akyron said:
What are today's kindly Christians to make of this instruction to genocide in the Bible: "Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." (Numbers 31:17-18)?
I think Gods intentions are misunderstood because man is inherently a dumbasss.
The last time I checked there are no followers of Baal-peor nor any obviously sexual “plague” associated with the whoredom and religion of the Midianites to be worried about.
“Numbers 25:3 And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Numbers 25:4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel.
Numbers 25:5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor.”
“Numbers 25:9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.”
It was a plague, and they were killing Israelites that had been exposed to it! So that is not genocide! You should learn to actually read what is written! It only took ten minutes to see your error.
Now if a deadly sexual plague shows up and it is associated with a religion followed by a specific group of people, that will not stop their beliefs, I do not think only Christians would be worried about its spread.
I do not think they knew about how plagues were spread with that level of technology, and if they could not convince the followers of Baal-peor to abandon their practices…
I can see your compatriot of the time saying there is “no reported case” of it being spread a certain way. Can’t get it from a dentist, right? Was it only spread in the bathhouses and through sexual contact? Was an ancient camel driver (flight attendant from New York to San Francisco) on record (video) telling the doctor he was going to continue going to the bathhouses whoring, even though he knew he had a strange new disease that was known at the time to only afflict one group of people? We just do not have enough information about that particular ancient plague to know why such extreme measures were taken.
“Numbers 31:18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”
At their level of medical technology they could only know for certain if a woman was a virgin, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? It is all about trust!
*****
As for Islam it depends upon interpretations of verses like these:
“[2.256] There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.”
“[9.29] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.”
A “peaceful” Moslem prior to 911 in a message board topic in defense of the Taliban interpreted the first verse [2.256] for me so as to be consistent with predestination and Osama’s obvious interpretation:
“World Islamic Front Statement
23 February 1998
Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin
Ayman al-Zawahiri, amir of the Jihad Group in Egypt
Abu-Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, Egyptian Islamic Group
Shaykh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan
Fazlur Rahman, amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh
Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book: "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said: I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but Allah is worshipped, Allah who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders.”
It would be stupid not to ask any follower of Islam, “how do you interpret those verses?” If they refuse to answer any questions and just say read the Koran after you have questions, as that Taliban and after 911 Osama mujahideen supporter said, I say that it is not irrational to fear them. It is all about trust!
We are supposed to treat people as we would have them treat us, but the 911 Al Quacka attackers wearing civilian dress and a suicide belt hidden under an Al Quacka’s women’s dress to blow up a wedding violates that golden rule. Hundreds of Iraqis leapt to their deaths not in fear of our troops, or George Bush, but in fear of what they could not trust.
I agree with your last sentence.