I turned on the fan because the room was too hot as I muse over today.
“Is it ever right to revolt?” Professor Plummer asked earlier today.
I sat, head against the wall in the back row, thinking silently to myself.
“It really depends on the situation,” Kat said. “The Bible does tell us we must obey authorities.”
“What about when God himself commands genocide?” argued Rob on the other side of the classroom. “We certainly wouldn’t say that Hitler was justified in killing Jews, yet we say that God is justified in killing Amalekites, Caananites, and any other ites that he deemed worthy of genocide. It all seems a bit contradictory, don’t you think?”
The class was ripe with tension. It is at moments like these that I thrive in classroom experiences.
“Yes Mr. Kam,” Professor Plummer motioned for me to speak.
“I think that we are called to be people who help those who cannot help themselves. God arose and called out Nathan the prophet when David killed Uriah to sleep with Batheseba. God acts when people who can’t defend themselves are hurt by those in power.”
I felt vindicated. It took me a long time to learn this. For so long I had thought that God was about four steps to heaven or that he laid himself out as theological treatise in the book of Romans.
“But what about when God kills people,” Rob retorted to me again. “I just can’t make sense of it.”
“Neither can I,” I said. “The books in the bible are contradictory sometimes.”
Danny is a credentialed social science teacher in California, but is especially interested in students with special education (always the person first and the disability second). He is pursuing his education specialist credential at Cal State Northridge with help from President Obama who has given lots of money to teachers in residency willing to work for three years in Title 1 Schools. Please know that his thoughts are always forming and are subject to change at a moment's notice.
It’s maddening, isn’t it? I did a Disciple Bible Study group several years ago, and we were all kind of depressed by the Old Testament because of all the violence in the name of God. We didn’t come up with any terrific answers — but my belief (and I’m pretty sure this is what Jesus said) is that Jesus came to overturn stuff like this, and usher in a new way of living.
Good Point Kathleen. I’m glad to know that you and others are looking at these difficult issues. Jesus, however, said he came to fulfill the law and the prophets. I am interested to see what you think of this particular passage.