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Making Sense of the Old Testament God

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Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God

Paul Copan
May 3, 2012
Series: Denver Journal Volume 15 - 2012
Paul Copan. Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011. 252
pages. Paperback, $14.99. ISBN: 978-0-8010-7275-8
At first glance, the God of the Old Testament can appear unsavory. A source of commands ranging from violent and brutal to
simply strange, Yahweh reveals Himself time and again as an angry God who must be appeased even to the point of child
sacrifice. Such are common charges leveled against the Bible from neo-atheist critics those believers-in-nothing who move
beyond a personal lack of belief to criticize belief wherever else it might be found. Imagine a faithful Christians surprise when,
upon opening her Bible to refute such charges, she instead stumbles across Joshua 6:21 that tells how the Israelites utterly
destroyed the inhabitants of Jericho, men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword. Or
if she turns to Genesis 22 and finds Abrahams barbaric call to sacrifice his son Isaac? And didnt Israel keep slaves, including
wives taken as spoils of war? At first glance, Scripture seems only to make the neo-atheist case. However, Paul Copans Is God a
Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God offers a deeper understanding of the historical and literary context of
such passages to show just how wrong these interpretations are. The key to Copans interpretive method is wonderfully simple:
one must carefully read the text in question.
More than simply an encyclopedia of difficult Bible stories or a reference book for interested believers, Copan intentionally frames
his arguments within the crosshairs of neo-atheist objections to the authority and historicity of the Biblical text. In the spirit of
Peters command to actively engage in the defense of our faith, Copan continually references popular critics of Christianity and the
Bible as he moves systematically through the Old Testament to explain what the text actually says on issues like slavery, womens
rights, violence in warfare, and the ubiquitous weirdness (p. 70) of kosher laws. In each case, a thoughtful, informed, contextual
understanding of the Bible is all that is needed to provide an apologia to the thoughtless accusations of the neo-atheist camp.
Consider, for example, the charge that God is a jealous egotist; Copan needs only seven pages to point out the difference between
human arrogance and divine humility: it is not narcissistic to demand worship if honor is genuinely deserved. The problem with
human pride is not simply the expectation of respect, but the unjustified expectation; similar to the way that my wife is right to
expect me to display my love for her, God rightly expects His creation to show Him the respect He is owed. And considered in the
light of the kenotic nature of the incarnationthat ultimate act of undeserved self-sacrificethis charge appears particularly silly; as
Copan says, this is the argument of village atheists, not those who have seriously examined the Scriptures (p. 33).
This is the driving theme of the book: the Bible does not need to be excused, merely understood. A proper hermeneutic that treats
the text appropriately reveals that the most common criticisms of Scripture are based on misunderstandings and misinterpretations.
Consider the Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah. Frequently cited not only as evidence of Gods brutality and heartlessness, but as
proof of Yahwehs blood-thirsty craving for child sacrifice, a careful reading of this story reveals that God never truly intended
Abraham to kill his son and that Abraham recognized this fact from the beginning. Copan works step-wise to show that, in the
light of Gods promises in Genesis 12 and 17, Abrahams experience with Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis 21, the odd phrasing of
Yahwehs command to go to Moriah with Isaac in the first place, and the personal relationship he had pursued with His Creator
throughout his life; Abraham held a rational confidence that he would descend from the mountain with Isaac at his side. His
comment in Genesis 22:5 (We will worship and then we will come back to you,) reveals this assurance. It is simply not the case
that the God of Bible was expecting His altar to run red with Isaacs blood. Indeed, in a move that Kierkegaard would have done
well to consider, Copan simply reads the text and never tries to get God off of a hook that He was never actually hanging on in the
first place.
In a similar fashion, the apparent brutality of Canaans conquering offers another example of how careless criticism clouds
understanding and that a comprehensive reading of the text reveals little need to justify the commands God gave to Joshua and
Israel. Drawing on insights both from biblical critics and archaeology, Copan argues that places like Jericho were not, in fact,
suburban cities filled with families, but military garrisons manned with soldiers (p. 176). Understanding the process Joshua used
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Denver Seminary > Articles > Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God

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at Yahwehs explicit command to attack the city reveals a more than week-long process of repeated warnings and proclamations
about Jerichos coming destruction. Rahabs speech in Joshua 2, the account of the Jordans crossing in Joshua 3, and the nature of
the priestly procession around the walls in Joshua 6 all reveal that Jericho was not ignorant of who they met on the battlefield. Not
only had God come to judge their unrighteousness, but he had given them ample opportunity to repent. The intention of God at
Jericho (and throughout the Promised Land) was not simply to massacre Canaanites, but to drive a group of unrepentant sinners
out of a region destined for Gods people. So, accusations of oppressive colonialism, nation-building, or xenophobia simply fail to
understand the focus of the Joshua account.
And yet, why does a careful reading of the Jericho account seem to contradict Copan and say that women and children were
present at the city? How could the Israelites put men and women, young and old to the sword as in the verse mentioned above if
there were no families around to be slaughtered? Copans answer here is so simple it almost sounds like a trick: this is an example
of ancient near-Eastern exaggeration rhetoric that metaphorically expresses the totality of Israels victory, so just as we might say
that a sports team blew their opponents away or slaughtered or annihilated them, the author (editor) likewise followed the
rhetoric of his day (pg. 171). Once again, Copan proves that the Biblical text simply needs to be understood free from
anachronism in order to answer neo-atheist objections.
More than simply defending the Bible from such attacks, Copan builds a positive case that God and His Scripture are appropriate
sources for moral truth and guidance. Throughout the book, Copan points out the unusually restricted character of the Torahs
morality that frequently diverged from commonly held moral ideas of other contemporary cultures. To take another example from
Joshua, the hanging of the kings of Ai and those of other cities seems barbaric to modern sensibilities, but such a display of power
was quite common in Joshuas day. However, thanks to divine commands like the one found in Deuteronomy 21:23, Joshua
honored his enemies in an unusual way by burying their corpses after only a day, rather than allowing them to completely decay
and be eaten by wild animals.
Copans discussion of Old Testament slavery is in the same vein, for he devotes three chapters to displaying not only how the
Torah defined rules to ensure the safety and dignity of servants, but how such regulations were completely out of character at the
time and place of their creation. Israelite slaves under the Torah were treated far better than slaves in contemporary cultures and
far better still than were Africans in the American South (a motivating image for many neo-atheist critics). Copan uses such facts
to argue for a progressive revelation of moral truth by God over the course of history. In a world marred by sin, Yahwehs special
revelation first to the Jew, then to the Gentile gradually revealed deeper and deeper truths about the true nature of morality
because they revealed deeper and deeper truths about the nature of God Himself. As Copans penultimate chapter argues, and as
many apologists have trumpeted throughout the ages, morality itself only makes sense within a theistic context that can ground
moral truths in the person of God. Christianity takes this moral argument one step further to say that the Incarnation offers the
climax of this revelation, so the ultimate resolution is found in Gods clarifying Word to us and the One who became flesh and
lived among us, who died and rose again on our behalf (pg. 222).
Copans clarion call to a careful reading of the Bible has produced a work that should itself be read carefully. Addressing more
than ten distinct moral issues in the pages of the Old Testament, Is God a Moral Monster?s greatest failure is simply the lack of
an index that would assist in referencing its insight. Contemporary critics of the Bible and its historicity would do well to hear
Copans overarching point: read the Bible properly before you ridicule it; otherwise, you will likely end up looking ridiculous
yourself.
Anthony Holdier
Denver Seminary
April 2012
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