Is God a Mass Murderer Causing Millions to Die by Sending a Cataclysmic Flood?

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IS GOD A MASS MURDERER CAUSING MILLIONS TO DIE BY SENDING A CATACLYSMIC FLOOD?

This is one of those stories that many will point to that they believe to be evidence that God is evil. In response to some of my writings on various internet sites, I’ve heard some say that God is a mass murderer. They allege that He has brought about the death of many more people than even the Devil himself. I’m sure the story that we’re going to take a look at next is the one they would present as a prime example of their sentiment. As we’ll find out, most of the people of the earth will perish at God’s hand. Does this reveal, as they infer, that He is truly evil? Let’s find out. Please go to the Book of Genesis.



Suggested Reading: Genesis 6:1-22

2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

At this time, the population of the earth had grown since the first humans, Adam and Eve, began to have children. The Scriptures tell us that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that were fair (beautiful). There’s much contention as to who the sons of God are and who the daughters of men are. Some say the sons of God refer to fallen angels, and the daughters of men are the daughters of human beings, while others say that the sons of God are from the godly line of Seth, Adam and Eve’s third son, and the daughters of men are from the ungodly line of Cain, Adam and Eve’s first son.

Whether we know who this is referring to or not, what we do know is that the sons of God took for themselves many wives. Apparently, the choice of a wife for marriage was not based on spiritual character but on good looks. How many of the population believed in Yahweh? Only God knows. However, there was one godly man named Noah and his family who found grace (favor) in the sight of the Lord. Aside from them, there appeared to be an affinity for engaging in evil thoughts, words, and actions by just about everyone else.

5a And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, (…)

What God saw (recognized) was that the wickedness (a wide-spread, firmly-rooted, and deeply staining corruption, the second aggravation6) of man (humanity) was great in the earth.

So, what was the Lord’s response?

6-7 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

The Lord repented that He made man. Some would say that what this meant was that He wished He had never made humankind in the first place. I don’t think this was His perspective, as this response would be more reflective of a human mindset. The word repented means to be sorrowful. If you read this Scripture further, it says that God was grieved (…) at his heart. The word grieved means to be pained. I believe He was expressing sorrow that humanity had gone the way of self-centeredness, self-destruction, and total disregard for one another. It truly hurt Him to see this. With these thoughts in mind, the Lord said, I will destroy (remove them entirely) both man and living creatures.

If this is solely the basis for God removing a vast number of people from the earth, then maybe there’s some credence to the allegation that He is evil. Some say the main reason God removed these people was because of habitual sin. I would counter by saying there are many people in today’s world who have committed egregious sins and have a testimony that God has changed their lives. However, I believe that there are two valid reasons why God decided to remove the vast majority of the population from the earth. Before we take a look at what these are, let’s take a look at one person and his family, whom God decided would be saved from this mass removal of humanity.

8-9 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

A man named Noah found grace in the eyes (sight) of the Lord. The word grace means the favor of God to sinful man. Another way of saying this is that grace is God's response to saving faith.7 Noah was described as being just (righteous; blameless in character and conduct; having integrity) and perfect (always obeyed God). As a result, he walked (had continual fellowship) with God.

5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

As for the two reasons God decided to remove humanity, the first was because the condition of their heart called for spiritual capital punishment (divine judgment). When we think of capital punishment, we think of the crimes associated with it, such as treason, espionage, murder, drug trafficking, etc. What is spiritual capital punishment? It’s the result of the decision not to believe in God as He revealed Himself to mankind.

You might say, aren’t there people today who don’t respond to God’s initiation for salvation? Should all humankind be removed from living on the earth for the decisions of a few? I would answer by saying that you just answered as to why humans should be removed. It’s a matter of degrees. You might be thinking, what does that mean?

What I mean is that the wickedness that God saw was great. The word great means a wide-spread, firmly-rooted, and deeply-staining corruption, (…) so "that integrity possessed no longer a single corner" (Calvin).8 The words imaginations of the thoughts of their heart refer to wicked schemes that were only evil continually (all day long). The second reason God decided to remove mankind was what follows thinking, and that is actions. What kinds of activities were being committed, we might ask? We’re told that the earth was filled with violence. The word violence means they treated each other cruelly and unjustly by forceful physical acts.

12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

Do you understand the reasons why God chose to remove them? Their heart (thinking) was continually evil. Wickedness was a universal condition. Perverse, inhumane, violent acts were the norm. Children were being brought up in an atmosphere of evil and were encouraged to follow their parents’ ways. This was not only an ungodly society but one deeply entrenched in total and universal depravity. God would have no inroads into any of their lives. If they were allowed to continue to remain on the earth, even Noah’s life, his wife, his three sons, and their wives would probably not survive, and the coming one, the Messiah, would never appear on the scene. So, in light of this, I ask you to consider this question.

Was God just by removing them?

In today’s society, there’s another type of punishment relating to removal, called capital punishment. This type of sentence is imposed on people who are convicted of committing egregious acts. Yet, it has been proven by DNA or new evidence in some cases that certain of them were actually innocent. However, in this instance, society would be judged not by cultural norms or direct evidence but by God, who knows all things as to whether someone is guilty or not. The conclusion was that they were all guilty. All of them committed the same crimes. What crimes? The crimes of not believing in God and choosing to be unceasingly entrenched in evil.

While some of you might say that the removal of them does have some merit, I’m sure there are some of you who are still insisting that God is unjust with respect to His treatment of them because He never gave them an opportunity to repent (to acknowledge and change their ways) and believe in Him.

Was this indeed the case?

Could what they’re saying about God be true ?

The Book of Jude will shed some light on this.

Jude 14-15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

A man named Enoch might help us to answer these questions. Enoch was a man who lived before Noah and was known as someone who walked with God. This indicated that he lived a life of close fellowship with Him. Many commentators believe that his prophecy (said beforehand that something would happen in the future) pertained to two different time periods. The first time period concerned those who lived before God’s judgment of the flood during the time of Noah. And the second time period refers to those living in the world in the end times.

Here is clear evidence that God conveyed to this man an impending judgment upon the people living at that time, which was his responsibility to share this information with them. These people were warned ahead of time, and as we can see, they chose to disregard this admonition. Is there another example of God being just toward these people? Yes, there is.

Noah was another person God used to express His desire for the salvation of humanity. He was told by God how the vast number of people would be removed from the earth. It would be by an impending flood of water that would accumulate over the course of continual rainfall for forty days and forty nights. In order for Noah and his family to be saved from this deluge, God gave him instructions to build an ark (a vessel; a hollow place capable of containing persons, goods, etc.9) that would not only provide safety for those who would choose to enter it, but also refuge for two of every kind of creature.

If you continue to read this account, it would appear that in no time, the ark was built, the waters came, and mankind, albeit all but eight people, were removed from the earth. From this observation, it does seem that God was unjust, meaning that He didn’t allow mankind an opportunity to repent.

Is there any indication that this was not the case? There is.

Genesis 6:3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

It took time to build the ark. This was no small vessel. Scripture indicates that this boat project could have taken as long as one hundred twenty years. Was this all that Noah was responsible for during this time? No.

2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Noah was also responsible for announcing to the people about righteousness (of upright moral behavior, or in its wider sense, living according to God's will and purpose10). As Noah found grace, we can also deduce he understood that no one could live according to God’s will and purpose without believing in Him. So, mankind became aware of the need to repent and of the sign of future judgment.

Do you still think that God was unjust in His dealings with the people who lived during the time of Noah and were given one hundred twenty years to repent and enter into the ark before the impending deluge?

It appears that Scripture has revealed to us that God was just in sending a flood upon the earth. Now, let’s take a look at another paramount story in human history that some say also characterizes God as unjust and inconsiderate of people’s lives. This story is about the death of over eleven million Jews. This is called the Holocaust. The Holocaust refers to the end of millions of European Jews orchestrated by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime during WWII.

HOW COULD GOD HAVE ALLOWED THE HOLOCAUST?

01/17/2012 03:08 pm ET Updated Mar 18, 2012

All Rabbis hear variations on the following questions: [How] can anyone believe in God after the Holocaust? How can a supposedly loving God stand back and let such a horrible thing happen? How can you reconcile the death of even one innocent child with the existence of a just [God?] For many, these questions are proof that a personal God [doesn’t] exist.

The question of why good people [suffer] and wicked people prosper is not new or [rare] and is certainly not limited to Judaism. [It’s pondered by most intelligent children] and was noticed by philosophers thousands of years before the Holocaust. [There’s, in fact, a theological field of inquiry called “theodicy,”] which investigates the basic question: If God is [all-powerful (omnipotent), all-knowing (omniscient), and all-good (omnibenevolent),] how can evil and injustice exist?

It seems that one of these variables must not be correct, and various solutions have been proposed: Perhaps God is not [all-powerful and is bound by the rules of physics and nature; Perhaps God is not all-knowing and cannot see what we’ll do and the consequences; perhaps God is not all-good, and simply created the Universe but isn’t involved in what happens; perhaps there’s a force that opposes God that’s responsible for the evil that occurs; perhaps it only seems that the good suffer and the wicked prosper, but if we could know the whole picture we’d see that there’s] justice in the long term.

While many of the solutions form the basis for different theologies, none get to the heart of the matter. [In fact, the very question, how could God have allowed the Holocaust, represents a profound misunderstanding of the nature of God, creation, and the spiritual dimension because it’s based on very faulty assumptions?] It posits God as a being who is totally separate from us, who observes our behavior, preventing harm from coming to those who follow certain rules (usually written in books), and punishing those who [don’t]. And it sees humans as helpless children.

But God is much more than that, and [we’re] much more than that. This image of God and humans, frankly, is childish and primitive, and from this [perspective, there’s] no God, just as electrons are not tiny balls orbiting bigger balls. In order to reframe the [conversation, we must understand the nature of creation and address the most essential question of our lives:] Why are we here?

The Universe, it seems, had a starting [point when space, time, and matter began, when physicality exploded into] being from nothingness. This, though, is an impossibility. How can [something] come from [nothing]? And [yet,] here we are, so there was a mechanism of some kind that allowed this to happen. Most religions postulate that the beginning was caused by a non-physical Creator (who [I’ll call “God,” but you can use the words “Universe,”] “Ground of [Being,” or “Pure Love” if it makes you feel] better) who deliberately created physicality for a purpose.

Of [course, one can ask the question, who created God?] but this too is a misunderstanding of the nature of God. God, by [definition,] as that which nothing greater than is possible, is uncreated — that has no previous state or cause. Even if one does not accept the existence of God, one must grapple with the question of something that is uncreated. This is either the material that came through in the [Big Bang] or an eternal Universe that has no beginning. Either way, [there’s an uncreated element].

From a theological perspective, prior to [creation,] there was only God; undifferentiated, timeless, pure consciousness, irrevocably alone. And yet God’s greatest yearning is for connection — for something in which to be in [a] relationship and to experience love. But there was no possibility of anything to connect to because [nothing] could exist, as the only existence was the completely indivisible God. This yearning, though, led to the paradox of creation, as God removed “His” presence from a point, making physicality possible. This was the Big Bang, and long before it was discovered by Edwin Hubble in [1929, it was seen by mystics from many traditions, especially by those in northern Israel in the sixteenth] century.

The Universe was therefore set in motion with the purpose of developing creatures who would arrive at self-consciousness — the awareness of being aware [—] see the obvious design in creation, feel the presence of a loving Designer, and reach out in gratitude. This connection in love is both [our] and God’s greatest pleasure and delight (and, I believe, also for countless beings on planets scattered throughout the Universe).

The purpose of creation, then, is to be in a loving relationship with its Creator.

In order to have a true relationship, though, there must be absolute free [will] because a programmed or coerced being cannot experience true love. Free will, then, is a universal constant, built [into] the fabric of creation like gravity and the speed of light. Free will to choose love means that there must be the possibility to choose [not love, i.e.,] to choose indifference and hatred. [So, while the world may seem unfair, it must be exactly as it is in order for consciousness to emerge, and I’m in complete agreement with the seventeenth-century] German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who wrote that this is the best of all possible worlds. (The very sound theological [movie Bruce Almighty, in which a man who is angry at the unfairness of life is given god-like powers only to make things worse] presents this point.)

This [doesn’t] mean that God is not omniscient. God does know the choices that [we’ll make because our consciousness is in constant connection to God, and for God, time isn’t] a limitation, so our future choices are not hidden. Yet God deliberately [doesn’t] interfere — not out of indifference, but out of great love. God must “watch” in pain as we commit [atrocities] because to interfere would negate free will, terminating the relationship and hence the very purpose of creation. This is the reconciliation of Rabbi Akiva’s famous paradox, “All is foreseen, yet free will is [given.”] (…)

Where was God [during] the Holocaust? As God knew the terrible choices made by too [many] and wept at the horrific consequences, those who chose love and service in the face of this horror were strengthened and consoled. Good eventually did win over [evil] by our own hands. We can be mad at God for the Holocaust or for other human tragedies, but this is like a teenager who begs you to let him drive a car — promising to be responsible [—] gets drunk, crashes [into] a telephone pole, and then blames you for giving him the keys. If we agree that humanity must have free will, we must accept the consequences of its decisions. As Elie Wiesel wrote, “After the [Holocaust, I did not lose] faith in God. I lost faith in mankind.”11

I agree with most of what was said except for the possibility of life on other planets. If this were the case, then like, Adam and Eve, humans on these planets would be placed in a sinless environment with one command to not do such and such, and if they fell, God would have to send His Son again to die for their sins. I don’t think God the Son would leave heaven, be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, and die on the cross again and again and again.

To summarize this article, mankind was given free will and allowed to make good or evil choices. This shouln’t cause any of us to blame God for the atrocities that had been perpetrated. God remains just in character, and I believe during all of the many unthinkable crimes committed by those in the Third Reich, He was busy implementing His plan for the salvation of the Jews who were being persecuted at this time.

I believe, and hopefully, you will also [concur,] that God was not unjust to remove most of humanity from the earth during the time of Noah by means of a cataclysmic flood because their mental states were continually irreversible, being entrenched with evil thinking and actions whose purposes were for self-gratification and the destruction of all that was godly that would eventually prevent God’s intervention in time of addressing the debt of sin owed by mankind in order to satisfy His justice and open the gates of heaven for all who decided to repent and believe in His Son.

The next story that we’ll look at in the next chapter has bothered me for a long time with respect to death, and I guess I would say that after walking with God for all these years, I have a better handle on it now.

Endnotes

6The Pulpit Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2006, 02 March 2018

˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

7The Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989, 02 March 2018 ˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

8The Pulpit.

9Adam Clarke’s CommentaryPc Study Bible version 5, 2004, 06 March 2018˂http://www.biblesoft.com>.

10UBS.

11“How Could God Have Allowed the Holocaust?” HUFFPOST 16 August 2020

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