by Reid Fitzsimons

The Hebrew Bible contains plenty of enlightened ideas, such as charity for the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11 among others). It also contains some concerning words: “Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey (1 Samuel 15:3).” Similarly Hebrew law, stemming from perhaps 1,500 BC, can be harsh, including execution for homosexuality. It all became irrelevant, however, following the destruction of the second temple around 70 AD and the scattering of Jews throughout the Roman Empire- the Diaspora. The Law evolved into shared customs and traditions that held the Jewish identity and people together over the next 2,000 years.

The Christian Bible- New Testament- is pretty much devoid of exhortations to violence and oppressive laws, in fact quite the opposite: Jesus’ radical admonition to love your enemy, for example. It’s a tough standard and rarely achieved; maybe not hating our enemies would be a starting point. It should be noted that in Paul’s epistle 1 Thessalonians 2:14-15 there is a troublesome and disingenuous claim: “(The Jews), who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone.” While it does not directly advocate for violence, it gave evil people with power a justification to oppress and slaughter Jews when it helped advance their political and personal agendas. “The Jews Killed Jesus!” they shouted, which is kind of ironic because the whole basis of Christianity is the birth, life, Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of Christ.