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In Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges that there are “dark passages in the Bible which, due to the violence and immorality they occasionally contain, prove obscure and difficult”. He goes on thew say that “it would be a mistake to neglect those passages of Scripture that strike us as problematic. Rather, we should be aware that the correct interpretation of these passages requires a degree of expertise” (VD 42). In thesesessions we will explore some of these passages, especially those in which theportrayal of God seems problematic, and try to uncover their meaning for today.
1. An Age-old Problem
Finding some biblical texts challenging or even offensive is not just a modern problem. From the beginnings of the Church people inside and outside have raised this problem. We will look at different ways the Church has responded down the ages.
2. A genocidal God?
One of the most difficult problems is God commanding the slaughter of the Canaanites: "you must not let anything that breathes remain alive" (Deut 20:16). Did God really command genocide? And what sense are we to make of this story in a world in which Genocide remains a reality?
3. The Sacrifice of Abraham, our Father in Faith
Abraham is commended for his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, and this has provided a model for our understanding of the Sacrifice of Christ. Yet on human terms the story can (and probably should) make us uncomfortable.
4. Battered Love
The prophets sometimes liken God's relationship to Israel as that of a husband to his unfaithful wife. But does that legitimate violence as a response to marital infidelity?
5.Round table
In this final session we will look at other 'dark passages' of the Bible that have come up as part of earlier discussion or that participants would like to look at.
Tony is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. He is an experienced teacher of Scripture, and has a PhD in Biblical Theology from the Gregorian University in Rome, where he also taught.
