Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim
From: tim@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.religion.christian
Subject: Re: The horrifying Old Testament
Message-ID: <598@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 13-Oct-85 23:14:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: k.598
Posted: Sun Oct 13 23:14:01 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Oct-85 07:42:11 EDT
References: <350@cylixd.UUCP>
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking
Lines: 20

It is truly amazing how you can state a simple refutation of an argument,
then have someone post a message which states the argument once again
without any reference to the refutation.  This has happened several times
since my recent posting of "Even If I Did Believe.."; I finally decided to
respond because of Charli's message, which repeats an argument with two
major flaws.  First, she denies the omnipotence of God, ignoring the
multitude of non-cruel ways that His ends could be accomplished and invoking
a "necessity" that cannot apply to an omnipotent being.  Second, she says
that the slaughters really worked out for the best in the long run.  Aside
from the total lack of proof, such criteria can surely never justify
unneccessary killing.

The real problem is that we try to reconcile modern criteria of civilization
with scriptures written by men of a barbaric, tribal era.  The moral ideas
of the age, with absolute obedience to authority as the ultimate good are
now obsolete, but institutions are slow to realize the fact.
-=-
Tim Maroney, CMU Center for Art and Technology
Tim.Maroney@k.cs.cmu.edu	uucp: {seismo,decwrl,etc.}!k.cs.cmu.edu!tim
CompuServe:	74176,1360	My name is Jones.  I'm one of the Jones boys.