Violence in the “Holy” Scriptures: Perspectives from the Old Testament

Abstract

This article examines one of the key challenges of modern-day use of the Bible and the consequences that manifest. With the continued sprouting of new religious movements and independent churches, the media is awash with reports about self-styled prophets who base their teachings on literalistic understanding of scriptures. Consequently, such readings have been found to support violence in some instances. Citing examples of texts with a violent message in the Old Testament, this article calls for the need to face the reality that such texts are part of the “holy” scriptures and they have the potential to support and, in some cases, justify violence. The article argues that when confronted with such texts, readers and interpreters should desist from literalistic readings and instead lay emphasis on the consequences that come with such readings in order to determine whether they are acceptable in a specific community.