How many has God killed?

[GeorgeT]

I think something tragic has happened here. I was speaking to Gareth a few hours ago, and he told me to get on this website and read this thread. He mentioned something he was disappointed with about this thread, but made me promise not to say what it was in public.

We spoke for a couple of hours about the topic of terrorism and also about incidents in the Bible that carry a death sentence. For example, Leviticus 20:9 states that children who dishonour their parents shall be put to death. Now obviously this is not an order from God for parents to kill their children when they get out of control and won’t obey them anymore. But rather, it means that God will judge the child’s actions, and God himself will determine and execute the punishment (if any). For example, in God’s infinite wisdom, he can see when a child is speaking out of anger, and when a child is speaking from his heart. If a child is speaking out of anger, he might yell out “I wish you were dead” to his Father. But deep in his heart, the child would be very devastated if his Father died, and he truly does not want his Father dead. Only God can see what’s in someone’s heart, and can know the difference between speaking out of anger, or speaking from the heart. One is a violation of Leviticus 20:9, but the other is not. It is not for us to decide when a violation has occured, but only for God.

There are many other actions that the Bible states that carry a death penalty (like homosexuality). Obviously this is not an open invitation from God for us to kill homosexuals. But again, it is up to God to assess and make the appropriate punishment (if any).

The punishment of death could mean many things, for example being involved in a car accident can cause death. Who’s to say how many car accidents have been guided to occur by God (if any). Who’s to say how many cancer diagnosis were created by God (if any). This is not to imply that every car accident death and every cancer death is a form of punishment by God, as I'm sure many innocent people have died from car accidents and cancer. God gives us free will, and I'm sure most accidents just happen from sheer bad luck. I was just using car accidents and cancers as examples of how God could dish out the death penalty without the horror of having people commit murders (like we saw recently in France). After all, God commanded us to not kill, remember?

This is a topic that Gareth and I will be covering in depth at our next group meeting.

I go in peace, and I wish you all a good day,

George