American Family Association Blog: It's Not Genocide If God Tells You To Do It

[marmar]

from People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch:




AFA Blog: It's Not Genocide If God Tells You To Do It
Submitted by Kyle on January 13, 2011 - 1:57pm

Peter's last post about the American Family Association comparing their political enemies to the Amalekites reminded me of a post that showed up on the AFA's blog earlier this week arguing that when God's people completely wipe out their enemies for worshiping other gods, engaging in child sacrifice, and practicing intermarriage, it is entirely justified and cannot be considered "genocide" because the judgments of "God (are) not subject to our contemporary sensibilities":

Can the actions of the Israelites legitimately be called genocide?

The term “genocide” means a major action “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” Some twentieth-century examples are the extermination of six million Jews by the Nazis and the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis by the Hutus in Rwanda in 1994. Going by this definition alone, the destruction of the Canaanites would seem to have been genocide.

But there is a major difference. These twentieth-century examples were basically people killing people simply because they hated them and/or wanted their land. The Canaanites, by contrast, were destroyed at the direction of God and primarily because of their sin. Because of this, I think the term should be avoided. The completely negative connotations of “genocide” make it hard to look at the biblical events without a jaundiced eye.

One’s background theological beliefs make a big difference in how one sees this. If God was not behind the conquest of Canaan, then the Israelites were no different than the Nazis and the Hutus. However, once the biblical doctrines of God and of sin are taken into consideration, the background scenery changes and the picture looks very different. There is only one true God, and that God deserves all honor and worship. Furthermore, justice must respond to the moral failure of sin. The Canaanites were grossly sinful people who were given plenty of time by God to change their ways. They had passed the point of redeemability, and were ripe for judgment.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/afa-blog-its-not-genocide-if-god-tells-you-do-it

[Drale]

1. Ok well if they wnat to go that route

I say "hey I just talked to God and he told me to kill all stupid people" All of a suddenly whos targeted? Thats right the American Family Association.

[sendero]

17. Right..

.... god can't "do anything" - he can only impel malignant morons to do his bidding. All powerful god. Yeah, right.

[bluerum]

2. This god character is a real trouble maker.

[nebenaube]

3. How long before

they convince themselves again, that others have passed the point of redeem-ability and are ripe for judgment?

[Angry Dragon]

8. All one has to do is listen to them

and know they are there already
And they are the only ones that can talk to god

[RKP5637]

4. Why would anyone in their right mind believe in a god that spews hatred and

evil.

[Angry Dragon]

10. Because that is what they have in their hearts and souls..

hate and evil and search for a god that
is the same as them......

Many say that people search for a god that mirrors what is
inside of them ....... easier that way

[RKP5637]

18. It becomes like "Church of United Hatred." n/t

[FiveGoodMen]

34. Agreed.

The bible is a huge Rorschach test.

Has some good thoughts; has many bad ones.

People join churches that emphasize the side that appeals to them.

[teachthemwell15]

20. Fear is the name of the game..

Scare some people enough and they will believe any authoritarian master with respect to --gawd-- especially when that master cracks the whip of eternal damnation threats week in and week out.

Fear is the major reason for submission to all kinds of irrationalities.

[provis99]

23. read the Old Testament. god is clearly evil.

[roguevalley]

28. God is the excuse, he isn't the cause. These people would use

cocker spaniels to justify their personal hatred if that was what was handy. don't blame God for the fail of man. Man is a grown up. Man fails because he's a big jackass.
God is weeping right now and frankly, I believe he is with the people in Tunisia and Egypt now, not with these jackabeens.

[wellstone dem]

5. And imagine the response if a Muslim wrote the exact same thing

but used "Allah" instead of "God."

[Capitalocracy]

6. Recced to zero. nt

[NuclearDem]

7. The stupid makes me sad

[teachthemwell15]

21. The stupid

frighten me to no end.

[sufrommich]

9. Isn't that the same excuse Al Qaeda uses? nt

[RKP5637]

31. Take away the names and it's basically pretty much the same brand of hatred to me. n/t

[dimbear]

11. Killing all those Orcs in the Lord of the Rings was genocide too. And

just exactly as historical as that Bible story about the Canaanites. Know what? I'm not using the Orcs to make genocide OK.

[sufrommich]

13. The Orcs asked for it. nt

[UndertheOcean]

12. Some people still take the old testament seriously ?

[patrice]

14. By their own standards, these people ARE blasphemers. It's as though The New Testament

only applies to those whom THEY say it applies to.

[Swede]

15. They should leave the smiting up to the big guy.

He's pretty good at it.

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Initech]

19. How come god always says to kill people?

Why can't he tell crazy people "Hey! Go take a shit on the salad bar at Wendy's"?

[drm604]

22. It's not genocide when we do it.

It's always the same story.

• We had to.
• We had no choice.
• God told us to.
• It's not genocide when we do it.

[rucky]

24. wow. they went there.

they actually went there.

[atreides1]

25. The Israelites wanted the land

They used God as an excuse to take it...just like Christians used God to justify the Crusades.

[distantearlywarning]

26. Holy Flying Spaghetti Monster, these people are fucking scary!

:scared:

[Mariana]

27. This makes perfect sense. I don't see how anyone

who worships that particular god, and who believes that the Old Testament of The Bible is true at all, can come to any other conclusion. Either their god is good and all those people deserved to be exterminated, or they are worshipping an evil god who orders the deaths of innocents (when he's not killing them off himself). Almost no one wants to admit to themselves that they worship an evil god, so it's not surprising that they chose to blame the victims.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. Yes, it was genocide

but hey, whatever. I guess god is a vengeful son of a bitch.

(Oh and don't get me started on all the archeological evidence denying the existence of Moses or Joshua or the Exodus so it was an imaginary one too, that King Josiah and his scribes must have based on SOMETHING though)

[Odin2005]

30. And this is why they support Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

It's "God's Will" and needs to happen for the End Times to begin. :crazy:

[Zoeisright]

32. So what's the difference between the AFA and raving lunatics?

Really, what is the difference between someone who is in a straitjacket because they hear voices and this group of loons? Obeying voices in your head is a sign of severe mental illness.

[RKP5637]

33. I wish outfits like this would take the word "Family" out of their names. It gives

family a very bad connotation. Anymore if I hear family and/or values, etc., I know it's probably a RW deal.

[FiveGoodMen]

35. I don't know...

"Family" in an org name is a big, bit tip-off that they're up to no good.

If they stop, we'll have to investigate further just to find out that we should oppose them.

[RKP5637]

36. Yep, that's a very good point. This way we can easily ID them. n/t