Recent Research on Divine Violence in the Old Testament (with Special Attention to Christian Theological Perspectives)
Many readers of the Bible are troubled by passages in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament that portray God behaving violently and commanding others to do likewise. This article offers a survey of various ways contemporary scholars—particularly Christian scholars—have attempted to respond to the moral and...
| Published in: | Currents in biblical research |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
[2016]
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| In: |
Currents in biblical research
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Idea of God
/ Violence
/ Theodicy
/ Old Testament
/ Christian ethics
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament NBC Doctrine of God |
| Further subjects: | B
Divine Violence
B Images of God B God’s behavior B Violence in the Bible B Canaanite B Violence B problematic portrayals of God B BIBLE. Old Testament. Hebrew B Christocentric B Old Testament B Genocide B Morals |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Many readers of the Bible are troubled by passages in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament that portray God behaving violently and commanding others to do likewise. This article offers a survey of various ways contemporary scholars—particularly Christian scholars—have attempted to respond to the moral and theological challenges these troubling texts inevitably raise for modern readers. The contributions considered here are mostly from the past twenty years. Seven different approaches are examined, with special attention given to attempts to defend or critique God’s violent behavior. Brief evaluation of the relative merits of these approaches is offered along the way. A range of theological perspectives is included, and scholars from a number of different academic disciplines are represented. The article’s conviction is that regardless of how these texts are interpreted, readers should not use them to harm others or to justify future acts of violence. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5200 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Currents in biblical research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/1476993X15600588 |