General religious intolerance in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)

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General religious intolerance in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old

Testament):

 

Instruction to murder persons of other faiths:

 

Any person who performs religious rituals to other than Jehovah was

to be executed.

Exodus 22:20 " He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD

only, he shall be utterly destroyed. "

 

 

A call to God to destroy persons of other faiths:

 

Psalms 79:6: " Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known

thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name. "

 

 

Instruction to murder religious leaders of other faiths:

 

Religious prophets or soothsayers of other faiths are to be ignored

and exterminated.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 " If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer

of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the

wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go

after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve

them...And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to

death...So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. "

 

 

Expelling people from the protection of the camp:

 

God ordered that certain persons be exiled from the camp. This

included people with skin diseases, leprosy, and those who have

touched a dead body.

Numbers 5:1-2 " And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the

children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and

every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: "

 

 

Instruction to murder any of your relatives or friends if they spread

other religious faiths:

 

Deuteronomy 13:6-10 " If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy

son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which

is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and

serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh

unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even

unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor

hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt

thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely

kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and

afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with

stones, that he die... "

 

 

Instruction to murder the inhabitants of any Jewish city if you find

them following another religion:

 

Deuteronomy 13:12-15 " If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities,

which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and

have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and

serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou inquire,

and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and

the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou

shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the

sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle

thereof, with the edge of the sword. "

 

 

Instruction to murder persons of other faiths, by stoning:

 

Deuteronomy 17:2-5 " If there be found among you, within any of thy

gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath

wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing

his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped

them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I

have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it,

and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing

certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou

bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked

thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone

them with stones, till they die. "

 

 

Murder religious leaders of other faiths:

 

Worship of Baal was the other main religion among the Israelites at

the time.

1 King 18:19; 18:40 " Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel

unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty,

and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's

table....And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let

not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them

down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. "

 

 

Mass murder of religious leaders of another faith:

 

King Jehu pretended to convert to the religion of Baal. He acted

deceitfully to gather all of the priests, prophets and members of the

other faith into one of their temples. He put on the vestments of the

other religion, ritually killed animals, and offers them to Baal.

After confirming that everyone else in the temple is a worshiper of

that religion, he arranges to have 80 men attack and slaughter all of

the unarmed and helpless followers of Baal. The temple and its

statues were then desecrated. God is so pleased with the act of

treachery and mass murder that he promises that Jehu's descendants

will rule over Israel, even to the 4th generation.

2 Kings 10:18-31 " And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said

unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.

Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his

servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a

great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall

not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might

destroy the worshippers of Baal. And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn

assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. And Jehu sent through all

Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a

man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the

house of Baal was full from one end to another. And he said unto him

that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the

worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. And Jehu

went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and

said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be

here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers

of Baal only. And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt

offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of

the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth

him go, his life shall be for the life of him. And it came to pass,

as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that

Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let

none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and

the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the

house of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the house of

Baal, and burned them. And they brake down the image of Baal, and

brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this

day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel...And the LORD said unto

Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in

mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that

was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on

the throne of Israel. "

 

 

Destroy religious buildings of other faiths:

 

2 Kings 11:18: " And all the people of the land went into the house of

Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in

pieces thoroughly and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the

altars... "

 

 

Murder persons of other faiths:

 

King Asa destroyed idols of other faiths in Judah and assembled all

the people together. They swore an oath promising to murder any

persons of a different faith.

2 Chronicles 15:10-15 " So they gathered themselves together at

Jerusalem...And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of

their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; That

whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to

death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. [The LORD] was

found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. "

 

 

Hate the wicked and followers of other religions:

 

Jehoshaphat has received the wrath of God because he helped the

wicked and was tolerant of persons who follow other religions.

2 Chronicles 19:1-2: And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to

his house in peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer

went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou

help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? for this thing

wrath is upon thee from before Jehovah. (American Standard Version)

 

 

Breaking up mixed-faith marriages:

 

In the 5 to 7 decades that the Jews had remained in Babylonian

captivity, many had entered into mixed-faith marriages by taking

foreign wives. This opened up the possibility of introducing Pagan

beliefs and practices into Israel. The people confess their sinful

behavior and decide to put away their foreign wives and any children

that had been born into the family. There is a similar passage in

Nehemiah 13:23-30.

Ezra 10:1-16: " Shechaniah...answered and said unto Ezra, We have

trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the

people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this

thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away

all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel

of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God;

and let it be done according to the law. "

 

 

Hatred of persons of other religions:

 

Here, persons of other religions seem to be referred to as the

enemies of God. The author of Psalm 139 enthusiastically hates

persons of other religions with a " perfect hatred. "

Palms 139:19-22: " Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: Depart

from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men. For they speak against thee

wickedly, And thine enemies take (thy name) in vain. Do not I hate

them, O Jehovah, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that

rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: They are

become mine enemies. " (ASV)

 

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