God Is a Man of War

The Problem of Violence in the Old Testament

De: Stephen De Young

Narrado por: Stephen De Young

Infanticide. Holy war. Divine wrath. Violence in the Old Testament has long been a stumbling block for Christians and skeptics alike. Yet, conventional efforts to understand this violence - whether by downplaying it as allegory or a relic of primitive cultures, or by dismissing the authority of Scripture altogether - tend to raise more questions than they answer.

God Is a Man of War offers a fresh interpretation of Old Testament accounts of violence, by exploring them through the twofold lens of Orthodox tradition and historical context. Father Stephen De Young examines what these difficult passages reveal about the nature of Christ and His creation, bearing witness to a world filled not only with pain and suffering - often of human making - but also with the love of God.

©2021 Stephen De Young (P)2021 Stephen De Young

great intellectual presentation

the topics presented in this book need to be discussed more frequently. I think some people struggle to think outside of particular western paradigms of scholarship and need this type of presentation to challenge their contemporary presumptions. I appreciate the reminders in the book that these were communities of people with similar social, political, and personal issues and ideas and language morphology must consider these things in context to these.

Solid answers and explanations

Delves into difficulties in our understanding of scripture and provides clear context for passages that confuse modern readers

Why does God seem to do bad Things?

If you’ve ever asked this question in relation to the Old Testament of the Christian or Jewish scriptures, Fr. Stephan has some answers. Well researched, footnoted and organized, you will hear the spiritual and historical background behind several of the Bible’s most difficult and violent episodes. Highly recommended.

Amazing book, a must read for Christians

This book answered so many confusing and seemingly controversial/contradictory passages in the old testament. it demonstrates that correct translation and correct interpretation are essential to know who God is and what He does.

Extremely insightful

Outstanding book and highly recommended! Fr De Young does an amazing job bringing the Bible to Life and showing how connected every book is with another book.

Takes a deep look at the historical, cultural, and linguistic details of the OT to make sense of difficult passages.

Been listening to Father Stephen’s podcast for awhile and decided to check out his book. While a lot of the content will already be familiar to those who listen to the podcast, for anyone who wants a quick overview of the context of the Old Testament and its violence, this is a great one-stop reference. Not quite as engaging as hearing Father Stephen and Father Andrew going back and forth on the podcast, but Father Stephen knows his stuff! Recommend it for anyone struggling to understand.

Succinct; no fluff.

Everything in this book is relevant. No extra chapters punched in there for money’s sake. The best book on the topic.

Wish it was longer

Very good content here, not sure I follow all of his ideas but I did get a lot out of it considering how brief a book it is. Only wish he had gone more in depth, a lot of times the author piqued my interest only to move on to the next point without developing his original point far enough. Also would have enjoyed it more if the narration had been at a slower pace. Lots of difficult ideas to follow in such a fast reading, sometimes it felt like he was just rushing to finish the chapter.

Concise and packs a punch

Loved this little read. Fr. Stephen brings his broad knowledge of the historical context of the Old Testament and his knowledge of translations of the ancient languages of the time together to give us a picture of what we are reading with our modern eyes. Easy to read prose. Just excellent. Highly recommend if this issue is one you are struggling with.

Well Researched

This is a book that you can’t have playing in the background. It garners a second listen.