The Hebrew Bible and New Testament contain many passages outlining approaches to violent activity both for and against it centering on the ancient nation of Israel and their involvement with Gentile nations. These same Scriptures also provide civil guidelines on the subject of violent activity as it pertains to individuals within the nation distinguishing individualistic from nationalistic actions.
Contents
Against violence
The Torah, the Tanakh and related literature write extensively concerning peace directed toward the nation of Israel, as well as its opposite states. The word "shalom" meaning "peace" has been absorbed into the usage of the language from its Biblical roots. A New Concordance of the Bible: Thesaurus of the Language of the Bible lists over almost 300 words connected with the root "SH-L-M" for "peace" and the same for "Solomon."
Notable examples:
Use of violence
In the story about the Binding of Isaac, son of Abraham, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah by binding him and placing him on a makeshift altar. Abraham is about to carry out the execution when an angel of God stops him at the last minute.
Several of these arise in the context of the story of the conquest of Canaan. For example, in Deut 20:16-18 God orders the Israelites to "not leave alive anything that breathes… completely destroy them …". thus leading many scholars to characterize the exterminations as genocide. Other examples include the story of Amalekites and the commandment to exterminate them, the story of the Midianites, and the battle of Jericho.
The instruction God gives in Deut 20:16-18 is for the Israelites to exterminate "everything that breaths". Van Wees goes on to say that these campaigns were largely fictional. In the archaeological community, the Battle of Jericho has been thoroughly studied, and the consensus of modern scholars is that the battles described in the Book of Joshua are not realistic. For example, the Book of Joshua describes the extermination of the Canaanite tribes, yet at a later time in Judges 1:1-2:5 suggests that the extermination was not complete.
Likewise, it is not clear if the historical Amalekites were exterminated or not. 1 Samuel 15:7-8 implies ("He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword.") that - after Agag was also killed - the Amalekites were extinct, but in a later story in the time of Hezekiah, the Simeonites annihilated some Amalekites on Mount Seir, and settled in their place: "And five hundred of these Simeonites, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, invaded the hill country of Seir. They killed the remaining Amalekites who had escaped, and they have lived there to this day."
Scholars point out that collective punishment, particularly punishment of descendants for transgressions committed by ancestors of gentiles, is common in the Jewish Bible.
Against violence
These are a few examples of passages which indicate the New Testament is against a violent approach. Ephesians 4:32 – "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you".
Luke 6:27 – “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you".
Matthew 5:43-48 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?".
Matthew 26:52 "But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword". (Jesus said this after Peter had struck one of the soldiers who were attempting to arrest Jesus. Jesus subsequently healed the soldier's wound).
Romans 12:17-21 "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone".
1 Peter 3:9 "Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing".
1 John 2:9-10 "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble".
Use of violence
Probably the central act of violence in the New Testament is the crucifixion of Jesus. This act is supported by most Christian theologies, ordained by God and is crucial to the redemption of humanity by God.
There are sayings of Jesus that are alleged to promote violence:
Jesus' cleansing of the Temple is an example of direct violent action by Jesus, although it is an example of chastisement and not an attempt to create great bodily harm.
The apocalyptic Book of Revelation is full of imagery of war, genocide, and destruction; it may be the most violent book in the entire Bible. It describes the judgments of God against humanity.
Theological reflections and responses
The theological problem of theodicy deals with how evil can exist if God is omnipotent, omniscience, and good. People of faith who emphasize pacifism have struggled with biblical passages describing God as warlike or violent since these passages conflict with their worldview.
Sociological reflections and responses
Scholar Nur Masalha writes that the "genocide" of the extermination commandments has been "kept before subsequent generations" and served as inspirational examples of divine support for slaughtering enemies.
Arthur Grenke claims that the view of war expressed in Deuteronomy contributed to the destruction of Native Americans and to the destruction of European Jewry.
Niels Peter Lemche asserts that European colonialism in the 19th century was ideologically based on the Old Testament narratives of conquest and extermination and that some radical Zionist groups have brought the same idea to bear in Israel.
Scholar Leonard B. Glick states that Jewish fundamentalists in Israel, such as Shlomo Aviner, consider the Palestinians to be like biblical Canaanites, and that some fundamentalist leaders suggest that they "must be prepared to destroy" the Palestinians if the Palestinians do not leave the land. Several scholars draw similar conclusions.
The Book of Revelation has been used to justify Christian hostility, Christian imperialism and Christian sectarian violence.
Separation
As the early Christian Church began to distinguish itself from Judaism, characterization of the "Old Testament" and the portrayal of God in it, as violent and unforgiving, were contrasted rhetorically with certain teachings of Jesus to portray an image of God as more loving and forgiving, which was framed as a new image.
For example, in his work Contra Faustum Book XIX, the Church father St. Augustine discussed Jesus of Nazareth's Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus urges his followers to turn the other cheek when confronted by violence, as opposed to applying the Lex Talionis.
Supersessionist Christians have continued to focus on violence in the Hebrew Bible while ignoring or giving little attention to violence in the New Testament.
Support for gnostic theologies
Gnosticism is a philosophy that has undergone waves of popularity, including some at the time that Christianity and Judaism were separating. A key notion is the division between the material world, which gnostics viewed as being created by a demiurge, and a spiritual world created by the true god. Perhaps the most famous example of an early Christian Gnostic was Marcion who characterized the "God of the Old Testament" as the demiurge, and dropped the Hebrew scriptures from his version of the Bible. Marcion saw the God of the Old Testament, the Demiurge and creator of the material universe. For Marcion, the God about whom Jesus spoke was an altogether different being, a universal God of compassion and love, who looks upon humanity with benevolence and mercy.
Marcion's teaching was repudiated by Tertullian in five treatises titled "Against Marcion" and Marcion was ultimately excommunicated by the Church of Rome.