We conclude considering one of many talking point scare quotes that are oft employed against Bible believers. Ezekiel 9:6 states, “Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children.” For pseudo-skeptical-atheists a fragment of a verse is always enough information upon which to rain down condemnation. Let not take a text out of context to make a pretext for a prooftext but let us delve into the immediate and greater statements. Find the whole series at this link.
From Ezekiel ch. 11:
1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the LORD that faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men…2…men who are plotting evil and giving wicked advice in this city…5 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on me, and he told me to say: “…6 You have killed many people in this city and filled its streets with the dead…10 You will fall by the sword, and I will execute judgment on you…Then you will know that I am the LORD…12 And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you”…13…I [Ezekiel] fell facedown and cried out in a loud voice, “Alas, Sovereign LORD! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?”…16…‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ 17 “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ 18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.
YHVH specified 25 men who are specifically guilty of having, “killed many people in this city” and upon whom YHVH will “execute judgment” because they “have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.”
Then Ezekiel seems to ask if YHVH will pass the same judgment upon all Israel. YHVH explains that He will, “gather you from the nations and bring you back…I will give you back the land.” Yet, YHVH reiterates that the guilty are guilty, chose to remain guilty and will be judged as guilty, “as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.”
Now, when one has explained all of this to the pseudo-skeptical-atheist, they will respond with words to the effect of, “You’re just rationalizing.” This is merely a pseudo-skeptical-atheist’s way of saying, “Good answer and I cannot respond to it.” Or, they may claim that it was “wrong,” “evil,” “immoral” and that the circumstances do not matter at all. With this, we see how we always end up with having to deal with how we determine right and wrong, good and evil, moral and immoral, ethics and unethical.
Do not forget that this is about spiritual warfare. The pseudo-skeptical-atheist wants to neuter YHVH, they want to talk themselves into believing that since God is bad/wrong/evil/immoral/unethical then YHVH cannot rightly judge him. There are pseudo-skeptical-atheists who literally make their living by raining down condemnations in a brim stone and fire manner. They are angry because, somewhere deep down, they see that they have no basis upon which to assert constant condemnations.
With such personages, one must keep pushing the fact that he has no basis upon which to condemn anything at all. Pseudo-skeptical-atheists must come to terms with the fact that they have nothing upon which to base their condemnations besides emotions and personal preferences: theism discredits condemnation and condemnation discredits atheism.
Atheism discredits condemnation because it has no basis upon which to condemn anything.
Condemnation discredits atheism because it shows YHVH’s moral law within them.
And you know how it goes: a moral law implies a moral law giver, morality is irrelevant to nature (only survival is) and so a moral law giver is what we call YHVH.
Here are books on the topic:
Eric A. Seibert, Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God
Paul Copan, Is Yahweh a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God
For a debate on the issue of morality between an atheist and this Examiner get a taste from the attached video and see the whole debate at this link.
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