The Problem of War in the Old Testament (Paperback)

The predominance of war in the Old Testament troubles many Christians. However it is an issue that must be faced, says Peter C. Craigie, because it has serious ramifications for contemporary Christian attitudes about war. Professor Craigie categorizes the problems into two kinds - personal and external. The personal problems arise from the Christian's attempt to grapple with the emphasis on war in a book fundamental to faith. Three areas are considered here: the representation of God as warrior; God's revelation of himself in a book which preserves an extensive amount of war literature; and the seemingly conflicting ethics taught in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The external problems are critiques against the Bible and the Christian faith, based on the war-like nature of the Old Testament and the close association between Christianity and war throughout history. Only by examining and understanding the problem of war in the Old Testament will Christians be able to respond intelligently to attacks on their faith, to educate their youth in the nature of war, and to influence modern attitudes toward war. Peter C. Craigie was Academic Vice-President of the University of Calgary, professor of religious studies, and authored The Book of Deuteronomy in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series (Eerdmans). "Dr. Craigie is acutely aware of the ethical problems posed by his subject, and his study should be helpful to others who are equally aware of these problems. I am glad to commend this book." - F. F. Bruce University of Manchester "Professor Craigie approaches a difficult subject in an irenic, open manner, conveying both his grasp of the subject matter and his deep concern as a theologian and churchman for helping lay people think about a troubling problem in a fresh way. . . . Any person or group seeking to wrestle with the problem of war in the Old Testament will find Craigie's thoughtful study one of the most helpful resources available." - Patrick D. Miller, Jr. Princeton Theological Seminary

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The predominance of war in the Old Testament troubles many Christians. However, it is an issue that must be faced, says Peter Craigie, because it has serious ramifications for contemporary Christian attitudes about war.

Craigie categorizes the problems into two kinds — personal and external. The personal problems arise from the Christian's attempt to grapple with the emphasis on war in a book fundamental to the faith. Three areas are considered here: the representation of God as a Warrior; God's revelation of himself in a book that preserves an extensive amount of war literature; and the seemingly conflicting ethics taught in the Old and New Testament.

The external problems are critiques against the Bible and the Christian faith, based on the war-like nature of the Old Testament and the close association between Christianity and war throughout history. Only by examining and understanding the problems of war in the Old Testament will Christians be able to respond intelligently to attacks on their faith, to educate their youth about the nature of war, and to influence modern attitudes toward war.

Book format	Paperback
Fiction/nonfiction	Non-Fiction
Genre	Religion
Publication date	December, 1978
Pages	128
Subgenre	Religion
Number in series	1
Edition	Standard
Publisher	William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Original languages	English
Language	English
Binding type	Perfect Binding
Assembled product dimensions (l x w x h)	5.50 x 0.30 x 8.50 in
Assembled product weight	0.38 lb
Bisac subject heading	Religion