What I Didn't Write About Old Testament Violence

A video breaking down the implications of reading the bible this way.

Heads up: Fridays are my paid subscriber video days, but don't unsubscribe just yet! Tuesday's post is free and I think you'll dig it.

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Earlier this week, I published an essay about reconciling Old Testament violence with the character of Jesus. I talked about Brian Zahnd's influence and presented three options for dealing with the contradiction between the violent God of conquest and the peaceful Christ of the cross.

But there's a lot I didn't say.

When you start reading the Bible through the lens of "God is like Jesus," it doesn't just solve the genocide problem. It opens up a whole can of theological worms that I frankly wasn't ready to tackle in a public essay.

There are implications here that go way beyond Old Testament violence. There are questions about biblical authority, inspiration, and interpretation that most of us have been taught never to ask.

And honestly? Some of it scares me a little. But that's exactly what we need to talk about.

What you'll get in this week's Behind Mainline video:

• The other biblical passages this interpretive lens affects (and why that matters)

• The "slippery slope" concerns people have raised with me

• How this changes your view of biblical inspiration and authority

• Where I think I might be wrong (and why I'm okay with that)

This is the conversation I couldn't have in public…the one that digs into the theological implications that keep me up at night. It's messier, scarier, and more uncertain than the original essay.

But I think it's exactly the conversation we need to have.

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Enjoy this week’s video 👇: