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Israel, Iran, and What the Bible Says
Exploring Biblical justifications for bombing
As war escalates in the Middle East, some politicians and pastors in America are turning to the Bible to justify bombings.
One North Carolina pastor digs into the oft-cited scriptures to explore if they really, actually, truly justify bombing nations and people into oblivion.
Spoiler alert: No.
Kate Haynes Murphy offers this:
The scripture tossed around most frequently is not from the gospel, but Genesis 12:3. In this passage, God is making an everlasting covenant with Abram, who will soon be renamed Abraham. God has already promised him a land ‘flowing with milk and honey” and promised to make him the father of many children. In verse 2 God says, I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.’ And then comes verse 3, the part that Cruz and Huckabee et al. are citing. ‘I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.’
And then explains:
These great Biblical scholars hurl that verse like the bunker busting bombs they want to rain down on Iran, confident that they have destroyed all opposition. But they are powerfully, destructively wrong. Because the Bible doesn’t…
