obedient bother you? Does taking the life of a child to punish a parent bother you?

I think that it's odd that if I were to say "God caused 9/11 as punishment" that I would be viewed as an extremist, but if I say, "God killed the children of Egyptians as punishment" that is acceptable. What is the difference? The passage of time?

How do you reconcile these actions with a just and loving God?

This was one of my most troubling issues as a believer.

It's what made me realize the scriptures couldn't be literally true.

Kick-ass God was a bit of a character.

I think its quite possible that the people of a distant era attribute to God things that weren't really Him.

stemelbow wrote:I think its quite possible that the people of a distant era attribute to God things that weren't really Him.

It's quite possible that's the story of all religion, from bear, ancestor & fire worshippers to present.

I am absolutely blinded by all this enlightenment.

Hoops wrote:I am absolutely blinded by all this enlightenment.

Hush now, adults are talking.

stemelbow wrote:I think its quite possible that the people of a distant era attribute to God things that weren't really Him.

To believe this you'd have to be that the Bible is riddled with mistakes. Then what value would it have? How would we know which parts are true, and which parts or false?

By investigating each claim individually.