If you were God, what kind of God would you be?

and what is the word of the bible?you do realise that the bible is a collection of written accounts about various subjects. Its not only laws that its followers are expected to follow. Some of the stories are recorded to teach what is bad and how God punished the isrealites for their actions...he's not telling us to copy their bad actions.

I can understand why you'd think it was a minor thing for them to do, it may seem from our viewpoint that being killed for dancing around a calf is unjust and what notbut if you tried to view it from Gods point of view you might see why such action was warranted. The circumstance was that these people had just been rescued from Egypt, they were protected from perusing Egyptian forces by Gods hand, they had seen the miracle of Gods saving power and a small group of them decided to attribute their rescue to a statue that they had just made our of their body jewellery.they showed terrible disrespect to God after he had done so much for them. We cant expect to treat God in such a way and get away with it. in all honesty, it has nothing to do with the statue/image itself. The fact is that idolatry is the 'veneration' of the object ...when an idol is venerated or becomes an object of a persons devotion, it has the effect of taking the place of the rightful honor and devotion that should belong to God. He is their life giver and their God so they should not be bowing down to anything but him.Now we are spiritual people made with the capacity to have a relationship with a spiritual God yet when we use images, we are no longer giving anything to God, we are giving it to the image.This is why God outlawed the use of images in worship. Nothing is to be put before God as an object of veneration...we must worship God above all others. When a christian prays to a statue of the cross or an image of mary, they are committing the sin of idolatry whether they realise it or not. Worship should go directly to God, anything besides this is unacceptable to him. This is also why making a god out of Jesus is actually idolatry...Jesus directed his followers to worship God, yet many choose to worship Jesus instead. i cant say if any children were killed in that account becuase it does not say. it only says that 3,000 men who rebelled were killed.The act they committed was an act of rebellion for when Moses came back, he gave the people a choice, he asked them who was on Gods side...some of them obviously remained opposed to God and these ones were killed. its true that God decreed that Israel should make war to rid the Promised Land of the Canaanites. (Leviticus 18:1, 24-28; Deuteronomy 20:16-18) just as he had previously punished people by means of a deluge in Noah’s day and fire in the case of Sodom and GomorrahWhen God goes to war, its always against wickedness and because he sets the standards of morality, he is in the perfect position to judge when that morality is not being met. The cananites were depraved to the extreme and so God chose to erradicate them all including their children. Thats his decision to make and there must have been a good reason for it, however the bible does not say why. I would only be speculating.But one thing the bible does show is that God does not take any delight in having to put anyone to death. He is a God who will met out judicial punishment when it is due. but its important to note that he does this out of love of goodness and for the benefit of those who are being oppressed. In Noahs day he wiped out everyone because of their violence, with Sodom and Gomorrah it was because of their depravity, with the canaanites it was because of their child sacrifices and sexual depravity I was not bought up with religion so indoctrination has nothing to do with anything. My family were not religious, I had no education in the bible until my late teens and its because I wanted to know about it...not becuase someone indoctrinated me.

of course notbesides, he'd never ask

The things that happened during Isreals history was for a purpose and once that purpose was realised, wars directed by God could and did cease. Even the OT says that people would have to learn to 'beat their swords into ploughshears and their spears into pruning shears' because God would make wars cease. Abraham was also familiar with Gods promise to provide a ransomer for mankind...perhaps he was seeing the bigger picture.

well i certainly hope that you apply this to your government too...they have been involved in wars that have killed innocent civilians, yes?therefore your government, my government and the USA government are all guilty of the same thing. How many children have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since our countries invaded? do you know?Why is it ok to support our nations as they go to war, but to condemn God for choosing to war against his enemy?and you are wrong....i was not bought up with religion.

how do you know what constitutes an act of war in Gods eyes?It would appear from the account about Egypt that Pharaohs 'defiance' was constituted an act of war right, so you acknowledge that death of children is collateral damage in a time of war. It happens in modern times and no one says 'hey we better not go to war because children will die'No, they go anyway becuase they know that there is a greater purpose that needs to be achieved in order to create peace for everybody.This is the case with the Cannanites. It was the case with Egypt and it will be the case with the next and final war.

that seems very naive... especially the part about the nazi's seeing they were sending children to the gas chambers! i think you've already answered this on my behalf, i need not say anymore.

1Corintians 33 says "For God is [a God], not of disorder, but of peace"The state he most assumes is one of peace, which is why his laws have always condemned killing of any kind...even killing animals without the purpose of using them for food or clothing is expressed in the laws given to Isreal. So its wrong to assume that the condones killing or encourages it or promotes it.He is also a God of holiness, righteousness, and justice and these qualities compel him to act and use his destructive power at times. but he does not blemish his holiness when he fights. Rather, he fights because he is holy, righteous and just.there are accounts in the bible where he has turned back from destroying a nation because they made peace with him (Ninevah) There is also evidence that when those who were to be destroyed in war asked for mercy, he complied and spared them (the cannanite city of Gibeon & Rahab and her family)So while he does at times act out of justice, he is also capable of mercy and of saving those who request it. He does not kill indiscriminately has has been suggested.In the case of the children of the Canaanites, their parents chose to go to war and put their children and families in danger. Saddam chose to put his nations children in danger when he refused to comply with the UN and had sanctions imposed upon the nation....many children suffered because of his own defiance. This is the same case with the Canaanites, they refused to surrender and chose to fight and therefore God allowed them to feel the full force of his power. But this is the point...it was their choice, not his.

quote:

---

Ezekiel 18:21-23 ‘Now as regards someone wicked, in case he should turn back from all his sins that he has committed and he should actually keep all my statutes and execute justice and righteousness, he will positively keep living. He will not die. 22All his transgressions that he has committedthey will not be remembered against him. For his righteousness that he has done he will keep living.’

​

23"‘Do I take any delight at all in the death of someone wicked [and] not in that he should turn back from his ways and actually keep living?’"

---

I replied in msg 173"of course notbesides, he'd never ask "

phewww thats reassuring!

the US dropped a bomb on Hiroshima that was aimed at civiliansWhat was their purpose?

the truth is, you asked a loaded questionno matter how i answered, it would have been wrong.And i know that God would never ask such a thing because of what the bible reveals about him...that same information is available to everyone

Ask yourself first if God supports the wars of man. There were many wars that he did support, even fought, during Isreals history, but there has been not been 1 war he has supported since the time of Jesus christ.So if you were to ask what God would want you to do, i believe this would be your answer:

quote:

---

Matt 265:52 Then Jesus said to him: Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword

​

Matt 5:44 However, I say to YOU: Continue to love YOUR enemies and to pray for those persecuting YOU

​

Isaiah 2:4 And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.

---

In some way, you do have to use your judgement. If God is telling people to put their swords away, love their enemies and stop with all the warring, how do you think it applies to soldiers?

Pol Pot! Stalin!serioulsy.

Those people chose to war with God...some of them surrendered and they became a part of isreal, so how can that be unjust on Gods part.If the US go to war with an enemy nation, its because diplomacy has failed and the end result is war. Its no different with God.