Exodus 12:29

29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

In Exodus 12, God kills all firstborn in Egypt, with the exception of the Israelites who smeared blood over their door, in an effort to force Ramses to release the Israelite slaves. Did these children really deserve it, though?

It was Ramses who refused to let Moses’ people go, not these children. Their only sin was being born first to the oppressors of the Israelites. They were killed to prove a point, but was this really a good thing? All Christians are taught this story, and many take this passage for granted, thinking of the Egyptians as the bad guys. After all, it’s okay for the children of the bad guys to die, right? Absolutely not. Such a stance is morally reprehensible. Why would a just, moral, and loving god kill innocent children?

Some may say that such children, being under the age of accountability, would go straight to Heaven. However, such a mode of thought implies that infanticide is okay. There is no question about it. God has committed infanticide, a highly immoral act.

Tags: children, death, Egyptians, murder, Pharaoh
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Deuteronomy 21:18-21

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Deuteronomy 21 is concerned with various laws for how to deal with transgressions. These verses fit right in with the rights of the family that are outlined in this chapter. It is very obvious that God detested disobedient children and wished them dead. Not only that, he wished that other children see this and be afraid of death.

We are still indeed bound by the Old Law. Even though no one in their right mind would agree that disobedient children should be killed, God commands it himself. Even if we were no longer bound by this law, God once commanded that disobedient children be slain, and we all know that he is an unchanging god. The only way to reconcile the obvious contradiction caused by an all-loving god demanding the death of disobedient children is to come to the conclusion that he is imaginary.

Such laws were merely in place as a means of social control. Luckily, we’ve learned enough about child psychology and development that we no longer require the threat of death to encourage obedience. One would imagine that an all-loving, all powerful god would simply have informed the Israelites of proper parenting techniques that did not require the threat of large rocks. Perhaps he simply enjoys murdering children.

Tags: children, death, law, stone
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