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When God Smites: Talking with Students about the Violence of God in S cripture
Author(s) -
Seibert Eric A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
teaching theology and religion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1467-9647
pISSN - 1368-4868
DOI - 10.1111/teth.12238
Subject(s) - genocide , class (philosophy) , focus (optics) , structuring , psychology , social psychology , sociology , epistemology , theology , law , political science , philosophy , physics , optics
This article emphasizes the need for religious educators to address the issue of divine violence in S cripture with students, and it offers various pedagogical strategies for doing so. The focus is on violent O ld T estament texts, with special attention given to the issue of C anaanite genocide. A general framework for structuring class time around divine violence in S cripture is proposed which includes (1) encouraging students to encounter violent biblical texts firsthand, (2) helping them understand why people find these passages problematic, and (3) offering various options for dealing with the potential problems these passages raise. In the second half of the article, significant attention is devoted to a number of practical considerations that should be taken into account when talking about this sensitive issue in class. A brief word about assessment is offered at the end.