I was asked about how I feel about the commandments of genocide that the Hebrews were given in the Old Testament.
So, what follows is my perspective on the issue. Remember sports fans that I am a Christian.
Let me start with the basics.
Genocide is wrong.
Slavery is wrong.
Beating up someone because they are homosexual is wrong.
Sacrificing your son on an alter is wrong.
Now all of these things were condoned in the Old Testament. Does that mean that God was wrong? Or does that mean that God has changed? Or was God misquoted, or perhaps mistranslated? Or does it mean that we humans, as we become more civilized, can start treating each other better, and we humans can define new sins?
God was wrong? Well, as Christians we believe that God is infallible.
God has changed? Maybe. As Christians we don’t believe that we need to follow all of the commandments that were given to Moses. We can eat rabbit (Deut 14:7), we don’t cancel debts every seven years (Deut 15:1), we let women wear pants (Deut 22:5), we don’t require rapist to pay a fine to the father of the girl and marry her (Deut 22:28-29). The Israelites lived in a different time; perhaps that is why the rules were different for them.
Maybe God learned that a promised land to a promised people just doesn’t work out quite as well as He planned. Maybe God was surprised at how foolish His creation could be, and with the New Testament tried a new approach of dealing with humans.
Mistranslation: some commentators believe that when commanded to “not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them” (Deut 20:16-17) that it was understood to be a political destruction of the people. Not genocide.
We can define new sins? We can make new laws, and breaking the law is a sin, so sure. There are things now, such as Crystal Meth, which the apostles didn’t know of, and giving it to children is a sin. (Though a “thou shalt not give someone a poison” type of commandment might cover that.) Breaking the tax code might be covered by “don’t steal.”
Can we expand on the teaching of our Lord?
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.” Deut 4:2
But Jesus, told St. Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven,:whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt 16:19) And later Jesus, regarding a brother sinning against you says, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.” (Matt 18:18-20).
And later Jesus gives the apostles the Holy Spirit, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:23).
So maybe, Jesus gave the apostles permission to add & subtract. For He would be with them when they gathered together. And had the permission to add, they could give the permission to others. I think that is the Catholic belief that the Pope is infallible because the title has been handed down, from Saint Peter, until the current Pope. Sorta like St. Peter handed down the gift of the Holy spirit to the next in line, until today.
I wonder how current Jews interpet the commands for genocide?
My vote, for what it's worth,...I'm gonna say we humans in the 21st century can redefine some previous accepted things as sin.
I'm a simple man, I'm not too smart, I like to keep things simple. Let me finish with my Christianity summed up in a sound bite:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)