People Killing People
If God was maximally knowing and maximally powerful, then God would never ask one part of his creation to kill another part of his creation.
If a religion preaches that their members should on some occasions kill other people, this is a clear indication of a false religion. That religion can not be authored by a God, and is instead authored by people attempting to manipulate others.
A God's Eye View
There are two viewpoints to consider: that of a God, and that of a human tribal chief.
The tribal chief is worried about living and dying.
- Chief Concern: They are worried of the health and safety of the tribe. Securing resources is important. Being a good leader means coordinating the efforts so they don't work against each other.
- Waging War: Tribes would fight over such things, and thus a tribe must go to war occasionally to defend their situation, or to take advantage of another tribe's situation. War is a concern of man.
- Enforcing Rules: Keeping law and order in the tribe is certainly a concern of the chief.
- Being Persuasive: There is a strong motivation for the chief to claim the legitimacy of God. Nature is fearsome, and the common person with no knowledge of how things like weather work, sits in fear of the next act of God. Any way to please that God will be tried.
We can't know exactly what would go through the mind of a God, but we can use some logic. This is a god that can wave a want and make all the stars in the sky appear.
- No Tweaking: This god created the world the way it is, why would they want to change that? I can see a person maybe building something, and then changing it, and changing it again because they are unable to have a complete vision before hand. However god is supposed to be infinitely intelligent, and able to see exactly how things will go before they do. And so, if the world is this way, then it is the way that God intended. There is no reason to assume that God needs to fix it up all the time (in out timeline).
- Outside of Time: God created the starting conditions of the universe, if he wants a different universe he can always go back and change the starting conditions. If he sees a situation he does not like, he can change all the things that led up to it. From the point of view of anyone in the world, it simply never goes the way God does not want.
- Puppets: If God does not like what the Amalekites are doing, why not just smite them? Just stop them from breathing. But instead, he asks humans to do the dirty business of killing them and raping their women. To him, these are all just players in the world he created, and he created both sides equally. Let's say the Amalekites did something evil that infuriated God. Why, then, ask Moses to do the dirty work of killing them. What business is this to Moses? It is cruel to ask a human to kill another human. BUT, the tribal chief cares about this deeply, and it seems more likely that the chief merely claims that God asked for this action.
- Choosing People: Why would God have a chosen people? He created it all, and presumably loves it all. Why then play favorites? Because one side is good and the other bad? Then why does the good side need help? Just let the good win out over bad the way it naturally will in a properly constructed universe.
Spreading a Message
The setting of all religions and all religious struggle is this: I have a message from God, I am right, you are wrong. Let's say there is a message from God, and God would like all humans to learn this message.
Lets consider this from God's point of view. There are two tribes; one heard the message and the other did not. Who's fault is that? God is the one with the message to deliver. If he fails to deliver that message, then kill them? People are your creation, so why not try again to deliver the message? Even if he has determined that these people can not receive the message, is that their fault? If God made them imperfect and unable to receive the message, then God of course could give up and destroy them if he wants, but that really is his responsibility, isn't it
What is the urgency? Everyone will die eventually. If these people are completely unable to receive the message, then why does one need to kill them? He could just wait for them to die which they certainly will. There are millions of people on the face of the earth that don't believe in Jesus, why must these particular ones be killed?
What if God deputizes people. That is, goes to Moses and say: you are responsible for delivering the message, and if that tribe over there fails to get my message, you kill them. In other words, if you fail to deliver the message, then kill them (for your failure).
A better explanations is that Moses was concerned about the survival of the tribe and felt that the Amalekites were a danger. The Amalekites had attacked them, so there is some self defense here, but completely wiping them out is quite more than just self defense. There is no urgency to spreading the message, but there is urgency in getting food to feed people. It is far more likely that Moses lied about the command from God, but instead used this as a ploy to defeat a worrisome enemy.
Apostates
Deuteronomy suggests that anyone "enticing" you to consider another religion should be put immediately to death.
From God's point of view, he has a message to deliver, and here is a false message competing and confusing people. Why not just appear to these people and tell them they are wrong? I get that HE might like to play hide-and-seek with mankind in general
Bible Quotes
Deuteronomy 13:6-10 - If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
Deuteronomy 13:12-15 - If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock.
Deuteronomy 17:2-7 - If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky, and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death. On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
Quran Quotes
The Quran 4:89 says "if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them wherever you find them"
We know that any instruction to kill others can not possibly come a god. It is logically inconsistent with having faith.
Claiming this is equivalent to assuming that god means you should be in the religion for two reasons:
- "faith" and
- "fear for your life" .
Nobody has ever been able to construct a good reason why any god would want you to fear for your life as part of adopting a religion. This is the logic of theology, without needing to consider whether a god actually exists. If god wants you to "decide to follow him" then adding in the threat of death would leave him in a place where many followers are not actually following him. What would be the point?
However it makes perfect sense from the human power-struggle point of view. A human leader of a religion has power only to the extent that the numbers of followers are large, so a human will do anything to keep people as part of the group. This is a human motivation, not a god motivation, and you can't get out of this one claiming "mysterious ways".