a simple questions

[chuck010342]

If God is righteous then why did he allow moses to kill the midoneans and slaughter thier children and take the unmarried for themsleves? I'm talking about the book of numbers chapter 31

 

[cvipertooth]

The Midianites had inhabited the land in which God had promised the Israelites, the promised land. This is the same concept as barbarians setting up roots in the Roman Empire. They were supposed to annihalate everything but it was man's nature to bring back the spoils, or unmarried women.

 

[Ceridwen018]

I think what he's asking, is why did god allow the Midianites to settle there if he had other purposes for that land? Why did he allow them to be slaughtered instead? A caring god would have made the Midianites settle elsewhere, or at least given Israel the means to move them out peacefully.

 

[Pah]

If God is righteous then why did he allow moses to kill the midoneans and slaughter thier children and take the unmarried for themsleves? I'm talking about the book of numbers chapter 31

The Midonites were probably there before the exodus (an extrapolation from the population numbers reported - in the hundred's of thousand's). God did not just "allow" the genocide, but commanded it. The reason stated was a plague visited on the Isrealites living there supposedly from the the God the Midonites worshipped. (Note especially the word "avenge" in the King James version).

It seems to me to be a "human" story of conquest and plunder given the attention and distribution to the possesions of the Midonites. It fits well within the barbaric pattern fattributed to the behavior of their God - a justification for human greed.

It makes no sense to free the land for an Isrealite expansion if all the buildings were razed.

-pah-

Would you like to have this moved to a debate forum?

 

[Edwardson]

The Old Testament Is "types And Shadows" For Us Today. Moses Represented God's Message Of Truth For That Time. Now We Are In A Different Time. The Lesson Is- Be "caught Away" In Today's Truth In Order To Keep Your Name Written In The Book Of Life.

 

[cardero]

Though no one can actually PROVE that the incidents of the Bible had occurred and that these incidents were influenced by GOD one of the rules that helps me identify with GOD from my own personal relationship with GOD is that if we are to believe that GOD is Almighty/omnipotent/Supreme than GOD would not ask anything of us humans that GOD could not do himself. This rule goes along way in identifying which parts of the Bible had actual GODly intervention.

 

[Godschild]

Some would say God is some evil dicator (as shown here.. http://www.biblebash.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=149 )However Is it our place to judge God?

 

[Faust]

It seems to me that in every religion men endow their gods with their own worst attributes. Then they claim the authority of these deities to justify their actions. What better way to get what you want than to say "well this seems pretty ugly but my God wants me to do this and I can't argue with the big guy".

 

[Khale]

Some would say God is some evil dicator

I can see how people would think that, but technically what we consider to be evil is based off of what GOD defines to be evil. Even athiests view of morales have their base in religion.

As to why he slaughtered the midoneans? I would say it is because he wanted too. Is there really any other explanation? The truth is he is a being with free will, a free will that is well beyond our illusion of free will. Due to this, there is really no way to explain why he chose to do this.

A good example to explain this would be how we cull animal populations. The animals would view it as slaughter and even consider us evil. However, we have a greater perception of the population and know that it was neccassary for there continued survival.