There is a huge difference between a deranged maniac *thinking* others are to be exterminated for whatever reason, and people actually *being* so rotten that they need to be exterminated.
It seems society was so corrupt and violent at that time as to be beyond repair. As rotten as this world is today, it seems people then were even worse. (I can barely imagine it!)
As to the children, that is always a difficult topic. The greatest minds have struggled with this throughout the ages. All I can do is give a few things for thought:
- If society really was that far gone, then even the children would have been affected by that. I think of the societies today where children are taught from infancy to hate others and to love death and violence. The adults are responsible for poisoning those young minds. But the damage is done. Some of the most angelic looking faces would easily kill you in your sleep.
- There is also the question of children's souls. There is nothing in the Bible that I know of which addresses this specifically. (That I know of.) But it does seem there is an age of accountability, where the child is aware of what is morally right and wrong and thus held responsible for it. It would seem children under this age are exempt from eternal judgment, even though their physical life was ended.
Again, it's not an easy topic. But one cannot compare two things that seem alike on the surface without also looking at the specific circumstances and reasons for both. It makes a huge amount of difference.
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Date: 2008-11-11 02:36 pm (UTC)From:It seems society was so corrupt and violent at that time as to be beyond repair. As rotten as this world is today, it seems people then were even worse. (I can barely imagine it!)
As to the children, that is always a difficult topic. The greatest minds have struggled with this throughout the ages. All I can do is give a few things for thought:
- If society really was that far gone, then even the children would have been affected by that. I think of the societies today where children are taught from infancy to hate others and to love death and violence. The adults are responsible for poisoning those young minds. But the damage is done. Some of the most angelic looking faces would easily kill you in your sleep.
- There is also the question of children's souls. There is nothing in the Bible that I know of which addresses this specifically. (That I know of.) But it does seem there is an age of accountability, where the child is aware of what is morally right and wrong and thus held responsible for it. It would seem children under this age are exempt from eternal judgment, even though their physical life was ended.
Again, it's not an easy topic. But one cannot compare two things that seem alike on the surface without also looking at the specific circumstances and reasons for both. It makes a huge amount of difference.