So, going back to the passage about the raped woman. Is it counter-intuitive -- especially in today's culture? Of course. Does it mean that God is evil and that he doesn't know what he's doing? No. However, once again, this is that line in the sand. A person must choose to either trust, or judge, God, pertaining to it.
When reading Deuteronomy, It's true that there's a lot to be said about the culture of that day. We can, also talk about the old covenant, versus, the new covenant, how it pertained to the Israelites, and all of that. Kristi even points this out, and there are reasons why we don't practice some of these commandments, today. However, Kristi's main argument is pertaining to the conduct of God, and why he would command this of the Israelites, in the first place. On the issue of conduct, a person must choose to "trust or judge".
The next passage, that Kristi mentions, is Deuteronomy 20:10-18. It reads as follows:
"When you go to attack a city, first give its people a chance to surrender. If they open the gates and surrender, they are all to become your slaves and do forced labor for you. But if the people of that city will not surrender, but choose to fight, surround it with your army. Then, when the Lord your God lets you capture the city, kill every man in it. You may, however, take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city. You may use everything that belongs to your enemies. The Lord has given it to you. That is how you are to deal with those cities that are far away from the land you will settle in.
"But when you capture cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, kill everyone. Completely destroy all the people: the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord ordered you to do. Kill them, so that they will not make you sin against the Lord by teaching you to do all the disgusting things that they do in the worship of their gods."
-Deuteronomy 20:10-18
Kristi's issues with the above passage, are exactly as you might expect. From her perspective, and from the perspective of many, God's commands seem cruel and unfair. However, what have we learned about God?
The underlying theme, for this whole article, is that God's perspective is completely different from ours. He not only knows things that we don't know, but he understands things that we're incapable of understanding. Also, his holiness is beyond us. If you take into account some of these things, this passage may begin to make more sense.
First of all, we have to remember that God is holy. So, sin, to him, is a lot more of an offense than what we're able to understand. To us, some sin, may not even appear to be sin. This is because we're not like God. We're not perfect, nor are we all-knowing, nor can we comprehend all things. So, we shouldn't be surprised when his commands don't always line up perfectly with our limited understanding, and our own lack of righteousness and perfection. In many ways, these things are beyond us. So, when he says to kill and enslave, though this is the perfect choice, it seems crazy, to us. This is because sin isn't as offensive to us, as it is to God. Nor do we know what these people, in these other cities, have done. Nor do we always know what they would do, if the Israelites chose to disobey God and not kill them, or enslave them, as God commanded.
However, we're not left, completely, in the dark. After all, in verse 18, God says that they are to kill these people so that those people won't have the opportunity to lead the Israelites into sin, and we, now, have some idea of how much God hates sin.
Despite God having shed some light as to why the Israelites are to kill and enslave these people, it's no surprise that it won't be acceptable to a lot of people. However, once again, this is because we're not like God. We're not perfect, nor are we all-knowing. As is the case with most of these passages, we must choose to trust God, lest we judge him, and therefore, face our own judgment, by him.
The final passage, that Kristi mentions, is John 3:16. It reads as follows:
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life."
-John 3:16
Kristi has a few problems with this popular verse. Her first problem is that, because of the other verses, she says that she doesn't believe that God loves the world. She says this because, as the verses pointed out, God, not only allowed bad things to happen, but he, also, told the Israelites to kill other people.
The problem, with this view, is that, once again, it's viewed, completely, from a human perspective. So, once again, in order to subscribe to this view you have to believe that you know everything. You have to believe that you understand more than God understands, and that you are wiser than he. You, also, must assume that your judgments are more divine, and that your standards are better. It leaves no room for God's perspective -- which is a perspective that is, ultimately, beyond human understanding. So, it's like the little girl, claiming that she knows better, pertaining to the doctors visit. If the girl had her way, there's no way she'd get that shot, and in the end, she'd be worse off for it.
Another problem, that Kristi points out, is that the verse says that God gave up his son. However, the Bible teaches, and Christians believe, that Jesus is God. So, how can God give up his son? Did he give up himself?
This is a classic example of our limited understanding, as humans. How can Jesus be fully God and fully human? Once again, this is a paradox. However, as explained before, a paradox is only a problem for humans -- not for God. So, it's a problem with our limited perspective. Our perspective is the problem -- not the reality, itself.