Quote:
Originally Posted by stuck_in_chuk
But jealousy is such a human emotion - it should be far beneath a deity worthy of praise. Not only is he jealous, he takes jealousy to a whole new level. As mentioned in the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:4-5):
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me
No wonder he has no problem with causing genocide, or with enslaving people, or raping virgins. |
Sounds like the kind of stuff the god of the universe could command from his creation if he so chose. It's that fine balance between love and justice - sometimes we as humans do things that are "mean" to get the point across to children as a consequence. You know that instance when you know they will not learn unless you impose a consequence even you dislike - for
their long-term benefit. Amplify that feeling, your perspective on the situation and your power to intercede ten thousand times, and you'll be just
barely on your way to God's understanding of human sin.
Sure, jealousy is a human emotion, but you've gotta admit that our language limits word choice. That said, God
is "jealous" of our attention. And why shouldn't He be? He created us for the
primary purpose of praising Him (because He created us; for those of us who accept that idea, it's the least we could do, no?). It might sound childish to you, but it's as straightforward as I can make it.
I can't really "explain away" the genocide.
I already touched on the slavery part.
I don't actually have much intelligent to say in regards to the raping virgins text. I suspect there's much more to the story in context than it seems on the surface, but it does come across as lewd and perverse without further review, I'll admit that.