Genocide in the Old Testament

[Beta Ray Bill]

Actually, I think this was the post which started the butthurt.

In a world which has atomic bombs, and has used them on populations much bigger than Canaanite cities, it's a little precious to hear physicists like Krauss moralising about biblical wars. The dead children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki want a physicist to explain the "beauty" of science.

Lion, the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were terrible events. But they helped stop WW2. Roughly 300,000 people died from those bombings, but if the US had tried to invade Japan, the death toll would be in the MILLIONS, Japanese and American combined. The Japanese had no intent to surrender, and so diplomacy was not an option. There was reasoning behind the bombings, but there is no justification for what the Israelites did in ancient times. They were just out to "punish" their enemies by wiping them out of existence and raping their women.

Numbers:
31:7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
31:8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
31:9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
31:10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
31:11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.

Numbers
31:15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
31:17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
31:18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

This is hardly anything like what the Americans did. You may bring up the bad things that American soldiers did to Iraqi prisoners, and yeah, that was pretty sleazy, but it was NOTHING like what you'll find in the Bible.

Saying a war that does what the Americans did in Japan is bad? Not even. Saying what the Israelites did in the Bible was bad? Definitely. It was horrid, and served no purpose, other than personal gain, and "serving the LORD."

I do not serve hatred.