God's instruction to King Saul regarding the Amalekites raises huge ethical questions because he was commanded to "kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child" (1 Samuel 15:3).
For theological liberals, this is not a problem because they do not accept the whole Bible as God's infallible Word. But for those of us who believe that God is the ultimate author of the whole Scripture, we must accept that this was indeed God's command to King Saul.
Christianity historically has rejected violence as the means of dealing with aggression. We are in war, to be sure. But the weapons with which we fight are prayer and proclamation. We pray for those who hurt us. We turn the other cheek. This was the practice of the Church for its first three centuries: from Christ's death and resurrection until the time of Constantine. But this humble and prayerful willingness to share the gospel and to die for it if necessary is what conquered the Roman Empire.
One day an even more dreadful thing than the violent conquest of Canaan is on the horizon: the Lord Jesus is going to return and when he does, the entire human race will be liable to eternal hell. From the great to the small, none will escape. "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).
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“ A helpful understanding of a difficult Biblical to ” I found this message helpful in understanding a Christian approach to the difficult theme of genocide in the Old Testament.
After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
