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If the bible be true, God commanded his chosen people to…

“If the bible be true, God commanded his chosen people to destroy men simply for the crime of defending their native land. They were not allowed to spare trembling and white-haired age, nor dimpled babes clasped in the mothers' arms. They were ordered to kill women, and to pierce, with the sword of…” quote by Robert G. Ingersoll
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““If the bible be true, God commanded his chosen people to destroy men simply for the crime of defending their native land. They were not allowed to spare trembling and white-haired age, nor dimpled babes clasped in the mothers' arms. They were ordered to kill women, and to pierce, with the sword of war, the unborn child. 'Our heavenly Father' commanded the Hebrews to kill the men and women, the fathers, sons and brothers, but to preserve the girls alive. Why were not the maidens also killed? Why were they spared? Read the thirty-first chapter of Numbers, and you will find that the maidens were given to the soldiers and the priests. Is there, in all the history of war, a more infamous thing than this? Is it possible that God permitted the violets of modesty, that grow and shed their perfume in the maiden's heart, to be trampled beneath the brutal feet of lust? If this was the order of God, what, under the same circumstances, would have been the command of a devil? When, in this age of the world, a woman, a wife, a mother, reads this record, she should, with scorn and loathing, throw the book away. A general, who now should make such an order, giving over to massacre and rapine a conquered people, would be held in execration by the whole civilized world. Yet, if the bible be true, the supreme and infinite God was once a savage.””

Robert G. Ingersoll

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The biblical narrative shows God ordering brutal acts, raising moral contradictions about divine justice.

In simple terms: Divine commands in scripture can conflict with modern ethics.

Key Takeaway

Question authority of ancient moral claims.

Themes

religion ethics violence

Mood

skeptical reflective

Type

critical philosophical

When to use this quote

  • academic study
  • interfaith dialogue
  • human rights advocacy
  • education
  • personal reflection

Key Concepts

theology historical criticism

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does this say about interpreting ancient texts today?
  • Can moral progress coexist with religious traditions?
A Different Perspective

Interpretations vary; some view these passages as metaphorical, not literal commands.

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