What IS good, and how do we determine it?

[Huggy Bear]

This is from Leviticus 21:9

9'Also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father; she shall be burned with fire

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Let me get this straight. Christians believe that what is good and evil doesn't change. The verse is a command from the bible god. A girl, probably young, would be burned to death for having sex. So, why don't Christians advocate burning sexually active women now?

Nothings changed, except for the fact that Jesus died and paid the penalty for sin, and therefore we exist by the grace of God.
Grace supersedes the law.
Think of Grace as a presidential pardon that exempts you from having to pay any penalty of breaking the law

Deuteronomy 13

12 “When you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, you may hear 13 that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods you have not known before. 14 In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find that the report is true and such a detestable act has been committed among you, 15 you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock. 16 Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the open square and burn it. Burn the entire town as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt. 17 Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a large nation, just as he swore to your ancestors.

1 Samuel 15

Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy[a] all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

We would be shocked today if soldiers went into an enemy city and killed women, children, babies and animals. It is senseless slaughter. The early Hebrews sound shockingly similar to ISIS.  So, do the morals that the Christian god supposedly created remain the same or not?

I like how you guys always try to compare ancient civilizations with your modern world view.

The Amalekites sealed their doom by attacking God's chosen people. If they had befriended the Hebrews, then they would have been blessed, but instead they attacked the Hebrews and were cursed.

"And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." - Genesis 12:2-3

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea - Matthew 18:6
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalek

Conflicts with Israel

The Amalekites were "the first one of the nations" to launch an unprovoked attack [3] on the Israelites after the Exodus, at Rephidim near Mount Sinai. As a consequence, YHVH decreed ultimate extinction for the Amalekites (Num. 24:20; Exod. 17:8-16; Deut. 25:17-19). A year later, when the Israelites attempted to enter the Promised Land contrary to the word of YHVH, they were repulsed by the Amalekites (Num. 14:41-45). Twice during the days of the Judges these adversaries shared in assaulting Israel in the days of Eglon king of Moab (Judg. 3:12, 13). Again, with the Midianites and Easterners, they pillaged the land of Israel seven years before Gideon and his 300 men dealt them a smashing defeat (Judg. 6:1-3, 33; 7:12; 10:12). Because of this persistent hatred, during the period of the kings, YHVH ‘called to account’ the Amalekites, commanding that King Saul strike them down, which he did “from Havilah as far as Shur, which is in front of Egypt.” However, Saul, overstepping the order of YHVH, spared the kingly Agag of Amalek. "God was not mocked", for “Samuel went hacking Agag to pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.” (1 Sam. 15:2-33) Some of King David’s raids included Amalekite villages, and when they in return attacked Ziklag and carried off David’s wives and goods, he and 400 men overtook them, recovering all that had been stolen (1 Sam. 27:8; 30:1-20).[3] During the reign of Hezekiah, some of the tribe of Simeon annihilated the remnant of the Amalekites (1 Chr. 4:42, 43).[10]

A modern example would be the current situation between Palestine and Israel. There will never be a peaceful resolution between the two, unless one side completely destroys the other.

Little philistines grow up to be big philistines, and the cycle will continue in perpetuity unless one side is wiped out. The Philistines have been a thorn in the side of Israel since biblical times, so in hindsight, knowing what you know now, should Israel have wiped out the Philistines back when they had the chance, or no?