You can find things in the traditional religions which are very benign and decent and wonderful and so on, but I mean, the Bible is probably the most genocidal book in the literary canon. The God of the Bible - not only did He order His chosen people to carry out literal genocide - I mean, wipe out every Amalekite to the last man, woman, child, and, you know, donkey and so on, because hundreds of years ago they got in your way when you were trying to cross the desert - not only did He do things like that, but, after all, the God of the Bible was ready to destroy every living creature on earth because some humans irritated Him. That's the story of Noah. I mean, that's beyond genocide - you don't know how to describe this creature. Somebody offended Him, and He was going to destroy every living being on earth? And then He was talked into allowing two of each species to stay alive - that's supposed to be gentle and wonderful.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Chomsky critiques the Bible for its genocidal content and violent stories like Noah. He contrasts its benign aspects with its extreme violence.
- In plain terms
- The Bible has good parts but also commands killing everyone.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize violence in religious texts.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you read violent texts?
- Is all religion violent?
Another view
It presents a very specific critical view without balancing religious defenses.
More from Noam Chomsky
Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's no…
Permalink to quote #190 It is the fundamental duty of the citizen to resist and to restrain the violence of the state. Those who choose to disregard this responsibility can justly be …
Permalink to quote #192 Prophet just means intellectual. They were people giving geopolitical analysis, moral lessons, that sort of thing. We call them intellectuals today. There were…
Permalink to quote #189
Related quotes
No actual tyrant known to history has ever been guilty of one-hundredth of the crimes, massacres, and other atrocities attributed to the Deity in the Bible.
Steve AllenSteve Allen quote #11 Many Christians base the belief of a soul and God upon the Bible. Strictly speaking, there is no such book. To make the Bible, sixty-six books are bound into o…
Clarence DarrowClarence Darrow quote #41 Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's no…
Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky quote #190