Why does God give contradictory commands in the Bible?

[Compassionist]

The Bible presents a serious moral contradiction. In the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17), God explicitly says:

“Thou shalt not kill” (or more accurately in Hebrew, *lo tirtsach* — “you shall not murder”).

Yet, throughout the very same scriptures, this same God commands genocides and mass killings. For example:

Deuteronomy 20:16–17:

“You shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them — the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.”

1 Samuel 15:3:

“Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”

Numbers 31:17–18:

“Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.”

If “murder” means intentionally taking a human life, then these divine commands directly violate the very moral law God is said to have given.

Apologists often respond in one of three ways:

1. “Killing in war isn’t murder.”
But these passages go far beyond war — they include killing infants and non-combatants. Calling it “warfare” doesn’t make it morally right, especially when commanded by an allegedly all-good being.

2. “Those people were wicked and deserved it.”
But collective punishment of entire populations, including children, contradicts basic moral justice — even within the Bible itself. Ezekiel 18:20 says:

“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father.”
So how can innocent children deserve death for their ancestors’ actions?

3. “God’s morality is beyond human understanding.”
This argument essentially abandons moral reasoning. If God’s morality can justify genocide, then anything — slavery, rape, torture — could be justified as “God’s higher purpose.” That makes morality arbitrary and destroys the very meaning of good and evil.

In short:
If the command “Thou shalt not murder” is absolute, then the genocidal commands are immoral.
If the genocidal commands are moral because God gave them, then “Thou shalt not murder” has no fixed moral meaning.

Either way, the Bible presents a contradiction that cannot be ethically reconciled without abandoning either moral consistency or divine goodness.

[Clownboat]

I have only one question: Why are you so angry at the God who is both perfectly loving and fully just?

I don't believe you thought this through...
Bruce, why are you so angry at Santa Claus?
Why are you so angry with Allah?
If you didn't believe in Santa Claus or Allah, would you wonder about my mental faculties if I accused you of being mad at something you don't believe is real?

I ask again, why are you so vindictive about the God of the Bible, who loves you as your Creator, @Compassionist?

And so I ask you again... why are you so vindictive about Santa Claus, who loves you and brings you presents?
There is definitely some self reflection needed on your part, but are you willing?

[Capbook]

[Replying to Capbook in post #82]

As finite being I cannot fully grasp the all-knowing God's eternal righteousness.

That’s precisely the problem. If something is unknowable even in principle, then it cannot be meaningfully called “righteous.” The word “righteous” has no content unless it refers to actions or principles that can be assessed as ethical or unethical. Appealing to mystery ends the discussion rather than illuminating it.

As you wish to be all-knowing and all-powerful, let's just take this for an example. You as a good and upright being having the two "all," knows that a certain family of any reasons hates you and your family, had an unstoppable deceptive plan to kill all members of your family. Would you allow them to fulfill it?

Your analogy assumes that violence is the only available solution, but that’s a false dichotomy. I could use my omniscience and omnipotence to make everyone (i.e. all organisms, angels, demons, etc.) equally omniscient and omnipotent, which would protect everyone from harm as it is impossible to harm omniscient and omnipotent beings.

Compassionist, do you believe on supernatural things?

[Clownboat]

Compassionist, do you believe on supernatural things?

In hopes of getting you to debate, here are the debate points you ignored in the post that you quoted:

- If something is unknowable even in principle, then it cannot be meaningfully called “righteous.” The word “righteous” has no content unless it refers to actions or principles that can be assessed as ethical or unethical. Appealing to mystery ends the discussion rather than illuminating it.
Can you show that this claim is incorrect? If not, you should amend your thinking.

- Your analogy assumes that violence is the only available solution, but that’s a false dichotomy.
Can you show that this claim is incorrect? If not, you should amend your thinking.

[BruceLeiter]

[Replying to Clownboat in post #91]

I'm not angry at Santa, because I know he's not real, but I am angry at my parents, who lied to me all those years that he was real, which was the only thing I remember that they agreed on.

All you needed to say was that you aren't angry at God. I thought that there was an event done by someone that turned you against God and for atheism or whatever else you believe. I sit corrected. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you.

However, I know after 67 years of experiences with God that he is real; he's with me every moment. You can see all those events in the book What God Has Done: My True, Dramatic God-Biography (Amazon).

[Hawkins]

[Replying to Compassionist in post #1]

Because God’s value system is based on the soul, letting every person die once is God’s fundamental responsibility—only the manner of death differs. What the Canaan story really conveys is that Satan, as the manipulator of culture, had completely controlled the Canaanites and was preparing to use their overwhelming numerical superiority to prevent the Israelites from settling in Canaan, thereby sabotaging God’s plan of redemption. Moreover, there was a follow-up move: to corrupt the Jewish faith with Canaanite culture. This was Satan’s strategy.
On God’s side, they were at a disadvantage. The Jews were fickle, constantly betraying God’s teachings—even Moses himself failed to fully comprehend God’s will (and thus was not allowed to enter Canaan). Aaron even permitted the worship of the golden calf. In short, from top to bottom, the Israelites were a disorganized mess, utterly incapable of fighting the Canaanites. God could only let them wander in the wilderness; one could say they simply lacked the conditions to attack Canaan. God had only a very narrow time window to get the Jews into Canaan—namely, the generation under Joshua. Prolonged warfare would mean certain defeat for the Jews. Even if they occupied part of the land, they would be gradually eroded by Canaanite culture, potentially escalating into a chronic conflict like the Israeli-Palestinian one. The Jews would never be able to settle down, focus on compiling and recording God’s words, and transmit the message to the present day. That would mean God’s redemption would fail, unable to save humanity today. Therefore, only by eradicating the Canaanites—who were already spiritually dead—could the Jews possibly settle down, establish the nation of Israel, compile, preserve, and transmit the testimony of the Old Testament, and thus enable salvation today.

Everyone must die once, but if a soul that ought to be saved cannot be rescued, God cannot shirk responsibility. This is not merely a question of God’s duty—it is a question of God’s core values. Allowing the spiritually dead to live while letting those who should be saved (today’s humanity) perish eternally in hell violates God’s fundamental values.

The one thing Satan miscalculated is the true purpose of Earth’s existence. Earthly humans cannot match wits or strength with angels like Satan. Satan can control Canaanite culture; he can equally control the social culture of humanity today. All of humanity is under the control of Satan (and his angels), which is why every single person needs the redemption of the Lord Jesus and must enter through the narrow gate to be saved. Earth is destined to be the place where humans are utterly defeated in intellect and ability—yet it is also destined to be the place where Satan is ultimately defeated. The weapon by which humans can overcome (fallen) angels is neither wisdom nor ability, but faith. Earth is the platform for testing human faith, and the Canaan story is one of the exam questions. If you are stumped by it, you have answered one question wrong and will lose points. In Satan’s thinking, this will shake people’s faith and prevent them from passing the exam. From God’s perspective, only those who pass the exam can advance to “university.” The harder the question, the better it identifies humans of great faith. The higher the threshold, the more the passers are the elite of the elite.

[Hawkins]

In short:
If the command “Thou shalt not murder” is absolute, then the genocidal commands are immoral.
If the genocidal commands are moral because God gave them, then “Thou shalt not murder” has no fixed moral meaning.

Either way, the Bible presents a contradiction that cannot be ethically reconciled without abandoning either moral consistency or divine goodness.

There's a hugh hole/flaw in your reasoning. You are trapped in a game which the devil wants you to play while you stand no chance to win.

Here's the big picture.

Both Eden and Earth are divine sandboxes designed to emulate Heaven, realms where high-intelligence angels interact with humans of lesser cognitive capacity. Angels, created to engage with God's manifold creations, were endowed with superior intelligence and abilities. Humans, by contrast, were granted a greater measure of free will. In Eden, situated within God's immediate dwelling place, humanity—embodied by Adam and Eve—was utterly defeated. A parallel defeat has unfolded on Earth, where all humans labor under the Law, overcome by the combined forces of the devil and his host of fallen angels. Consequently, humans cannot rival angels in intelligence or capability.

Yet, Earth differs from Eden in a profound way: it serves as a stage where humanity will ultimately triumph over the angels through the legal process of the Final Judgment, eradicating all evil once and for all. This victory will not stem from human intelligence or prowess but from faith—the sole weapon capable of overcoming the fallen angels. In a nutshell, Eden demonstrates where the issue is (i.e., angelic influence to humans), while Earth illustrates the solution.

Not to kill refers to murders by humans' self motivations. The Canaan story is about how God commands His own chosen people (only Israel can legitimately play this role, that's why the name "chosen people", not the crusades) to do a job of removing the already dead Canaanites in order to bring forward salvation to today's humanity. They are different situations, while the "not to kill" moral command is irrelevant in the Canaan case.

More often human reasonings turn out to be a joke, because those reasonings are under the manipulation of the (fallen) angels, they are with a much higher intelligence. This is the effect of the Tree of Knowledge. They are specialized in trapping to a fallacious reasoning till you choose to give up faith and to be captive. Most of those reasonings are from atheists on a daily basis. There are legitimate answers to those questions (such as this one on why God commands killing), but as prophesied, "the god of this world has blinded the minds of men..." that you are blinded from accessing the correct answer but looping yourself firmly to the fallacious reasoning such as this one. That's actually the tactics how the devil and his angels keep humans captive using their angelic capability.

[Clownboat]

I'm not angry at Santa, because I know he's not real,

Just like how an atheist would not be angry at a god concept they don't currently believe is real.

but I am angry at my parents, who lied to me all those years that he was real, which was the only thing I remember that they agreed on.

I never believed in Santa, so I can't directly relate, but I'm sorry it gives you anger (what your parents said).

All you needed to say was that you aren't angry at God.

Not necessary as I'm not angry at anything that I don't believe is real. Just like how it is not necessary for you to let people know you are not angry at Santa Claus.

I thought that there was an event done by someone that turned you against God and for atheism or whatever else you believe. I sit corrected. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you.

I was a born again, tongue talking, street evangelizing, missionary (2 countries outside of my own) for 2 decades. The turning point for me was having a reading assignment in High School to read the entire Bible. Learning about the real theory of evolution (not the caricature relayed to me during my childhood), who wrote the gospels and when were factors all factors as well. Being set free from my Christian beliefs was one of the hardest things I have ever gone though, but nobody 'hurt' me.

However, I know after 67 years of experiences with God that he is real;

I acknowledge that you believe this. If you would... Please find a 67 year old Muslim and let them tell you that they are just as convinced as you about the existence of Allah and let me know how impressed you are. I'm guessing it will mean nothing to you. Now self reflect...

he's with me every moment.

I acknowledge that you think there is a god concept with you at every moment.

You can see all those events in the book What God Has Done: My True, Dramatic God-Biography (Amazon).

Again, if you would... Please read "Being Muslim Today" and let me know how your conversion to being a Muslim is going.
I of course jest to illustrate the point.

It is not logical that an all powerful God would create a message for all of humanity, but then require pastors, priest, theologians and Bruce Leiter to then interpret the said message.
The same goes for Allah and Joseph Smith by the way.

I acknowledge that you seem to be a devout Christian by the way. This doesn't mean much in debate of course, but I do acknowledge it.

[Clownboat]

Because God’s value system is based on the soul,

Neato! Please show that souls are real and not just religious concepts meant to trick people into thinking that the gods can control you after death.

What the Canaan story really conveys is that Satan,

Neato! Please show that Satan is real and not just a religious concept invented in order to have a common enemy to unite against.

Aaron even permitted the worship of the golden calf.

This act was illogical because it contradicted the very foundation of their new faith by replacing a transcendent God with a tangible, man-made object. A direct violation of the first two commandments. It was a failure of logic to believe that a physical idol, made from their own wealth, could be the powerful, all-powerful God that delivered them from slavery.

In short, from top to bottom, the Israelites were a disorganized mess, utterly incapable of fighting the Canaanites. God could only let them wander in the wilderness;

Just curious, but who are you to put conditions on an all powerful and all knowing god concept?

The Jews would never be able to settle down, focus on compiling and recording God’s words, and transmit the message to the present day.

And yet, even god concepts that you don't believe in were able to do just this.

That would mean God’s redemption would fail, unable to save humanity today. Therefore, only by eradicating the Canaanites—who were already spiritually dead—could the Jews possibly settle down, establish the nation of Israel, compile, preserve, and transmit the testimony of the Old Testament, and thus enable salvation today.

Or... bare with me a second...
Religion is regarded by the common man as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful. I don't see why Jewish rulers would be any different then the shamans of old. How else can you get your people to commit acts of genocide or enslave people and feel justified if not the gods?

Everyone must die once, but if a soul that ought to be saved cannot be rescued, God cannot shirk responsibility.

An all powerful God could save such a soul and a loving God arguably would.

The one thing Satan miscalculated is the true purpose of Earth’s existence. Earthly humans cannot match wits or strength with angels like Satan.

Please show that you speak the truth that earthly humans cannot match wits or strength with angels.

Satan can control Canaanite culture; he can equally control the social culture of humanity today. All of humanity is under the control of Satan (and his angels), which is why every single person needs the redemption of the Lord Jesus and must enter through the narrow gate to be saved.

This is a debate site. Claims like this belong being shouted in people faces from street corners while standing on a soap box.

The weapon by which humans can overcome (fallen) angels is neither wisdom nor ability, but faith.

Faith is required in order for humans to believe in false things. Therefore, avoid faith at all costs.
Allow me to demonstrate.
If a person wants to believe in Bigfoot. Faith will be required.
If a person wants to believe in Allah. Faith will be required.
Nessie....
Alien abductions.
and so on....
Faith is therefore not a weapon, but a mechanism that can lead to believing false things. Use reason instead or the scientific method when able.

[BruceLeiter]

[Replying to Clownboat in post #97]

Thank you for your acknowledgement of my firm Christian faith, @Clownboat. When I was 16, God led me through an intellectual process concerning whether or not what the preachers in a Baptist church were saying was true. The first question was whether or not Jesus was both God and man, as he said he was. The prophecies in the Old Testament that he fulfilled interested me. His many miracles were impressive. But the answer to the question boiled down to one event, whether or not he actually rose from the dead, @Compassionist.

What convinced me were the hundreds of eyewitnesses who said that they saw him alive after they knew he had died on a cross. All those people clung to the truth of their testimonies in spite of being threatened with suffering and death from three different sources: Romans, Greeks, and Jews. You can't get better historical eyewitnesses than they were.

As a result of God convincing me of Jesus' bodily resurrection from the dead, I sensed that that same God could definitely do all the other miracles that were reported in the Old and New Testaments.

Any time I doubt God, I look at the clear evidence of Jesus' resurrection from death to life as a historical event and let God resolve my doubts.

[Hawkins]

[Replying to Clownboat in post #98]

Neato! Please show that souls are real and not just religious concepts meant to trick people into thinking that the gods can control you after death.

You are so fooled and blinded. You are the exact proof that the god of this world has blinded the mind of men.

Our science is experiment based. Humans however completely lack the ability to go outside of our own realm to establish experiments. That is to say, science lacks the ability to discover even the simplest existence as long as this existence doesn't lie within our own realm. On the other hand, spirituality such as the existence of soul, as an advocate from the very beginning of humanity is never about existence lying within our own realm. It's all about existences outside of our living space.

You are leveraging the inabliity of humankind to form your argument. Your foolishness however is without your own (and humankind's self) awareness. That's the common issue, actually serving as the proof that your kind is blinded and fooled without your own awareness.

Evidence? First tell me, by humankind capability how to gather the evidence if soul exists. Just to bring it to your consent, our science is not only incapable but also irrelevant in terms of acquiring evidence of existences (such as soul) which is not lying inside our living space. The only possible and viable way to get to know existences outside of our realm is through a God who knows. That remains the only logical outcome.

Your human "logic" is such a joke, just as I revealed in my previous post.