The moral stature of God in LDS scripture
Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 11:45 pm
In the Waiting for Godot "Some benefits of attending Sunday meetings" thread, there is some speculation that the bloodthirsty sociopath certain episodes of the Old Testament make Yahweh out to be is the result of prejudices and so forth of the prophets who wrote these accounts. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37052&start=63
Since this problem is being relegated just to the Old Testament, I have to wonder what exactly God does in Mormon scripture to make him morally praiseworthy. As I suggested in that thread, let us take the example of Alma the Younger's insight into our loving, all-powerful Heavenly Father passively watching women and children being roasted alive:
Alma 14
8 And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire.
9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
Let's "liken the scriptures," as mighty Nephi taught us, and contemplate what it might look like if we were to apply our loving Heavenly Father's ethics in our own lives.
Scenario 1: Little Suzy is getting the living crap beat out of her by her older, bigger, stronger brother, Bobby. She is crying and screaming in pain as his fists rain down on her face and body. Blood is rushing from her nose; severe bruises have formed all over her. Mom says to Dad, "Huh, maybe we step in and protect Suzy, seeing as how we have the power to do so." But Dad says, "No, because we're going to punish Bobby afterward, and sitting here watching him beat the crap out of her will justify us in punishing him for the thing we allowed him to do in the first place."
Scenario 2: Two police officers are walking down the street, and see an elderly gentleman who is in no condition to protect himself lying on the ground in the fetal position, desperately trying to cover his face and abdomen from the gang of hooligans who are kicking and stomping on him and hitting him with bats and 2x4's and so forth (think of A Clockwork Orange if that helps). The rookie cop says, "You know, we're police and we're both armed and could easily go over and protect that guy. Waddya say?" And the veteran cop says, "No, we should let them keep mercilessly beating him, because then they'll get an even harsher sentence after they are convicted of assaulting him."
I'm sure there are many more scenarios one might think of in likening this passage from the most correct book on Earth. In any event, make the case that the God described in Mormon scripture is morally praiseworthy.
Since this problem is being relegated just to the Old Testament, I have to wonder what exactly God does in Mormon scripture to make him morally praiseworthy. As I suggested in that thread, let us take the example of Alma the Younger's insight into our loving, all-powerful Heavenly Father passively watching women and children being roasted alive:
Alma 14
8 And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire.
9 And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
10 And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
11 But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
Let's "liken the scriptures," as mighty Nephi taught us, and contemplate what it might look like if we were to apply our loving Heavenly Father's ethics in our own lives.
Scenario 1: Little Suzy is getting the living crap beat out of her by her older, bigger, stronger brother, Bobby. She is crying and screaming in pain as his fists rain down on her face and body. Blood is rushing from her nose; severe bruises have formed all over her. Mom says to Dad, "Huh, maybe we step in and protect Suzy, seeing as how we have the power to do so." But Dad says, "No, because we're going to punish Bobby afterward, and sitting here watching him beat the crap out of her will justify us in punishing him for the thing we allowed him to do in the first place."
Scenario 2: Two police officers are walking down the street, and see an elderly gentleman who is in no condition to protect himself lying on the ground in the fetal position, desperately trying to cover his face and abdomen from the gang of hooligans who are kicking and stomping on him and hitting him with bats and 2x4's and so forth (think of A Clockwork Orange if that helps). The rookie cop says, "You know, we're police and we're both armed and could easily go over and protect that guy. Waddya say?" And the veteran cop says, "No, we should let them keep mercilessly beating him, because then they'll get an even harsher sentence after they are convicted of assaulting him."
I'm sure there are many more scenarios one might think of in likening this passage from the most correct book on Earth. In any event, make the case that the God described in Mormon scripture is morally praiseworthy.