What You'll Learn:
In a post-9/11 world, New Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris rail not only against Islam but all religions. They view them as dangerous, immoral, and irrational. Some of their more strident comments are directed against the God of the Old Testament as harsh, racist, genocidal, and oppressive. Is God a Moral Monster? responds to these and other charges. It examines many challenging biblical texts, places them in their historical context, and seeks to correct a number of popular caricatures propounded by critics.
Key Insights:
- Israel’s Mosaic code of ethics is not ideal but nevertheless presents major humanizing improvements to alternative ancient Near Eastern law codes.
- Critics’ misrepresentations of the Old Testament God reflect a failure to understand the relevant moral and literary context.
- Israel’s laws within a patriarchal setting assume the father as the legal and social point-person in the home but still reflect a fundamental male-female equality.
- Israel’s laws regarding servitude were considerably more elevating than those of the surrounding ancient Near Eastern cultures.
- Israel’s warfare against the deeply depraved Canaanite peoples was temporary, limited, and highly exceptional.
- The biblical faith has actually given shape to the very moral platform from which critics speak out against “the God of the Old Testament.”
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