Yet the old testament presents creational moral ideals in genesis 12. Is an assessment of whether god craves attention, or whether being religious and worshipping god is a way of improving the self. It brings together important material that is otherwise scattered and demonstrates how this material responds to a line of moral criticism that has, by and large, been neglected by christian philosophers until now. If you come here often, you should tell us and the whole world, really about yourself in the bio section of your profile. The subject of david quammens monster of god is the nowendangered status of the maneating, socalled alpha predators who, for centuries, threatened the status of humanity on the food chain. Is an assessment of the covenant, and whether picking one people is horrid and discriminatory or a good way to benefit the whole of humanity, i. Nonbelievers have been known to accuse god of being hypocritical, selfish, arrogant, judgmental, hateful, and even homicidala moral monster. Part 2 of copans book asks whether god is a gracious master or moral monster. When i attended the society of biblical literature annual meeting in atlanta nov 2010 i picked up a copy of paul copans is god a moral monster. What makes my jaw drop is that people today should base their lives on such an appalling role model as yahwehand even worse, that they should bossily try to force the same evil monster. The book begins with the question of whether or not religion, in general, is really a unique source of moral failure.
Sometimes the real monster lies not so much in criticisms from without as in our own holding to. Paul copan takes on neoatheists claims of a petty, malicious old testament god. Copan takes the time to explain many of the old testaments seemingly inexplicable and tedious laws. Jan 01, 2011 is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god ebook written by paul copan. Topics reza aslan, no god but god, islam collection opensource language. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god ebook written by paul copan. A disgusting display of special pleading whose horrible moral impact the author cant possibly have thought through to its logical conclusion. Notably, he investigates whether or not or not god is in some sense a maximizer. Oct 04, 2011 these are some of the issues raised by lee strobel in a recent interview with paul copan about copans recent book is god a moral monster.
Description of the book dreams of gods and monsters. The new atheists dawkins, dennett, harris, hitchens level arguments against old testament morality as primitive and barbaric, presumably undercutting belief in the biblical god yahweh. However, opans analysis and explanation of god s actions is stellar. A recent string of popularlevel books written by the new atheists have leveled the accusation that the god of the old testament is nothing but a bully, a murderer. In the end, copans book only appeals to christians who are worried the about possibility that their god might be a moral monster. Some critics have crassly sug gested that israelite men were free simply to grab and rape young virgins. Read book the god of small things by arundhati roy pdf. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god. On closer inspection, the hero status accorded to abraham, moses and david in the old testament and echoed in the new testament is rooted not in their moral perfection but in their uncompromising dedication to the cause of yahweh and their rugged trust in the promises of god rather than lapsing into the idolatry of many of their contemporaries. And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of god portrayed in the two.
However, opans analysis and explanation of gods actions is stellar. According to this accusation, god is a moral monster since he created evilor because he neglects to do anything about evil. Coming to terms with the dark side of divinity by john r. The new atheists and old testament ethics paul copan philosophy and ethics palm beach atlantic university palm beach, florida the new atheists and the old testament. His central argument is that no, having god helps, but of course as were all made in gods image we dont need him and that we can be moral without him but having him helps make us better. It is clear that copan, a christian believer, thinks that charges against the moral consistency, objectivity, and impartiality of the judeochristian god must be answered. The god of anger and judgment has been with us since the dawn of time, and surfaces widely today in the theology and exp. Indeed we are told that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
How do we explain gods command to israel to exterminate the canaanites. Mad god volume 05 dotnovel wednesday, february 10, 2016 2 description. Making sense of the old testament god por paul copan disponible en rakuten kobo. First, bruce langtry explores some implications of divine omnipotence, omniscience, and good goodness for gods windfall. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god by paul copan free pdf d0wnl0ad, audio books, books to read, good books to read, cheap books, good books, online books, books online, book. Both claims are contrary to reason and evidence, as well as the biblical understanding of god s nature. Is god a moral monster, committing or condoning genocide as some have interpreted from this text. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading is god a. A brief overview todays new atheists are not at all impressed with the moral credentials of the old testament ot god. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. Whether you are currently wrestling with these questions, know people who are, or just want to be prepared for when they come up, dr. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god kindle edition by copan, paul. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Hilber, professor of old testament at grand rapids theological seminary.
Because of israels embeddedness in the ancient near easts harsh, morallyproblematic social milieu, old testament legislation is in. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in warravaged eretz. In a world in which humans, beasts, demons, gods, dragons and pixies fight for supremacy. A recent string of popularlevel books written by the new atheists have leveled the accusation that the god of the old testament is nothing but a bully, a murderer, and a cosmic child abuser. These are some of the issues raised by lee strobel in a recent interview with paul copan about copans recent book is god a moral monster. I would not expect you, or anyone, to suddenly accept them without further research. His central argument is that no, having god helps, but of course as were all made in god s image we dont need him and that we can be moral without him but having him helps make us better. Oxonian richard dawkins thinks that yahweh is truly a moral monster. Is a brief assessment on how much the modern world has been influenced by jesus, and argues that he is far more important than many of us imagine him. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god. Were posting the full interview, which was featured in lees investigating faith email newsletter here at bible gateway, below. In the simplest terms, evil is anything that contradicts the will of god.
Those who would say that god is a moral monster such as christopher hitchens, actually argue that the cross the sacrifice of jesus and necessity of the cross is morally henious. If youre looking for a free download links of gods and monsters pdf, epub, docx and torrent then this site is not for you. The conquest of canaan is arguably the most intractable ethical problem in the bible, and to date no solution has garnered a consensus, says john w. All that own the being of a god, own that he knows all things beforehand.
Much has been written in recent years on the moral problems with the depiction of god in the old testament. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In other words, any old testament evidence of this god s moral culpability must be explained away in light of the more loving and inclusive new testament passages. Now, it is selfevident that if he knows all things beforehand, he either approves of them or does not approve of them. When my book proposal for god behaving badly went to publishers sept 2009 word came back that baker already had a book on a similar topic coming out which got my attention. May 03, 2012 whether you are currently wrestling with these questions, know people who are, or just want to be prepared for when they come up, dr. I can only hope that in these few paragraphs i have provided a spark of insight into why judaism proclaims that god is moral, and a spark of hope to you who sincerely struggles with the concept of a moral god. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament. Making sense of the old testament god by paul copan available from rakuten kobo. Making sense of the old testament god grand rapids. Read this title for free and explore over 1 million titles, thousands of audiobooks, and current magazines with kindle unlimited. Making sense of the old testament god 1st edition by copan, paul isbn. When a person rejects the god of the bible, he often chooses to label him as immoral. A series of wars started between the great beamon warriors of the beast tribe, the dragon knights of the human empire, and the fallen angels of the demon clan.
Paul copan, author of is god a moral monster, brings us his understanding of this topic coming from years of studying the relavant biblical passages. By way of a staggering deception, karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from deadend vengeance. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god copan, paul on. Jul 25, 2011 differences when my book proposal for god behaving badly went to publishers sept 2009 word came back that baker already had a book on a similar topic coming out which got my attention. A recent string of popularlevel books written by the new atheists have leveled the accusation that the god of the old testament is nothing but a. A recent string of popularlevel books written by the new atheists have leveled the accusation that the god of the old t. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god. God is arrogant and jealous god punishes people too harshly god is guilty of ethnic cleansing god oppresses women god endorses slavery christianity causes violence and more copan not only answers god s critics, he also shows how to read both the old and new testaments faithfully, seeing an unchanging, righteous, and loving god in both. In other words, any old testament evidence of this gods moral culpability must be explained away in light of the more loving and inclusive new testament passages. To forget this is to forget the good news and the awesome love of god for us. God, the biggest, and evil is an distinctive treatment of some longstanding points about god and his actions in the course of human beings.