(This is a summary of the final project for Amy’s Apologetics class): Recently there have been charges by some well known atheists that God is “a bully, a murderer and a cosmic child abuser”. I have to admit that if this were true then I would agree that God is a moral monster.
There were over 8700 different gods worshipped in the countries that surrounded Israel when it was first established! The three most widely worshipped were Baal, Ashtoreth and Molech. These gods had some pretty gruesome practices associated with them, including child sacrifices and temple fertility rites. The temple fertility rites included the use of temple prostitutes which often involved young boys and girls.
On the other hand the God of the Bible has come under fire for certain practices that the Israelites were instructed to carry out. The biggest of these is the instruction they were given to destroy everything within the cities that they conquered….men, women and children (Joshua 6:17). The Old Testament was a period of God giving the Israelites a physical land, a land that He had promised would be theirs forever. But He wanted them to live in the land and worship Him only, as the covenant between them stated in Genesis 17 and 19.
God didn’t want evil worship practices like child sacrifices and temple prostitution present in Israel. Is this a valid reason to wipe out whole cities? Is God’s covenant a good enough reason to justify this? The God of the Bible is a God who cares deeply for each of us, and although we may not always understand why He asks us to do something, we can trust that His way is ultimately the best thing for us. Let’s look at 5 women that Jesus met and touched. Because Jesus is God in the flesh, and we can learn much about God by examining the life of Jesus.
- The Adulterous woman – John 8:1-11
- Mary Magdalene – Luke 8:1-3
- The Sinful woman – Luke 7:36-50
- A disabled woman – Luke 13:10-17
- The Samaritan woman at the well – John 4:1-42
Does a moral monster care for and reach out to women in this way? Would a moral monster want to meet a woman’s deepest needs? Would a moral monster fight against the status quo and those in charge in order to rescue, forgive and heal women? Would a moral monster think of anyone but his own self interests? What compelling reason did Jesus have for treating women this way?
The gods of the nations surrounding Israel stand in stark contrast to the God of the Bible as revealed through Jesus. He continually worked to reach out and change lives, giving second chances at life and love. Women who met Jesus had the greatest opportunity of all, a chance to know God, a God who is life and love at His very core.
Would you like to know this Jesus? Knowing God through Jesus is the beginning of a great adventure. He offers love, joy and peace to all those who come to Him. I want to invite you to enter into a relationship with Him. He loves you and knows what your deepest needs are, just like each of these women that we looked at.