Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invoked the Hebrew Scriptures as a justification for the Genocide in Gaza. He did so when he mentioned “Amalek” in connection with the current atrocities being committed by the IDF against the Palestinians. To a believing Jew or Christian, this reference will invoke I Kings (I Samuel) 15:1-3, where God Himself commands King Saul through the Prophet Samuel to “smite Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he hath: spare him not, nor covet any thing that is his: but slay both man and woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” There is video proof that IDF forces took their Prime Minister’s words as a literal call to arms to wipe out unarmed men, women, and children in Gaza.
What is a Catholic to think of this invocation of the so-called “dark passages” of the Old Testament?
The quick answer is found in the title of this piece. Benjamin Netanyahu is not God, who does actually possess complete sovereignty over the life and death of His creatures. That said, there is a longer answer that involves a study of the “dark passages” of the Old Testament. Those interested are invited to peruse the video discussion and links I have provided below.
Netanyahu Invokes Charem
First, here is Bibi making statements he must certainly now regret, as they have become part of the South African genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague:
Jeffrey Sachs Explains
Next, here is Jeffrey Sachs giving a brief explanation of the significance of this to Judge Andrew Napolitano:
Johnson and McGovern on the Genocide Case
Here is a longer discussion, Judge Andrew Napolitano’s “roundtable” on the South African case against Israel, with intel analysts Larry Johnson and Ray McGovern. This includes the above mentioned “video proof that IDF forces took their Prime Minister’s words as a literal call to arms” for massacre:
My Interview with Dr. Nathan Schmiedicke
Now for the weighty theological matter of the “dark passages” of the Old Testament. In April of 2016, I interviewed Dr. Nathan Schmiedicke on this complex subject. That interview is here, on YouTube:
Informative Links
Lastly, here are the promised links to informative articles you can read on the subject:
- KILL THEM ALL! — by Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M. at catholicism.org
- More Old-Testament Violence, and Bluegrass — by Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M. at catholicism.org
- Cherem: The Israelite Wars of Destruction — by Daniel J. Castellano at arcaneknowledge.org
- Did God Command Genocide? — by Msgr. Charles Pope at adw.org
- Why Did God Order the Death of Gentile Infants? A Possible Solution — by Dr. Taylor Marshall at taylormarshall.com
- How to Understand the Bible’s Dark Passages: An Interview with Dr. Matthew Ramage — by Brandon Vogt at brandonvogt.com
- Bible and Qur’an: equally violent? — by Robert Spencer at jihadwatch.org
- 7 Keys to Understanding Violence in the Book of Joshua — by Lawson Stone at seedbed.com (Protestant source)
