Jihad and the Bible …

MARTIN MARTY'S treatment of the Qur'an and the Old Testament obscures the truth he claims to seek ("Them and us," Oct. 3). The Old Testament is not jihadist.

In giving people the land of Canaan and in the hope of preserving them from idolatry, which God regards as a very bad thing, God on some occasions called for brutal annihilation. But even this most literal reading gives no warrant for general warfare against unbelievers. A more abstract theological reading might see such texts through the lens of God's providential use of human violence to obtain his purposes. In either case truth is not advanced by pretending that such texts are the equivalent of those portions of the Qur'an that are cited by the jihadists. Latter-day guilt about God's murderousness in the days of ancient Israel contributes nothing to truth or honest dialogue, let alone to responsible engagement with the challenge of Islamic extremism.

So there is no need to choose between God and the Bible--a notion that has led to endless mischief. We do need at times to confront the darker side of God's work. Unlike me, Marry is still a Lutheran and surely ought to be able to deal with the deus absconditus without resorting to moral equivalency.

Leonard R. Klein

Catholic Charities, Wilmington, Del.

Thanks for Martin Marty's challenge to come clean concerning the "holy warrior God" portrayed in the Bible. We who confess that Jesus is Lord, including Lord of the Bible, must, I believe, agree with Marty's quote from Martin Buber that Samuel "misunderstood God" when he "told Saul to kill all the Amalikites" (1 Sam. 15:13) and acknowledge that he was not alone in such misunderstanding.

In light of Jesus' saying "The sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the sabbath" (Mark 2:27) and "Let anyone who is without sin be the first to throw a stone" (John 8:7), Moses was certainly mistaken when he believed that God told him to stone a man to death for gathering firewood on the sabbath day (Num. 15:32-36).

To those who quoted the Bible against Christ, Luther dared quote Christ against the Bible. We who proclaim the Lordship of Christ are to be bold in doing the same. Only then can we be true to the God made known in Jesus (John 1:18).

Lowell O. Erdahl

Bishop Emeritus, Saint Paul Area Synod, ELCA, Roseville, Minn.

COPYRIGHT 2006 The Christian Century Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning