"Is God a Moral Monster?" by Paul Copan

I published this article first on the Reason Blog: http://www.cck.org.uk/reason/book-review-god-moral-monster-paul-copan

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I have felt for quite some time that there has been a gaping hole in popular apologetics, namely, accessible and contemporary material on ethical issues arising from the Old Testament. The New Atheists have held up the God of the Old Testament as tantamount to an evil tyrant. Is God a Moral Monster? addresses some of these accusations head on. Paul Copan begins by quoting Richard Dawkins, who says:

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully” (Richard Dawkins The God Delusion, p.31)

Issues often thought objectionable are as follows:

1. Destruction of the Canaanites
2. Old Testament treatment of women
3. Slavery
4. Harsh legal system
5. Death penalty

''The New Atheists have held up the God of the Old Testament as tantamount to an evil tyrant. Is God a Moral Monster? addresses some of these accusations head on.''

Copan has provided at least a chapter devoted to each of these issues, therefore creating easy-access to each topic. As such, this book could serve well as a reference text, used from time to time as different issues arise in your Bible study and daily life. Also, the book is about 250 pages long and is not overly dense; therefore it can also be read from cover to cover if you wish to have an overview of contemporary thinking regarding Old Testament ethics.

If you are someone who engages in discussion with non-Christian friends, and these friends have some understanding of the Old Testament, I am sure that they might have raised some of these issues with you. Or it may be the case that in your own Bible study you have had these questions yourself. If either of these things is true, you will find this book a great resource.

Copan uses a Redemptive-Movement hermeneutic as a framework for his answers. The Redemptive-Movement hermeneutic is a way of looking at the Bible. It sees the Bible as a progression of God’s unfolding plans and purposes. Therefore, the laws in the Old Testament were good and progressive within the context in which they were given, but might not be so today. Jesus makes a statement in Mathew 19 about divorce only being allowed by the Law of Moses because of their ‘hardness of heart’. Jesus concludes by saying, ‘It was not this way from the beginning’. Copan applies a similar principle to other difficult Old Testament issues:

“As we delve more deeply, we’ll continue to affirm two things: 1) certain Old Testament laws and punishments were inferior to creational ideals (Gen. 1-2); 2) the Mosaic Law is not permanent, universal, and the standard for all nations” (p. 89)

There is contemporary debate within evangelical circles as to whether this is an appropriate way to interpret scripture. Therefore, there may be some that take issue with Copan’s approach. However, whether you agree or disagree with Copan’s hermeneutic, his book is very well researched and will be of benefit to you. I believe Copan makes a good argument for his position, and it certainly helped me understand some of the difficult passages of the Old Testament. I highly recommend it.