tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862587165592930525.post2542447497589716920..comments2024-03-13T14:50:10.965-07:00Comments on The Rector's Corner: Saul, Samuel, Agag, and the courage of learning from hard texts in Scripture...Brandon Filberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06355914204734644026noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862587165592930525.post-19268976279850588522015-07-14T16:24:05.615-07:002015-07-14T16:24:05.615-07:00Yes, this is true. It is extremely difficult for u...Yes, this is true. It is extremely difficult for us, in our way of reckoning things, to see this in conjunction with the Gospel. Whether God wanted this or not, I cannot say entirely. The context of the original suggests that this was part of obedience to God's requirement, but the text also seems to bring up the possibility that this slaughter has an added element of viciousness as part of Samuel's public rebuke of Saul's decision not to kill Agag with the rest of the Amalekites. Samuel was, undoubtedly a sinner (I've always found Robert Alter's treatment of Samuel very helpful in his book "The David Story"). The key (to me) is what you said at the end: "myself included." That is the missing ingredient from so much of what people do with these texts. By distancing ourselves from them ("Oh, those unevolved people...not like us with our drones and nuclear arms and manufactured famines and genocides..."), we cannot learn anything that is to be had from these divinely inspired (God-breathed) texts. I think this is where the courage really is shown. Thanks, Ann Onymous, for your comment!Brandon Filberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06355914204734644026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8862587165592930525.post-51046612275381577062015-07-12T17:52:18.404-07:002015-07-12T17:52:18.404-07:00But it was heartbreaking to have God's right h...But it was heartbreaking to have God's right hand man, Samuel, act out the slaughter. Surely God did not want this. Surely God wants us to love our neighbor. Yep, I can take away the obedience part, but it feels like there's a pretty big conflict with the summary of the law. The only thing the works for me is to say that Samuel was a sinner too, who used God to promote his own beliefs. Cantankerous doesn't even cover it. It gives me a bit of insight into others who would mix their faith with cultural ideologies and call it God's will (OK myself included). Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com