I've been taking an American history class from 1865 onward. I came upon a shocking passage in chapter 19 of my book, The American Journey. In the 1860's a Methodist minister, John Chivington, led a militia force to the Sand Creek camp of the Cheyennes. Chivington ordered his men to "kill and scalp all, big and little." They attacked the village without warning. One white trader later described the battle: "They were scalped, their brains knocked out; the [white] men used their knives, ripped open women, clubbed little children, knocked them in the head with their guns, beat their brains out, mutilated their bodies in every sense of the word."
We would rightly say that that minister wasn't following Christ when he did this. Perhaps most of the men in the militia weren't Christian either. It never gives us details about the men. Most of us will read this in disgust and see it as a great act of evil. However, I also think about the times when Israel was freed from Egypt by God and was fighting for the Promise Land. They were ordered to kill everyone in the lands they attacked; men, women, and children. When I think about the Israelis doing this, the picture that comes to mind looks a lot like the description of the massacre at Sand Creek. I see children crying as their mothers are killed right in front of them before being mercilessly killed themselves. God ordered the Israelis to do this. What am I suppose to make of this? I know God has the right to do what He wants with His own creation and that He Himself is Holy, but I see nothing but evil in these acts. If a non-Christian were to bring that up, and they often do, I wouldn't know what to say. I pray that God helps me understand, cause I don't right now.
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