In his classic autobiographical work, the Confessions, Augustine (354-430) says that before he became a Christian he attacked the saints for the absurd things they affirmed on the basis of "the ancient writings of the Law and the Prophets." Augustine nevertheless found relief by listening to the famous preacher Ambrose (340-397). Augustine writes: "I was glad to hear Ambrose speaking to the people in his sermons, as if he were most carefully pronouncing the principle of exegesis: "The word kills, the spirit gives life" (2 Cor 3:6). Texts which, taken literally, contain perverse teaching, he will present spiritually, removing the mystical veil ".
Texts about herem (genocide against an enemy commanded by God) seem to fall into the category of those that, taken literally, contain perverse teaching.
Augustine's creative approach was guided by a solid biblical principle. In his book On Christian Doctrine, he explains that the correct interpretation of the Bible should always lead to keeping the greatest commandment - love of God and love of neighbor. He writes:
"Everything in the divine writings that cannot guide us either to good, sincere moral, or to the truth of faith, you must know, it is said allegorically... Those things... which seem sinful to the inexperienced and which are attributed to God or to men whose holiness sets before us as an example, they are entirely allegorical, and the hidden kernel of meaning they contain should be selected as food for the nourishment of charity."
So Augustine, one of the greatest Christian theologians, said that if the surface reading attributes evil to God, we must find a deeper meaning - one that fosters love. Is this an arbitrary solution? No, because it is governed by the principle of love. The Bible teaches that "God is love", and the greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor, so love should be elevated to the highest place in our reading of the Holy Scriptures.
In short, a literal interpretation of difficult parts of the Old Testament pushed Augustine away from the Christian faith, while a "spiritual" or allegorical interpretation allowed him to embrace it and become a prominent Christian thinker.
How can we know what the real God is like? From Jesus. As stated in the New Testament, Jesus is the perfect representation of God (eg John 12:45; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3). So what was Jesus like? Non-violent. Images of God in the Bible that do not fit the reality we see in Christ are inaccurate images of God.
In the New Testament, Jesus is predominantly portrayed as non-violent. Descriptions like the one in Revelation 19:13-18 encourage some to view Jesus' return as violent. They believe that this violent return resolves the conflict between Old Testament violence and the peaceful Christ of the Gospels. But notice that the rider's clothes are covered in blood before the war begins. So he was already killed and covered in his own blood, and in the book of Revelation one of the most common titles used for Jesus is "The Lamb". Therefore, he is primarily depicted as peaceful and non-violent even in the highly symbolic and bloody final book of the Bible. Furthermore, Jesus does not walk around with a literal sword, poking people. He kills only with his words.
Author: Jasmin Koso
