{"id":284,"date":"2014-01-31T07:00:38","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T07:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.uccronline.it\/eng\/?p=284"},"modified":"2014-01-08T21:25:55","modified_gmt":"2014-01-08T21:25:55","slug":"how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/","title":{"rendered":"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sacrificio<\/a>The Old Testament contains some violent expressions<\/b>, not so pleasant, and sometimes shocking. God appears in his rage, angry, indignant until menacing destruction, death, and the annihilation of who goes against his will and laws. How can we give an explanation to all this?<\/p>\n

We need to as a first thing observe that God has always two aspects: justice<\/b>\u00a0 and forgiveness<\/b>. In the old testament, how the commiserate card. Carlo Maria Martini<\/b> explained: \u00a0\u00abGod takes by hand his people, He corrects them, He educates them and he puts them again in his primary project of joyousness\u00bb<\/i>. His work is \u00aba work of education<\/b> [\u2026]. Only the human\u2019s evil brings Him to rage. So then He becomes a warrior\u00a0 (Is.42,13) and fights with invincible strength, using even the forces of nature (Ger 30,23; 51,1) or human armies which become his battle instruments (Is 10,5; 13,3-5). But his objective is never a definitive extermination, how already the\u00a0 Great Flood shows, with Noah and his family that survive (Gn 6,5-9,17). His actions even if sometimes very severe for the hardness of mind and heart of humans, are actions of punishment and correction<\/b>, in order that humans can understand their mistakes, so that they cannot \u00a0<\/b>play around with Him, and return humbly to Him, always ready to forgive (Is 10,24-25; 16-18)\u00bb (\u201cGuida alla lettura della Bibbia\u201d <\/i>p. 14,75).<\/i><\/p>\n

Sometimes a loving father and sometimes a severe educator who wants to mold the people of Israel, \u201cStiff-necked people\u201d<\/i>. An example: God asks Abraham the not understandable sacrifice of his son <\/b>Isaac, but when he is about to kill him, God blocks the happening: this is a challenge to faith, it\u2019s a method of education, it\u2019s not sadism. So if in this way we can explain the severe act of God which sometimes we can observe in the Old Testament, the perplexity in front of some Psalms and canticles, in which evil is demanded<\/b>, cursing their enemies of God\u2019s enemies, asking for their destruction, annihilation, disappearance. Various examples are in the Psalter and they are called “imprecatory psalms”.\u00a0 A discontinuity with the evangelical message of the New Testament.<\/p>\n

A reflection on this argument was very interesting on the \u201cAvvenire\u201d<\/em><\/a>, of the theologian Enzo Bianchi<\/b>, prior of Comunit\u00e0 monastica di Bose. For the first thing he exposed that even after the gained scandal, the Church \u00abhas never allowed<\/b> to separate the two Testaments, It has condemned who lacerates the Scriptures, It has always proclaimed that God\u2019s word is contained in the Scriptures of Israel and in the Scriptures of Christians in an absolutely non separable way\u00bb<\/i>. But it is still understandable that \u00aba Christian who hasn\u2019t gained the entire maturity of Faith has difficulties to conciliate these biblical expressions of violence with his faith and prayers\u00bb.<\/i><\/p>\n

But he even has explained, what is so contradictory? <\/b>Why get scandalized? Why being hypocrites<\/b>, like who says that reading the Bible gets you far from faith? Prayers<\/b> aren\u2019t only being thankful, prayers aren\u2019t only requests. \u00abTowards God\u00bb,\u00a0 <\/i>says Bianchi, \u00abwe shout, we yell in the moments of anguish, <\/b>of desperation,\u00a0 we cry out for the violence received (Jesus that cries on the cross!)\u00bb. \u00abPrayers are a power which acts in history, a strength to oppose to the enormous strength of evil and of evil people [\u2026], praying against the oppressor is praying with the oppressed<\/b>, it\u2019s demanding and announcing the judgment of God in history and on history. We can find in this a \u201cpartiality\u201d that disturbs our\u00a0 internal goodness: in reality we pray in history and not out of it, and history isn\u2019t already redeemed, or not all sainted, but it needs judgment, opinion, discernment\u00bb.<\/i><\/p>\n

Prayers he even said, \u00abare choosing to stay on the side of the victim or the side of the executioner; \u00a0they are choosing to be the victim or his tormentor. In the Psalter these expressions are very common in the mouth of who is suffering<\/b>, in front of the enemies, personal\u00a0 enemies, enemies of Israel, or God\u2019s enemies: those enemies who torment him, who torture him, who want his death. But, it\u2019s important to never forget, these are imprecations present in supplication psalms, however always \u00a0<\/b>directed to God or confessed in front of Him [\u2026]. They are groans, cries, begs formulated in situations of desperation. Certainly they are sometimes excessive supplications; but who can ever measure them or condemn them if he had never found himself in the same situation of violence in his own person? What would we shout<\/b> in similar situations? And the most important thing: would we shout staying in front of God, invoking Him?\u00bb.<\/i><\/p>\n

To mutilate these scriptures \u00abmeans to become poorer of those depositions in \u201cflash and blood\u201d<\/b> that we find in the Bible. In response\u00a0 to the action of evil in the history the\u00a0 \u201cagainst prayers\u201d, the invectives contained in the psalms of supplication are an instrument of praying<\/b> for the poor, the oppressed, the good people who are persecuted:\u00a0 they react with their shouts, because\u00a0 for them in history there isn\u2019t any space!\u00bb. <\/i>Besides it\u2019s very due to notice that in front of an injustice, the believer obliges him self to not make justice on his own<\/b>, and he does not fall in to the temptation to react at evil with evil, at violence with violence, but he leaves making\u00a0 justice to God.<\/p>\n

In the Old Testament, Enzo Bianchi concluded, these imprecatory psalms \u00abestablish a radical overcoming to the eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth law\u00bb<\/b>. <\/i>These scriptures, if read in truth, \u00abwill not lead us to scandals but they are going to give us a big lesson:\u00a0 these speakers show great patience. These people don\u2019t make justice by themselves, they don\u2019t use war, rather they block their instinct of violence and they trust only in God<\/b>. This is their faith: here is where their cry to God arises\u00bb.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The editorial staff<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An illuminating reflection of Enzo Bianchi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[246,243,240,239,245,241,242,233,234,244,238,237,235,236],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bible","tag-bible-violence","tag-enzo-bianchi","tag-evil","tag-imprecatory-psalms","tag-justice","tag-justice-bible","tag-old-testament","tag-sacrifice-isaac","tag-scriptures","tag-violence-old-testament","tag-violence-testament","tag-violent-expression","tag-violent-old-testament"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament? - UCCR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament? - UCCR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An illuminating reflection of Enzo Bianchi.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCCR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uccronlineng\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-31T07:00:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/new.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Sacrificio-Isacco.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Simone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Simone\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/\",\"name\":\"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament? - UCCR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-31T07:00:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/4532086d8bfbd5d026fa22701599d109\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/\",\"name\":\"UCCR\",\"description\":\"Union of Catholic Christian Rationalists\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/4532086d8bfbd5d026fa22701599d109\",\"name\":\"Simone\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/author\/simone\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament? - UCCR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament? - UCCR","og_description":"An illuminating reflection of Enzo Bianchi.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/","og_site_name":"UCCR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uccronlineng\/","article_published_time":"2014-01-31T07:00:38+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/new.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Sacrificio-Isacco.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Simone","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Simone","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/","url":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/","name":"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament? - UCCR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2014-01-31T07:00:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/4532086d8bfbd5d026fa22701599d109"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2014\/01\/31\/how-to-explain-the-violent-expressions-in-the-old-testament\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to explain the violent expressions in the Old Testament?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/","name":"UCCR","description":"Union of Catholic Christian Rationalists","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/4532086d8bfbd5d026fa22701599d109","name":"Simone","url":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/author\/simone\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}