I also don’t see how it is beneficial to believe in a god who tells Israel to kill every man woman and child in Canaan and take their land (I am not sure why evangelicals are under the impression that God is pro-life). That’s what’s wrong with the world and the traditional Christian God is all about getting in on that. Deities made in the image of petty tribal dictators bent on world conquest are unneeded. Because we become what we worship.
Ahh, genocide.
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Planetary Matters 
Hi Rick, just got a chance to read this. Do you believe that this passage of the Bible is relevant in how Christianity is practiced in the West today? You made a good point about the idea of God being pro-life as he is portrayed in the Bible (especially the Old Testament). I would argue that despite God calling for violence in this passage and others, Christianity is still a net positive for society and culture, especially when it comes to upholding Judeo-Christian values, preventing nihilism, and giving people a sense of purpose and community. You call God “a deity made in the image of a petty tribal dictator”, but what are your thoughts on how we define the perimeters of morality without him, and what is your solution to the problems that accompany a lack of faith on a cultural and personal level?
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I do believe the idea of the “promised land” is incredibly relevant to how Christianity is practiced in the west today. It won’t take long to find plenty of Christians in personal conversation, social media and on TV boldly claiming that Israel really belongs to the Jews because God promised it to them in the Bible. Elected officials say it. Christians openly state that we have to align with Israel in order for God to bless us as a nation. It gets votes. I honestly don’t know how we could ever decide whether or not Christianity is a net positive. It just all depends on what is done with it. From Constantine on, I believe that anytime Christianity becomes co-opted as a national religion, it ceases to be Christian by definition. The whole idea of America as a Christian Nation or the idea that God is on our side because we stand with Israel is unrecognizable to the New Testament. Morality without God? If we wouldn’t like it done to us or someone we love, we understand it to be immoral. And that’s been a historical norm in many cultures and periods. It’s not new with Jesus and it just makes so much sense. Problems associated with lack of faith? Seems to beg the question – how do we know that the problems result from lack of faith?
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