How do you teach God's genocide to children?

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Apr 23,2009, 11:57PM

How do you teach God's genocide to children?

I recently bought my seven year old daughter her first complete Bible: Zondervan's "Adventure Bible". The Bible is beautifully packaged, replete with a jungle safari theme and the NIrV text (a simplified version of the NIV), which is great for young readers. But while the book is accessible and engaging, some passages remain as perplexing as ever.

Take for example Deuteronomy 20 where Yahweh outlines the guidelines by which Israel is to go to war with her neighbors. God's directions begin with the cities of the more distant nations. When Israel marches on these cities they should first receive an offer of peace (v. 10) followed by enforced slavery to the Israelites (v. 11).

Given that I have been instructing my daughter in the horrors of slavery (along with the fine work of International Justice Mission, a group that works to liberate slaves from around the world), this text immediately raises some difficulties. Why does God subject people to slavery?

But then it gets worse, for if the city refuses to surrender to the Israelites, all the men are to be slaughtered (v. 13), a practice condemned by the Third Geneva Convention and universally renounced by civilized nations today. Needless to say, the taking of women, children, and livestock as plunder (v. 14) is also universally rejected. How can I explain God's directions here to my daughter?

As terrible as the chapter is thus far, it gets immeasurably worse when it turns to the cities that God is handing over to the Israelites. Here God lays out the guidelines for a staggering genocide which extends not only to all human beings in the region, but indeed to everything that breathes (v. 16).

In contrast to this carnage, in verse 19 the Israelites are instructed to spare the trees because, after all, "The trees of the field aren't people. So why should you attack them?" Fair enough. But this pro-environmental policy stands out in broad relief with the carnage that goes before. If trees are to be spared then why not spare children and infants as well?

So these are some of my questions. Does Zondervan's "Adventure Bible" provide some special insight for how I, as a parent, might handle this horrifying text with my seven year old?

Let's see. The page with Deuteronomy 20 features a factoid bubble with a green parrot which informs me that Israelite men could be exempted from having to fight if they had been newly married, had recently built a home, or were just plain scared. That's sort of interesting. But I know that my daughter will ask not about who didn't have to fight, but rather why those who did fight killed babies and children. After looking through the slickly produced "Adventure Bible" I'm still waiting for an answer.

How do you teach God's genocide to children?

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Most recent comments

1.June 19,2009, 8:35PM

You start by explaining the whole story.

The people of Canaan were not just bad people. They were evil, sickening, disgusting people who were fans of sexual abuse, rape, violence, murder, and war for the fun of it. God did not arbitrarily pick them for destruction. He destroyed the worst of the worst, because he knew the right people - the Israelites - could not otherwise have access to the land and food they needed for survival.

As well, though God condemned to death the women and children, this was theoretical. In reality, the women and children would have had ample time to flee as the Israeli army approached, and most would have. The ones who stayed were women who were as determined to promote a life of violence as their husbands and who wanted their children to be able to grow up indoctrinated to believe the same.

Then you explain the spiritual context - the wages of sin is death. Before Christ's death, a sinner faced death at the end of their life. If there were Canaans who were good people, after the death of Christ he would have taken them up to heaven.

Then you explain the historical context - in those days, there was no UN, no Geneva convention. There was no one to fight for human rights or stop a war from happening. It was a difficult world to live in. There was no one to fight for the Israelites to have their own land. It had to be done themselves.

I hope this helps. There are difficult topics in the Bible. But you can't underestimate the ability of a child to understand what seems so complicated. Christ said that one must be like a child to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Maybe that applies to Biblical understanding as well.

Good for you to be both sharing the Christian faith and wonderful morals with your child. There are ways to make them not conflict. :)

--JennaL

2.May 03,2009, 8:43AM

How dare you seek to censor the Word of God?

If He had wanted children to be protected from His Word, He would have said so. Children need to learn to fear God. These early lessons will do that in the proper and Biblical fashion.

Children must learn that Yahweh, our God, is a Monster and must be appeased, praised and His forgiveness sought at every turn. Praise Him, knowing He enjoys killing. Adore Him, in the full knowledge that He works in mysterious ways and might kill YOU too.

If children are not taught to fear God, what else will slip passed their upbringing. Those who do not fear God pretend to be happy â€“ but they know not Whom they scorn. Fear God is all that must fill your mind every moment of every day.

That is the True Christian Way.

--Eligos

3.April 29,2009, 12:31PM

I suppose you could start by telling them the whole story:
God was dealing, for centuries, with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and their 'cup of iniquity' was full. In other words, God lovingly pled with them, that they would turn to Him, but they continually rejected Him, so He rejected them from the land, and destroyed them.
Tell your children that it's kind of like when you, Daddy, lovingly teach them obedience, and the benefits of that obedience. But, when that child argues and fights and rejects what you tell them, they get a spanking, sent to their room, grounded, etc. Not because you hate them, but if they don't learn to be obedient and good, in the future they could cause others to act badly, as well. Discipline. Punishment. It's just that God works on a more eternal plane-He created them, and He, as their Creator, has a responsibility to teach them obedience to Him, or they become a bad influence upon the rest of the world, leading to innocent deaths, and idol worship, (which often included human child sacrifice). So, because of their disobedience, their insistence to worship false gods and sacrifice their children to those false gods, (making their children 'pass through the fire'), God destroyed those nations, lest they destroy others after them.

Sure, it's complicated, but when they understand that those nations would cause other nations to do wrong things, which would effect their eternity, even worshipping Molech who demanded children be burned alive for him, they gain a better understanding than you might expect of them.

If you ever doubt a child's ability to far exced our expectations, go to a motocross where 5&6 year olds ride the same tracks as the adults-they are pretty impressive when given the chance.

--ukulelemike

4.April 24,2009, 2:13PM

yrif:

You write in your blog post that I have of late stumbled on the problem of biblical genocide. Not quite. I am one of many Christians who has wrestled with this problem for decades. I would recommend you consider my article forthcoming in the academic journal "Philosophia Christi" on the topic. (There I offer a critique of the views of Paul Copan.)

Judging by what you write you strike me as a disciple of the new atheists. (Just a guess.) When it comes to Old Testament genocide the problem with the new atheists is that they fail to present the depth of the problem for Christians. I'll say more about that in my next post.

--RD Rauser

5.April 24,2009, 1:40PM

Your answer is here:

http://yrif.org/2009/04/24/how-to-teach-kids-about-god-and-genocide/

--yrif

6.April 24,2009, 1:52AM

Wow, it took you until you were an adult force-feeding this garbage to your child for you to start asking questions like this? I probably wouldn't go around telling that to people if I were you.

--Homoousia316

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