How does God “smite” people?
God does not smite people. God is fair and just. A “just” God is not capable of smite. The charge that God indiscriminately murdered people does not hold to critical evaluation of the biblical texts. The commandment “Thou shalt not kill” is really not as general as the King James version would indicate. The commandment actually refers to premeditated, unjustified killing – murder. Although God ordered the extermination of entire cities, He did so in righteous judgment on a people whose corruption had led to extreme wickedness, including child sacrifice. Did God destroy the righteous along with the wicked? In an exchange with Abraham, God indicated that He would spare the wicked to save the righteous. He demonstrated this principle by saving righteous people from Sodom and later Jericho prior to their destruction. The charge that God indiscriminately murdered people does not hold to to critical evaluation of the biblical texts. We don’t call a line crooked unless we have some idea of wh
