The Judeo Christian God Enslaves, Slaughters and Treats Unfairly

Humanity is corrupted by sin, and that sin is always directly against God. When David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah murdered, he responded with an interesting prayer: "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight"" (Psalm 51:4). Since David had sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, how could he claim to have only sinned against God? David understood that all sin is ultimately against God. God is an eternal and infinite Being (Psalm 90:2). As a result, all sin requires an eternal punishment. God"s holy, perfect, and infinite character has been offended by our sin. Although to our finite minds our sin is limited in time, to God"who is outside of time"the sin He hates goes on and on. Our sin is eternally before Him and must be eternally punished in order to satisfy His holy justice. The realities of eternal damnation, eternal hell, and eternal punishment are frightening and disturbing. But it is good that we might, indeed, be terrified. While this may sound grim, there is good news. God loves us (John 3:16) and wants us to be saved from hell (2 Peter 3:9). But because God is also just and righteous, He cannot allow our sin to go unpunished. Someone has to pay for it. In His great mercy and love, God provided His own payment for our sin. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross for us. Jesus" death was an infinite death because He is the infinite God/man, paying our infinite sin debt, so that we would not have to pay it in hell for eternity (2 Corinthians 5:21). If we confess our sin and place our faith in Christ, asking for God"s forgiveness based on Christ"s sacrifice, we are saved, forgiven, cleansed, and promised an eternal home in heaven. God loved us so much that He provided the means for our salvation, but if we reject His gift of eternal life, we will face the eternal consequences of that decision. Why did God give such a command? Israel was God"s instrument of judgment against the Canaanites, who were evil, almost beyond what we can imagine today: "Every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods" (Deuteronomy 12:31). Their utter annihilation was commanded to prevent Israel from following their ways: "Lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 20:18; also Deuteronomy 12:29-30). Even in the dire judgments of the Old Testament, God offered mercy. For example, when God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, God promised Abraham that He would spare the whole city in order to save ten righteous people there. Though God did destroy those cities (ten righteous people could not be found), He saved "righteous Lot" and his family (Genesis 18:32; Genesis 19:15; 2 Peter 2:7). Later, God destroyed Jericho, but He saved Rahab the harlot and her family in response to Rahab"s faith (Joshua 6:25; Hebrews 11:31). Until the final judgment, there is always mercy to be found. Every person dies in God"s own time (Hebrews 9:27; Genesis 3:19). Jesus holds the keys of death (Revelation 1:18). Does the fact that everyone experiences physical death make God a "killer"? In the sense that He could prevent all death, yes. He allows us to die. But He is no murderer. Death is part of the human experience because we brought it into the world ourselves (Romans 5:12). One day, as John Donne put it, "Death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die." God, in His grace, has conquered death for those who are in Christ, and one day that truth will be fully realized: "The last enemy to be subdued and abolished is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26). God is faithful to His word. He will destroy the wicked, and He holds "the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment" (2 Peter 2:9). But He has also promised that "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b). We do not have to suffer in hell. God will forgive us if we truly repent for our sins. Anyways it is kind of hard to explain to you the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of sin. Thanks again to my opponent for the challenge.