If there are those who find the New Testament difficult to understand at times, there are more who try to read the Old Testament only to walk away with their heads shaking. Of course, there are numerous commentaries available for those who wish to try and understand so many of the things that are foreign to us in the Old Testament. If someone has not delved into the study of the Old Testament (OT), however, modern critics of God and His supposedly bad morality may seem rational. But take a deeper and wider look. Modern critics pick out items to criticize without looking at one or more contexts, and without mentioning the biblical examples that would counter their arguments.
Paul Copan, President of the Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS), has answered these critics in his new book, Is God a Moral Monster? (available January 1, 2011). While the book is not yet out, the author has published and posted extensively (at the EPS) on some of the topics included in the book, including slavery, warfare, divine “jealousy,” and divine forbearance within the history of humanity. Two online articles are “Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?” and “Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites.” Regarding slavery, for instance, while it was not banned outright, the laws of Israel dealing with it were far more humane and hopeful than those of the peoples around them: slaves in Israel had rights unknown in the surrounding cultures; they were supposed to be treated as humans, not a form of property; kidnapping a person to make them a slave was punishable by death; Israelis were to give safe haven to runaway slaves, but in surrounding cultures you could be executed for doing this; and, slaves were released every seven years, even with a good store of provisions.
Copan sums it up well when he writes: “They fail to note the unfolding, ‘redemptive-movement’ of God’s self-revelation to his people even within the OT. As we read the Scriptures, we are regularly reminded of an advancing, though still-imperfect, ethic on the surface while various subterranean moral ideals (for example, the divine image in all humans, lifelong monogamous marriage, and Yahweh’s concern for the nations) continue to flow gently along. Yahweh redirects his people morally, theologically, and spiritually to move beyond the mindset of surrounding cultures. As we have seen, he does not, on the one hand, completely abolish ANE [Ancient Near Eastern] problematic, socially-accepted practices as slavery, polygamy, patriarchy, and the like. On the other hand, Israel’s laws reveal a dramatic, humanizing improvement over the practices of the other ANE peoples” (p 11, IYMM?).
In other words, one thing the modern critics do is look at the OT decrees with post-Enlightenment eyes, without giving careful consideration to all the texts and what they point to: moral ideals that we still do not live up to today.
You may also be interested in: Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies, David Bentley Hart
