Genocide

So we heard in our beginnings class from the youngest women survivor of the Holocaust. This was so sad and eye opening… well, minus the little bit of shut eye I always get in this class… Anyway, what I heard from her was kind of what I would have expected to hear. Her story was about how as a young girl she went in and out of concentration camps and somehow survived. We had a Q/A time after she was finished and I remember someone asking her if she would ever forgive the Nazi’s for what they did to her and her family. Her response is pretty unforgettable. She said something like, “Only stupid people would ask a question like that. No, I will never forgive them.” Right then a verse popped into my head that I have been memorizing lately in Colossians 3:13 which says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” She said later on, that she still is a Jew in religion and was NOT a Christian. I thought that was interesting…

So here is a question about genocide. Is genocide ever justified? Is it ever ok? I am pretty sure that most people would say that the mass killing of a group of people could never be ok. I could probably get severely persecuted for what I am about to say. Yes, genocide can be justified. Looking into the Bible it becomes very clear that there are times that genocide is justified. When God wants to do something, he doesn’t have to justify His actions. What about the flood? Because of God’s wrath toward the sin on this world, the flood killed all the people on earth except for 8 people. Look at what is yet to happen. God is going to wipe off 1/3 of the people of this world in the last days. What about Judgment Day? All the people who have never repented and trusted in Christ for their Salvation will go to hell. These are three legitimate examples of genocide that God is justifies. Hopefully this is a perspective on genocide that you have never really thought of.