It is a truism to say the Bible contains a lot of violence. That much is obvious. Yet not all violence is regarded the same way in the pages of Scripture. Sometimes, the Bible makes it unmistakably clear that certain acts of violence are wrong.<\/p>\n No one who reads the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4, for example, is going to conclude that this passage is meant to encourage murder! Nor are people likely to read the story of David\u2019s adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his deadly dealings with Uriah and conclude that we should \u201cgo and do likewise.\u201d In fact, in this instance the narrator explicitly tells us that \u201cthe thing David had done displeased the LORD,\u201d (2 Samuel 11:27, NRSV). Most of us would concur!<\/p>\n Stories like these, though troubling in terms of what they reveal about human sinfulness and our capacity to hurt others, are not<\/em> problematic in terms of what they say about violence. In both cases, these narratives clearly demonstrate that the use of violence is bad and undesirable.<\/p>\n But what are we to do with passages of Scripture that sanction violence and portray it as something Examples of \u201cvirtuous\u201d violence abound in the Old Testament and are embedded in some of its most beloved stories: the flood narrative (Genesis 6-8), the story of the ten plagues, culminating in the death of every firstborn Egyptian (Exodus 12), the drowning of the entire Egyptian army (Exodus 14-15), the \u201cconquest\u201d of Canaan (Josh 6-11), Jael\u2019s slaying of Sisera (Judges 4), and David\u2019s slaying of Goliath (1 Samuel 17), to cite just a few notable examples.<\/p>\n In each of these passages\u2014and many others like them\u2014lethal violence is condoned and sometimes even celebrated.\u00a0 Passages like these create significant problems for Christian readers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Should we regard Jael as the \u201cmost blessed of women\u201d (Judges 5:24, NRSV) because she drove a tent peg through Sisera\u2019s skull? As we read about dead Egyptians washing up on shore, should we join voices with the Israelites and praise God for throwing \u201chorse and rider\u201d into the sea (Exodus 14:30-15:21)? Should we approve of Israelites killing Canaanites, massacring Midianites, annihilating Amalekites\u2014including women and children\u2014because they Bible says they did so with divine approval and blessing?<\/p>\n Or, to reduce these questions to the title of this post, \u201cWhen the Bible sanctions violence, must we?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebiblefornormalpeople.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/eric-seibert1-1.jpeg?ssl=1\" "\\"eric")
<\/a>Today\u2019s post is the second of three by Dr. Eric Seibert, Professor of Old Testament at Messiah College (post one is here<\/a>). Much of Seibert\u2019s work is centered on addressing the problematic portrayals of God in the Old Testament, especially his\u00a0violence.\u00a0He is the\u00a0author of\u00a0Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God<\/a>![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=inspirandinca-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0800663446\")
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebiblefornormalpeople.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Noahs-Flood-Dore-1.jpeg?resize=254%2C320&ssl=1\" "\\"Noah's")
<\/a> good?<\/strong> How should we regard what one might call \u201cvirtuous\u201d violence in the text?<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thebiblefornormalpeople.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Red-Sea-Egyptians.jpeg?resize=330%2C247&ssl=1\" "\\"Red")
<\/a>My answer to that question is an unequivocal \u201cNo!\u201d We should not, and we must not! It is extremely dangerous to endorse violent texts like these.<\/strong> Tragically, this kind of approval has often led to future acts of violence against others (as noted briefly in my previous post).<\/p>\n