Today’s reading from the OneYearBibleBlog includes the story of the Tower of Babel . In that story, God seems almost to be motivated out of a sense of fear. Earlier, in the Flood story, the motivation seems to be anger. Most of the New Testament seems to be focused on compassion, and I can’t image there being even a hint of a fearful God.

So, does that mean (as I’ve heard suggested) that God changes over the course of history? If you read the Bible as literal, word for word transcription of God’s thoughts an feelings, then I don’t see how you could read it any other way. But I don’t see it like that.

To my mind, it’s more like a parent/child relationship. When a child is very young, you physically prevent them from actions that are harmful, because that’s all that a young child can understand. As the child matures, the nature of the interaction can mature as well. Of course, my analogy breaks down somewhat, because human parents do in fact change over the lifetime of the child. But God, being outside of time, wouldn’t change in the same way. It’s only our perception of God that changes. Sort of like Paul’s mirror , except that instead of being an all-or-nothing thing (mirror dimly or face to face), we’re gradually “cleaning the mirror” to see other facets of God.

I’m also assuming that we are maturing (evolving?) as a species, but sometimes I wonder about that, as well.

This is all just “off the cuff” stuff here. I’d appreciate any comments or thoughts you might have.

The OneYearBibleBlog reading for January 4^th included Genesis 9:6

Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed; for in his own image God made humankind. (NRSV)

At first blush, this would seem to support the idea of capital punishment, and I’ve seen discussions about this passage that say exactly that. But I think this to be a false reading. I don’t believe this passage to be an instruction by God that murders must be killed. Rather, I think this is a warning by God of natural consequences. Notice that, while the verse says that “… by a human shall that person’s blood be shed …” it does not excuse the second killing from being under the exact same judgement!

In light of that, I think this passage is actually an indictment against capital punishment specifically, and violence in general, for any reason. Even legally “sanctioned” violence, Just because God declares that those who kill will themselves be killed (those who live by the sword die by the sword) does not mean that we, in the form of our government, have been elected by God to carry out that judgement.