tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7687886961771238263.post5110378720801885442..comments2023-12-28T14:51:34.281-05:00Comments on Notes on Arab Orthodoxy: Fr Touma Bitar on ViolenceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7687886961771238263.post-14345303235037487032013-11-17T14:15:41.959-05:002013-11-17T14:15:41.959-05:00I am troubled by the OT exegesis involved in this ...I am troubled by the OT exegesis involved in this argument. I've seen a similar approach in a talk by Metr. George Khodr. The idea that OT violence was simply a projection of the Israelite's hard-heartedness onto God doesn't work theologically. God is the one who kills and brings to life, who casts into Hades and raises up. Granted, his approval of (even command to) violence in the OT was definitely an accommodation to the spiritual level of the ancient Israelites. But he himself has absolute authority and discretion over life and death, and he often delegated this authority to his saints. Furthermore, the approach of Fr. Bitar and Metr. Khodr ignores the many centuries of theological debate about the concept of "just war" and the actual practice of the Church for many centuries, of blessing the righteous use of arms for defense of faith and fatherland, as a kind of necessary evil. I understand the climate in which sermons such as this one are given, but we can't simply shape theology to our political context.Collatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12349546405426930030noreply@blogger.com