thought of the day.203

Lord of Violence

The bible is not a book overflowing with love and kindness but a book dripping with blood. In fact, there are accounts of well over a million people being slain in the Old Testament alone. Blood is spilled by knife, sword, spear and stone. It’s spilled by beheading, eye gouging, gang rape, dismemberment, mutilation, cannibalism, animal sacrifice, human sacrifice, mass execution, and holy war after bloody holy war. To list every perpetrator and victim of murder and mayhem from A-Z would be overkill so I will spare you the gore beyond A:

Abel was murdered by Cain.

Abihu and his brother were burned up by the LORD.

Abijah and his army slaughtered five hundred thousand people.

Abimelech slew his 70 brothers on top of a stone and burned 1,000 men and women alive.

Abinadab was killed along with his brothers and father and their bodies were nailed to a wall.

Abiram died “according to the message from the LORD.”

Abishai became famous for spearing three hundred men.

Abner was murdered by Joab.

Abram (Abraham) armed hundreds of his servants and attacked his enemy at night “and smote them.”

Absalom had three spears thrust through his heart.

Achan and his children were stoned and burned as the LORD brought trouble upon them.

Adalia, Aridai, Aridatha, Aspatha and the rest of Haman’s sons were among over 75,000 people killed during several days of slaughter by the Jews who “struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them,” and their bodies were hung from the gallows for public display.

Adonijah was murdered by Benaiah on the orders of Solomon.

Adoni-Bezek had his thumbs and big toes cut off after being captured during the slaughter of 10,000 men by the people of Judah when “the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands.”

Adonizedek and his fellow Amorite kings were killed and hung from trees after the LORD had their people slaughtered by the sword and beaten to death by holy hailstones. So hated were these people that the LORD is said to have “obeyed” Joshua and stopped the sun in the sky to shed more light on the carnage.

Adrammelech murdered his own father “with the sword” for worshipping the wrong god.

Agag was executed by Samuel, who cut him into pieces “before the LORD.”

Ahab was killed with an arrow and dogs licked his blood out of the floor of his chariot, “just as the LORD had promised.”

Ahaz was handed over to the king of Aram by the LORD who defeated him and took many of his people as prisoners.

Ahaziah was told by the LORD: “You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”

Ahijah had a message for Jeroboam that the LORD would bring disaster on his dynasty and “kill all your sons, slave or free alike.”

Ahimelech was among 85 priests murdered after Saul shouted, "You will surely die...along with your entire family!”

Ahithophel comitted suicide by hanging himself.

The entire population of Ai was chased down and butchered as the “LORD” gave the city to Joshua. Over 12,000 men and women perished and the king of Ai was hung from a tree as his city was burned to the ground.

The Amalekites were slaughtered when the LORD gave instructions to attack them and “totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”

Amasa was murdered when a dagger was “plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground.”

Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomite troops and threw another 10,000 captured men off a cliff, “dashing them to pieces on the rocks below.”

Ammiel’s life was snuffed out by the LORD with a plague.

Amnon raped his virgin sister, Tamar, then was killed by Absalom’s men.

Amon was murdered by his own servants.

The Anakim were a race of giants apparently too tall to live and were slaughtered in the name of the LORD.

Arad, Achshaph, Adullam and Aphek all had their kingdoms crushed and their people slaughtered by invading Israelites.

Armoni was executed when David handed him over to the people of Gibeon and they hanged him “in the mountain before the LORD.”

Asa and his army crushed the Cushite’s before the LORD, destroying all the villages around Gerar and plundering all the villages.

Asahel was killed when the butt of a spear was thrust into his stomach and came out through his back.

And finally, Athaliah was brutally murdered when Jehoiada the priest gave the orders to ‘Take her out of the Temple, and kill anyone who tries to rescue her.”

Biblical stories of heavenly angels, divinely appointed kings, God’s chosen ones and God himself all solving conflict through deadly force has profoundly poisoned our thinking by legitimizing our acceptance of violence. This will remain so until the Bible is seen for what it is—not the Word of God but merely the words of violent men claiming to speak for said God.