The conversation began when I raised some problems with calling God the perfect Father based on particular depictions in the Bible. I gave as a test case the text of Lamentations 4 where God judges Israel for her unfaithfulness by orchestrating conditions that will include women eating their infant children. The Israelites understood those conditions […]
human sacrifice
Reading biblical horrors post-Enlightenment
David P writes: My problem is this: a) Prior to the Enlightenment, everyone pretty much read the Abraham/Isaac passage literally (right?). b) After moral reflection on God’s nature and other things, modern thinkers say the passage should be taken metaphorically. Then they proceed to point out features of the text that support their conclusion. Maybe […]
“Is God a Moral Monster?” A Review (Part 2)
Paul Copan. Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8010-7275-8. 252 pp. Note to the reader: this was originally going to be a two part review. I’ve decided to extend it to three (or more) parts so I can stretch my legs a bit. […]
Committing moral horrors in God’s name revisited (yet again)
In “The mutilation of Isaac” I argued that it would have been wrong for Abraham to kill and mutilate his son as a burnt offering. This was in response to Matthew Flannagan’s argument that there is nothing inherently wrong with God commanding a father to kill his child if the father does so knowing that God […]
The mutilation of Isaac
Matthew Flannagan, respected analytic theologian, Christian apologist and faithful blogger, has taken issue with my argument that God would not ask a parent to sacrifice their child. Matt asks us to consider why it is that killing a human being is wrong. It is wrong, he avers, because it deprives one of their future life. […]
Teach your children well (and don’t mutiliate their corpses)
Last November I was on a panel discussion with Matt Flannagan at the Evangelical Philosophical Society in Atlanta talking about Old Testament ethics. We agreed on a number of points but disagreed sharply on the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac. After returning I blogged about the experience and Matt has now published a belated critical […]
The day God (didn’t) command a father to kill his child
Some quick background At the already mentioned evening of fun and frolic at SBL in Atlanta, I rediscovered something I already knew: that in the minds of many Christians it is perfectly fine for God to demand his followers sometimes to engage in extremely violent acts in his name, perhaps even killing their healthy children […]
