A perfectly just, omniscient and sovereign God commanded the children of Israel to utterly destroy certain peoples 3000 or more years ago, knowing that to not do so would lead the Israelites to spiritual whoredom. That spiritual descent did occur centuries later, bring God's judgment of the Babylonian captivity and destruction of Jerusalem. Nowhere does the plain sense of Old Testament history indicate that we should do the same today.
Christ's condemnation of the Jewish leaders 2000 years ago, especially in the seven woes of Matt. 23, were due to those leaders' having been hypocritical and thoroughly corrupt, doing the devil's work while purporting to do God's. He never intimated that believers should commit violence against such corrupters, though we should be ready to rebuke their actions.
The fact that misguided professing Christians have misused these passages to sinfully engage in horrible acts does not amount to God's endorsement of such behavior. Does God's allowing the son of plural-wife Bathsheba to be in the line leading to Jesus' incarnation mean that God endorses plural marriage? The fact of the Bible's honesty in recounting such sinful practice shows only that a gracious God can use us even though we sin, but certainly not an endorsement of that sin.
I'll admit to never having read the Quran, but have read quotes of certain verses that command that infidels be killed. I've never seen these verses refuted by Muslims, though often the response is to quote verses commanding kindness to (presumably unbelieving) strangers - verses totally in contradiction to those others. God can use us even though we sin; Allah seems to be commanding today's Islam to commit sin.
IMO, conflating Old Testament history, and our perfect Savior's rebuke of hypocritical leaders, with the standing commands of violence in the Quran is very sad. And very wrong.
Christ's condemnation of the Jewish leaders 2000 years ago, especially in the seven woes of Matt. 23, were due to those leaders' having been hypocritical and thoroughly corrupt, doing the devil's work while purporting to do God's. He never intimated that believers should commit violence against such corrupters, though we should be ready to rebuke their actions.
The fact that misguided professing Christians have misused these passages to sinfully engage in horrible acts does not amount to God's endorsement of such behavior. Does God's allowing the son of plural-wife Bathsheba to be in the line leading to Jesus' incarnation mean that God endorses plural marriage? The fact of the Bible's honesty in recounting such sinful practice shows only that a gracious God can use us even though we sin, but certainly not an endorsement of that sin.
I'll admit to never having read the Quran, but have read quotes of certain verses that command that infidels be killed. I've never seen these verses refuted by Muslims, though often the response is to quote verses commanding kindness to (presumably unbelieving) strangers - verses totally in contradiction to those others. God can use us even though we sin; Allah seems to be commanding today's Islam to commit sin.
IMO, conflating Old Testament history, and our perfect Savior's rebuke of hypocritical leaders, with the standing commands of violence in the Quran is very sad. And very wrong.
