Resources for exploring violence in scripture

Written By Samantha Mudiappahpillai

On July 19, the Rev. Dr. Lissa Wray Beal helped us rethinking how we look at scripture — particularly how we reconcile major (and valid) questions about the violence seen in the Old Testament with Jesus’ way of peace in the New Testament. Here are the resources for further reading she shared with us — helpful, faithful and not weighed down with academic jargon.

  • Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God. Baker Books, 2011.

  • Paul Copan, Is God a Vindictive Bully? Reconciling Portrayals of God in the Old and New Testaments. Baker Academic, 2022.

  • Paul Copan & Matthew Flannagan, Did God Really Command Genocide? Coming to Terms with the Justice of God. Baker Books, 2014.

  • L. Daniel Hawk, The Violence of the Biblical God: Canonical Narrative and Christian Faith. Eerdmans, 2019.

  • Matthew J. Lynch, Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and the Shalom of God. IVP Academic, 2023.

  • Helen Paynter, God of Violence Yesterday, God of Love Today?: Wrestling Honestly with the Old Testament. Wipf & Stock, 2019.

  • Charlie Trimm, The Destruction of the Canaanites: God, Genocide, and Biblical Interpretation. Eerdmans, 2022.

  • Wray Beal, Lissa M. The Story of God Bible Commentary on Joshua. Zondervan, 2019.

  • See also fabulous online resources at the Centre for the Study of Bible & Violence (https://www.csbvbristol.org.uk/)

Samantha Mudiappahpillai
Previous

Let’s build this church up!
Next

Knox Refugee Sponsorship Update