God s greatest achievement is the son of god s selfhumiliation. When a person rejects the god of the bible, he often chooses to label him as immoral. 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. Women have borne the brunt of patriarchal religions evils walker even argues cogently for religion as the root of. Debate between matt slick and david smally on is the god. Nonbelievers have been known to accuse god of being hypocritical, selfish, arrogant, judgmental, hateful, and even homicidala moral monster. If anybody who has a hard copy of copans book wants to fix any pagination errors, id be in your debt. He didnt ever think up a moral standard to decide right from wrong. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god. They talked about so many things on various subjects.
In other words, in order to say, god is morally wrong, one has to define morality in a way that justifies that claim. Christians believe that god himself is the standard. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god copan, paul on. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading is god a moral monster making sense of. The brutes, without understanding of moral good or evil, are incapable of committing moral evil. The godmonsters version elias canetti was a remarkable writer, but he was recently vilified for his treatment of his former lover iris murdoch. If god is necessary for morality, then whatever god deems moral is moral. These vocal atheists christopher hitchens, richard dawkins, and sam harris, both in writing and public debate, interpret the biblical god as a. The standard must not be subjective and should be universal. What makes my jaw drop is that people today should base their lives on such an appalling role model as yahweh and even worse, that they should bossily try to force the same evil monster whether fact or fiction on the rest of us. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god english edition ebook. In iraq edmonds was an officer supervising prisonerinterrogation. The real question is, why wouldnt an omniscient, omnipotent, morally perfect god have the right to do as he sees fit. All that own the being of a god, own that he knows all things beforehand.
Some argue that atheism must be false, since without god, no values are possible, and thus everything is permitted. Paul copan addresses moral objections to the old testament, including charges of genocide in relation to the canaanite conquest and what the bible has to say about slavery. 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. Making sense of the old testament god 1st edition by copan, paul isbn. Yet the old testament presents creational moral ideals in genesis 12. Therefore, why praise god for what he has done if he could have just as likely done the opposite, and it would have been equally moral. We might as well say that yahweh isnt a moral monster because, really, when you. 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. Download pdf is god a moral monster book pdf free online. 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 testaments. Referring extensively to british and american literature over the last 250 years, this is an ambitious, substantial overview of the way major authors from fielding to vonnegut have dealt with sin and evil. A critical approach of cardinal walter kaspers proposal.
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. This ebook is made available at no cost and with very few restrictions. Debate between matt slick and david smally on is the god of. Many have taught that the love of god is an unconditional love in relationships. Vocation and the law benefit the neighbor, as does love born of faith. A 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.
And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of god portrayed in. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc. May, 2011 god himself testified, for i am the lord, i do not change malachi 3. 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. Love born of faith and the spirit effects a complete breakthrough of the boundary between the two kingdoms, the wall of partition between heaven and earth, as did god s incarnation in christ. Gods greatest achievement is the son of gods selfhumiliation. Since his nature is unchanging, his standard is absolute. The moral standard cannot be subjective because subjectivity means what is true for one person. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Social conflicts as delineated in arundhati roys the god of small things 433 failure of communists thus, according to the narrator in this novel, the communist party in kerala did very little to challenge the caste system in itself, despite their highpitched slogans that caste is class, comrades 266. A man went to a barbershop to have his hair and his beard cut as always. It is the evil of what is done or thought or said by a moral agent, contrary to the rule of moral conduct laid down for him by god, his moral governor. Walker responds with an emphatic no, citing extensive evidence of bible morality to produce todays christian god the monster.
Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god copan, paul isbn. The first problem with any moral monster accusation against god is that it requires a standard of morality separate from god. Moral standards require the existence of a good god when atheists attack the morality of the bible, it is important to ask where their standard for right and wrong comes from. 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. How could an allpowerful, allloving god allow evil to exist. Because of israels embeddedness in the ancient near easts harsh, morallyproblematic social milieu, old testament legislation is in. Understanding judaism and comparing it to other religions, philosophies, and disciplines by aaron minsky. We are used to thinking about human rights and what humans should and shouldnt do, so we are likely to make the mistake of thinking of god. Holofernes clunky rhetoric and abuse directed at dull, o thou monster. 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.
He started to have a good conversation with the barber who attended him. Jan 01, 2011 is the god of the old testament nothing but a bully, a murderer, and an oppressor. 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. What gives god the right to have total control of the universe. 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. It looks at what morality is, the different kinds of moralities that already exist, and what a secular morality would look like. A soldiers struggle with torture, trauma, and the moral injuries of war, by bill russell edmonds. This is a necessary step, before we can begin to move forward constructively, as a people who hope in god. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god kindle edition by copan, paul. Social conflicts as delineated in arundhati roys the god. Copan takes the time to explain many of the old testaments seemingly inexplicable and tedious laws. Anyone familiar with the writings of the new atheists is aware of their penchant for taking potshots at old testament ethics. A dictionary definition includes the words supreme, superlative in quality, undisputed ascendancy, unlimited, enjoying autonomy, freedom.
God is arrogant and jealous god punishes people too. We are used to thinking about human rights and what humans should and shouldnt do, so we are likely to make the mistake of thinking of god as a more powerful and therefore more corrupt human. This book takes on the myth that atheists cant be moral. The subject of gods sovereignty can be confusing for some. Walter sinnottarmstrong argues that god is not only not essential to morality, but that our moral behavior should be utterly independent of religion. The barber said, look man, i dont believe that god exists as you say so. That we are to love those who have violated us without seeking justice or protection from that violation. If whatever god says goes, then if god decreed that adultery was permissible, then adultery would be permissible. This atheists argument seems formidable until we remember the basis for our worldviewthe bible. Sometimes the real monster lies not so much in criticisms from without as in our own holding to. In this timely and readable book, apologist paul copan. Brandon, we appreciate your desire to give an answer 1 peter 3. He has misrepresented godsuggesting god is like man in that his moral standards are merely. And when god calls on us to worship him, this fulfills our humanity since we are made to know and love god.
Is god an a moral monster who encourages slavery and abuse. The problem begins with the definition of the word sovereign. And how are we to reconcile the seemingly disconnected natures of god portrayed in the two. In chapters 3 and 4 copan addresses the charge that god in the oldtestament is both jealous and egocentrically demands worship. Oxonian richard dawkins thinks that yahweh is truly a moral monster. The hebrew bible scholar walter brueggemann has similarly drawn attention to. Unconditionally love as currently taught by the church imprisons people in bad marriages. To determine whether the god of the old testament is morally good or bad, there must first be a standard against which judgements are made. 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.
Paul copan takes on neoatheists claims of a petty, malicious old testament god. Making sense of the old testament god grand rapids. The god of the bible is a good god who demonstrates his love for people by giving his son for the salvation of those who believe john 3. Determining the will of god galkin evangelistic ministries. Irelands religious identity, are also tied to the mother of god. Many have taught that the love of god is an unconditional love. And if morality needs religion, then what does that say about atheists. But to will that they should be is to decree them jonathan edwardsrelated. Tawa anderson at the 2015 defend the faith conference at the new orleans baptist seminary. Oct 04, 2011 gods greatest achievement is the son of gods selfhumiliation. Then in chapter 5 he turns to the binding of isaac. Download is god a moral monster book pdf ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub.
The disenchantment of art the philosophy of walter. But copan argues, following apologists like walter kaiser, that of all these. This also means that in acknowledging who god is and being rightfully related to him, we re actually functioning as we were designed to function. This viewpoint is even making inroads into the church. Is god a moral monster, committing or condoning genocide as some have interpreted from this text. In this timely and readable book, apologist paul copan takes on some of the most vexing accusations of our time, including. Love born of faith and the spirit effects a complete breakthrough of the boundary between the two kingdoms, the wall of partition between heaven and earth, as did gods incarnation in christ. Sometimes it is as simple as, should i buy this computer or a cheaper one. Is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament. Hilber, professor of old testament at grand rapids theological seminary. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading is god a moral monster making sense of the old testament god. Now, it is selfevident that if he knows all things beforehand, he either approves of them or does not approve of them.
As an alternative, the kindle ebook is available now and can be read on any device with the free kindle app. Paulson, at the same time, interacts with theologians, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and literary critics. Determining the will of god every christian must struggle through the question of what they believe gods will for their life involves. Rather, his moral standard flows from his perfectly pure and holy nature. 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. Are the charges made by the new atheists a distorted representation of old testament ethics or is god a moral monster, as the new atheists says he is. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In contrast, in naming the mental being of man communicates itself to god. How do we explain gods command to israel to exterminate the canaanites. Apr 22, 2017 is god an a moral monster who encourages slavery and abuse. Page 3 that we acknowledge god to be god because anything else would be flying in the face of reality. For a nonjewish person, the god of the old testament might come across is very cruel.