RELS 277-02 and 05, Violence and the Bible, Spring 2006

Abstract

As the saying goes, if you search long enough in the Bible you can find support for just about any idea or action. When it comes to the subject of violence that search will not be very time consuming because virtually every biblical book acknowledges or endorses violent and aggressive behavior. Events in the past and the present testify to the fact that groups and individuals have sometimes turned to the Bible to justify acts of hostility toward others. This course will consider the presence of both human and divine violence in the biblical literature in order to better understand its impact on the ancient world and our own.