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Religious intolerance in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament)
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General religious intolerance in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament):
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Instruction to murder persons of other faiths:
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Any person who performs
religious rituals to other than Jehovah was to be executed.
Exodus 22:20 "He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the
LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed." |
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A call to God to destroy persons of other faiths:
Psalms 79:6: "Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have
not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy
name." |
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Instruction to murder religious leaders of other faiths: Religious
prophets or soothsayers of other faiths are to be ignored and exterminated.
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 "If there arise among you a prophet, or a
dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to
pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not
known, and let us serve them...And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put
to death...So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee."
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Expelling people from the protection of the camp: God ordered that
certain persons be exiled from the camp. This included people with skin diseases, leprosy,
and those who have touched a dead body.
Numbers 5:1-2 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command
the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath
an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:"
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Instruction to murder any of your relatives or friends if they spread other
religious faiths:
Deuteronomy 13:6-10 "If thy brother, the son of thy mother,
or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine
own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast
not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about
you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither
shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But
thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and
afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he
die..."
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Instruction to murder the inhabitants of any Jewish city if you find them
following another religion:
Deuteronomy 13:12-15 "If thou shalt hear say in one of thy
cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the
children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of
their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt
thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the
thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou shalt surely smite the
inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that
is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword."
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Instruction to murder persons of other faiths, by stoning:
Deuteronomy 17:2-5 "If there be found among you, within any of
thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness
in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served
other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven,
which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired
diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is
wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have
committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone
them with stones, till they die."
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Murder religious leaders of other faiths: Worship of Baal was the other
main religion among the Israelites at the time.
1 King 18:19; 18:40 "Now therefore send, and gather to me all
Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the
prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table....And Elijah said unto
them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and
Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there."
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Mass murder of religious leaders of another faith: King Jehu pretended
to convert to the religion of Baal. He acted deceitfully to gather all of the priests,
prophets and members of the other faith into one of their temples. He put on the vestments
of the other religion, ritually killed animals, and offers them to Baal. After confirming
that everyone else in the temple is a worshiper of that religion, he arranges to have 80
men attack and slaughter all of the unarmed and helpless followers of Baal. The temple and
its statues were then desecrated. God is so pleased with the act of treachery and mass
murder that he promises that Jehu's descendants will rule over Israel, even to the 4th
generation.
2 Kings 10:18-31 "And Jehu gathered all the people together, and
said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. Now therefore
call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be
wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall
not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers
of Baal. And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it. And
Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not
a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was
full from one end to another. And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth
vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. And Jehu
went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the
worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of
the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only. And when they went in to offer sacrifices and
burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I
have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the
life of him. And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none
come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains
cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. And they brought forth the
images out of the house of Baal, and burned them. And they brake down the image of Baal,
and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day. Thus Jehu
destroyed Baal out of Israel...And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in
executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according
to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the
throne of Israel."
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Destroy religious buildings of other faiths:
2 Kings 11:18: "And all the people of the land went into the
house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces
thoroughly and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars..."
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Murder persons of other faiths: King Asa destroyed idols of other
faiths in Judah and assembled all the people together. They swore an oath promising to
murder any persons of a different faith.
2 Chronicles 15:10-15 "So they gathered themselves together at
Jerusalem...And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with
all their heart and with all their soul; That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of
Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. [The LORD]
was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about."
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Hate the wicked and followers of other religions: Jehoshaphat has
received the wrath of God because he helped the wicked and was tolerant of persons who
follow other religions.
2 Chronicles 19:1-2: And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in
peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to
king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? for
this thing wrath is upon thee from before Jehovah. (American Standard Version)
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Breaking up mixed-faith marriages: In the 5 to 7 decades that the Jews
had remained in Babylonian captivity, many had entered into mixed-faith marriages by
taking foreign wives. This opened up the possibility of introducing Pagan beliefs and
practices into Israel. The people confess their sinful behavior and decide to put away
their foreign wives and any children that had been born into the family. There is a
similar passage in Nehemiah 13:23-30.
Ezra 10:1-16: "Shechaniah...answered and said unto Ezra, We have
trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet
now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant
with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the
counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be
done according to the law."
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Hatred of persons of other religions: Here, persons of other
religions seem to be referred to as the enemies of God. The author of
Psalm 139 enthusiastically hates persons of other religions with a "perfect
hatred."
Palms 139:19-22: "Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: Depart
from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men. For they speak against thee
wickedly, And thine enemies take (thy name) in vain. Do not I hate them,
O Jehovah, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up
against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: They are become mine
enemies." (ASV) |
Copyright © 1998 to 2001 incl. by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2001-DEC-3
Author: B.A. Robinson 
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