Posted by sins of the father on March 13, 1999 at 22:21:43 {MWFwvubO/m3jw}:
In Reply to: ****Question posted by LooseCannon on March 13, 1999 at 18:15:49:
The sins of the father...justify the punishment of the children??? When discussing the nation of Isreal and its history as outlined in the bible we see a nation that did just that.
The responsibility for these actions was placed on their God. It was he who gave the orders, they had no choice but to obey as loyal servants of him.
Does that sound like a pattern we have heard before???
If we remove the concept of God from the equation and put it into strictly a military / political view of dealing with ones enemies you see a powerful psychological force at play. If it is known that you will destroy all who oppose you and you have done this repeatedly, you will soon find yourself facing an enemy that is already defeated in spirit. This now makes your next conquest even easier. And when you face a more determined enemy you will feel a greater justification to eliminate all resistors so as to eliminate any future enemies who will be resolved to destroy you as they seek revenge. Since you have killed not only the warriors, but the women and children as well you are left without any revenge seekers. What a pratical solution to protect the future generations of your family/nation. Leave yourself without competition for land and wealth.
As for scriptural accounts see: Joshua 8:24-26; 10:33,36-40 these are just a few that recount that not a soul was left that was not devouted to the sword, men and women, all the inhabitants of the land.
Felix Angler