You’ve probably seen the memes or the heated Twitter threads. Someone posts a verse about a city being leveled or a grizzly bear attacking a group of kids, and suddenly the comment section is a war zone. It’s a recurring theme in modern culture: the idea that the Bible is violent in a way that feels fundamentally at odds with the "God is love" Sunday school version many grew up with.
It’s messy.
If you actually sit down and read the text from Genesis to Revelation, you aren’t just getting poetry and proverbs. You’re getting blood. You’re getting conquest, execution, and some truly jarring descriptions of warfare. Scholars like Dr. Eric Seibert, who wrote The Violence of Scripture, have spent entire careers trying to figure out how people are supposed to reconcile these ancient, brutal narratives with modern ethics. Honestly, it’s not an easy task. The violence isn't just a footnote; it's woven into the very fabric of the story.
The Raw Reality of Ancient Near East Warfare
Context matters, but it doesn't always make things feel better. When people talk about how the Bible is violent, they usually point to the "Herem" warfare—the total destruction of groups like the Amalekites or the inhabitants of Jericho. In 1 Samuel 15, the command is explicit: "do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys."
That is heavy. It's the kind of text that makes a reader stop and blink.
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Historians will tell you that the Bible was written in a world where "total war" was the standard language of the Ancient Near East. If you look at the Moabite Stone (the Mesha Stele), which dates back to the 9th century BCE, King Mesha of Moab uses almost the exact same language to describe his victories over Israel. He claims his god, Chemosh, told him to "go, take Nebo from Israel" and that he "utterly destroyed" the population.
Does this justify the biblical text? Not necessarily. But it shows us that the writers were using the "tough talk" of their era. They were using the vocabulary of survival and supremacy that everyone else used.
Sometimes the text is hyperbolic. Scholars like Joshua Berman argue that ancient military accounts often used "extermination language" as a rhetorical device rather than a literal census of the dead. It’s sort of like a sports fan saying their team "slaughtered" the opposition. Even so, the imagery remains, and for the modern reader, it’s a massive stumbling block.
Stories That Still Shock Us
Let’s talk about Judges. If you want to see where the Bible is violent in its most raw, unpolished form, Judges is the place. It’s the "Wild West" of the Old Testament. You have Jael driving a tent peg through the temple of a sleeping general named Sisera. You have the story of Jephthah’s daughter, a narrative so tragic and unnecessary it has haunted theologians for centuries.
And then there’s the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19. It is, without exaggeration, one of the most horrific stories in Western literature. It involves gang rape, murder, and dismemberment. The text doesn’t even try to put a "godly" spin on it. Instead, it ends with a chilling refrain: "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit."
In this case, the violence is a critique. The author isn't saying, "Look how great this is." They are saying, "Look how broken we become when there is no moral compass." It’s a mirror held up to a collapsing society.
Is the New Testament Actually More Peaceful?
There’s a common trope that the Old Testament is the "mean" part and the New Testament is the "nice" part.
That’s a bit of a myth.
While Jesus famously told his followers to turn the other cheek and love their enemies, the New Testament ends with the Book of Revelation. This isn't exactly a peaceful stroll through a garden. We’re talking about a winepress of God’s wrath where blood flows as high as a horse’s bridle for 200 miles.
Even Jesus used harsh language. He talked about "weeping and gnashing of teeth" and "unquenchable fire."
Critics like Richard Dawkins have argued that the New Testament’s concept of "Original Sin" and the requirement of a blood sacrifice (the Crucifixion) is actually more psychologically violent than the tribal wars of the Old Testament. The idea is that the violence shifted from the physical battlefield to the spiritual realm.
Basically, you can't escape the theme of conflict just by flipping to the back of the book.
Different Ways People Process the Gore
How do people deal with this today? Most folks fall into one of three camps:
- The Literalists: They believe God had divine reasons for the violence that our human brains just can’t grasp. If God commanded it, it was just, by definition.
- The Evolutionists: They see the Bible as a record of humanity’s "growing up." In this view, early humans had a primitive, violent view of God, and as time went on (and Jesus arrived), that view became more refined and peaceful.
- The Allegorists: These readers see the battles not as history, but as metaphors for the internal struggle against sin. To them, "killing the Canaanites" means "killing your own pride" or "destroying your ego."
The Problem? None of these answers satisfy everyone. If you’re a survivor of violence, an allegorical explanation for a massacre can feel like a cheap cop-out.
The Ethical Dilemma of a "Holy" Book
If the Bible is violent, does that mean it’s dangerous?
Throughout history, people have used these verses to justify some pretty terrible things. The Crusades, the Inquisition, and even the American justification for slavery and the displacement of Indigenous peoples often leaned on "conquest" narratives from the Bible.
When a text is viewed as the "Word of God," the violent parts carry an authority that a secular history book doesn't. That’s the real crux of the issue. If the text says God ordered the destruction of a people, and you believe you are following that same God, the leap to modern violence isn't that far for some.
However, many theologians argue that the Bible actually contains the "critique" of its own violence.
Phyllis Trible, a famous feminist scholar, wrote Texts of Terror to highlight how the Bible records the stories of the marginalized and abused. She argues that by naming the violence, the Bible forces us to confront it rather than ignore it. It’s an honest, if brutal, accounting of the human condition.
Why It Matters Right Now
We live in a polarized world. People use "sacred" ideas to shut down conversation all the time. Understanding that the Bible is violent allows for a more honest dialogue. It moves us away from cardboard-cutout versions of faith and into something more complex.
It's okay to be bothered by it.
In fact, many Jewish traditions encourage "wrestling" with the text. The name Israel literally means "to wrestle with God." To read these violent passages and feel a sense of moral outrage isn't necessarily a lack of faith; it might actually be an expression of the very morality the Bible elsewhere tries to instill.
Actionable Insights for Reading the Tough Parts
If you're going to engage with these texts, don't do it in a vacuum. You’ll just end up frustrated or confused. Here are a few ways to approach it without losing your mind:
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- Compare the "War Verses" with the "Mercy Verses": The Bible is a massive library of 66 books written over 1,500 years. It’s a conversation. For every verse about vengeance, there’s one about welcoming the stranger or caring for the poor. Look at the tension between them.
- Check the Genre: Is the passage a song (Psalm)? A legal code (Leviticus)? A historical chronicle (Kings)? You wouldn't read a war movie script the same way you’d read a Hallmark card. The genre changes how you interpret the "intent" of the violence.
- Look at the Archeology: Research sites like Hazor or Ai. Often, the archeological record shows that the "total destruction" described in the text didn't actually happen the way the military rhetoric suggests. This can provide a huge sigh of relief for those worried about the historical reality of the claims.
- Read the Footnotes: Get a good study Bible (like the HarperCollins Study Bible or the New Oxford Annotated Bible). These provide cultural context that explains why certain things were written. It won't make the blood go away, but it will explain the cultural "why" behind it.
The Bible isn't a sanitized book. It’s gritty, it’s ancient, and yes, it is often incredibly violent. But acknowledging that reality is the first step toward understanding what it’s actually trying to say about humanity, God, and the long, slow walk toward something better.
Next Steps for Deepening Your Understanding
- Read "Texts of Terror" by Phyllis Trible: This is the gold standard for looking at the Bible’s most difficult stories regarding women and violence. It will change how you see the "forgotten" victims in the text.
- Explore the "Herem" Concept: Look up scholarly articles on "Herem" (the ban) to understand the theological and military frameworks of the 9th and 10th centuries BCE.
- Identify the "Anti-Violence" Thread: Trace the theme of the "Suffering Servant" through Isaiah and see how it contrasts with the "Warrior God" imagery found in Exodus.
- Listen to Perspectives from Different Traditions: Watch lectures from both Jewish and Christian scholars (like Peter Enns or Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks) to see how different faith communities have grappled with these "dark" passages for millennia.