For as long as I can remember, God is said to be a benevolent deity who oversees all the happenings of the world and mercifully forgives all of mankind for their sins. Most Christians, if asked, will say that “God is good” and more so, he is forgiving. The Puritan notions of hellfire and brimstone, and that God is vengeful have been replaced by sincere benevolence. This new age Christian idealism has its helpfulness in today’s “misguided” society, but ultimately, as presented thus far in the Bible, is wrong.
God’s image in the first five books of the Bible paints a picture of domination and malevolence. As early on as the book of Genesis, God, in almost ever single story, kills and utterly destroys any person or civilization that does not believe in him. The story of Noah’s Flood is a prime example. In Noahs Flood story, God’s feeling towards his people are first examined: And the LORD was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth… So the LORD said, I will bolt out form the Earth the human beings I have created… r I am sorry that I have made them… I have determined to make an end of all flesh… I am going to destroy them along with the earth. (Gen. 6. 6-12)
The Antediluvians were to God wicked and innately evil, his divine creations were flawed. Although, to God, humanity has been flawed since Eve doomed all humanity by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Exodus there are still several examples of how malevolent God is portrayed. God acts through Moses to bring about the plagues against Egypt.
Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart… in order that I may show these sign of mine among them… I have made fools of the Egyptians… so that you may know that I am the LORD. (Ex. 10. 1-2) To God, in order for the Israelites to truly believe in him, he must show off his powers to nations different to his own. After every plague though, the Pharaoh might have just given up and let the Israelites leave Egypt, but God hardened his heart each and every time to make an example out of him.
As a result of God hardening the Pharaoh’s heart, thousands upon thousands of innocent Egyptians had to die due to the plagues brought against Egypt. Further more in Exodus, God says: “but you shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves, for you shall not worship any other God, for the LORD whose name is jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34. 13-14). This one quote sums up the ideas of God. He is jealous and the root of all evil is jealousy.
The idea that God is jealous being him down from perfect, for perfect beings do not feel emotions as their dependent humans do. This idea is juxtaposed to almost every single piece of modern Christian ideology. God is not forgiving or kind, especially to those who do not follow his ways. In Deuteronomy, the Bible goes as far as to describe the ferocious manner of God by way of his followers, “we captured… and put to death everyone in the cities, men, women, and dependents; we left no one” (Deut. 2. 34). Lastly, God says to the Israelites:
I will lay your cities in ruin and make your sanctuaries desolate I shall make the land desolate, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled I will unsheathe the sword against you. (Lev. 26. 28-33) This once again illustrates how cruel God can be. God promised the Israelites that they would one day be brought to the land of milk and honey. He did fulfill his promise is a multitude of bloody battles and displays of power. God also decrees that, “… when you [Israelites] have taken the city, you shall set the city doing as the LORD has ordered… Josh. 8. 8)
Here is another example of how God will destroy everything of the pervious civilization to make way for his Israelites. Like the Pharaoh of Egypt, God once again hardens the hearts of Israel’s enemies so that they will do battle with them. There was not a town that made peace with the Israelites… all were taken in battle. For it was the LORD’s doing o harden their hearths so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed, and might receive no mercy…. Josh. 11. 19-20)
This brutal portrayal of God’s powers to manipulate humans only furthers the idea that God is not benevolent. The first six books of the Bible portray God as a cruel, malevolent deity who is nothing like his image today. Television shows such as Touched by an Angel, deliver the message that “God loves you. ” What they should be saying is the God will only love you if you have no free-will. Like his opinion that humans are innately evil, maybe it is true to say the same for him?