I think it's one thing to behave like a general/barbarian during the midst of a battle or war, but it is another thing to punish people with death for the crime of violating the belief system.

The way the full passage is written, it seems to have some commiseration to let Moses and God off the hook as far as full guilt, but here we are 3,600 years later and I'm thinking waitaminute, since he wasn't actually talking to any God, then this was all about him ordering the deaths of thousands of his own "followers" for the sin of violating the ways of their religion, if the passages are actually to be believed outside of their supernatural content.

I do think the case can be made (I guess) that it's not just some minor thing to subscribe to a belief, and to say you'll be part of it and observe its most important tenets in particular. Notwithstanding that, though, looking at it through a 21st century law enforcement and anthropology lens, Moses's standing would have been questionable.

Yes the Iliad is the one I think of when I hear about the bible. No difference except Homer could write better.

@EMC2 Well the difference is that while they both may or may not describe actual history, at least nobody expects to force anyone to live by the tenants if the Iliad

I'm not sufficiently familiar with the bear story, and don't know much about the Mt. Sinai story. Still, the bear story sounds like it helps illustrate the point.

As to the Mt. Sinai story, it is a cornerstone story in two religions, and was made into a famous film. I put things moderately in my opening comment, but it is hard to ignore that, if we take "God" out of the discussion, and view the situation for what any secular government or community would view it as now, basically Moses committed mass-murder, no? And then had religions founded partly on the idea that he was a hero?

@kmaz Kings 2:23–24

He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, che cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.

@GeorgeRocheleau

Thanks, interesting. I do think I heard a Christian recently trying to respond to this specific thing (prior to that, if I'd ever heard of it, I'd forgotten it). It does stand as an example of rather extraordinary lack of respect for human life and again, if it were in the here and now, law enforcement would search for "God" (or that entity's agents) and see about a trial. In that one case though, supposedly bears wrought the destruction.