Apologetics 315 Podcast 156 - Old Testament Violence with Christopher Cloos
Jun 2, 2025
Christopher Cloos, a philosopher from the Christian Philosophy Academy, tackles the challenging topic of violence in the Old Testament. He reflects on his debate with Randal Rauser, emphasizing the complexities of interpreting these texts. Cloos discusses the role of moral intuition in biblical interpretation and the contrasting views of covenant virtue ethics versus providential errancy theory. He also highlights the importance of engaging with differing perspectives charitably, encouraging listeners to reflect on the implications of difficult scripture passages.
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Pandemic Parenting Inspired Research
- Christopher Cloos shares how raising two young boys during the pandemic deepened his engagement with difficult Old Testament texts.
- This unique period provided him increased focus and motivation to explore challenging biblical passages.
Intuition Challenges Biblical Violence
- The intuition horror at commands to kill noncombatants challenges the coherence of a morally perfect God commanding such acts.
- Reconciling the Old Testament with the loving teachings of Jesus is a key hermeneutical challenge.
Covenant Virtue Ethics Approach
- Covenant virtue ethics grounds morality in God's character traits like justice, mercy, and faithfulness revealed in Scripture.
- God's commands in violent contexts reflect faithful responses aiming at good targets within covenantal purposes, avoiding errors in Scripture.
