Did God command ‘genocide’ in the Old Testament? John Allister vs Justin Schieber - Unbelievable?

Summary: <span></span><br> <p><span>1 Samuel Chapter 15 may be one of the hardest passages in the Bible to reconcile with a God of love.<span>  </span>It describes God apparently commanding  the slaughter of men, women and children in the Amalekite tribe.</span></p><br> <p><span></span><span></span></p><br> <p> </p><br> <p><span>How can Christians who take OT passages on warfare seriously reconcile it with the God of love shown in Jesus?<span>  </span>Is God Evil?</span></p><br> <p></p><br> <p> </p><br> <p>John Allister is the vicar of St. Jude's Church, Nottingham. He argues that the passage needs to be understood in its context.</p><br> <p> </p><br> <p>Justin Schieber is co host of the atheist podcast Reasonable Doubt. He argues that the story cannot be reconciled with a good God.</p><br> <p> </p><br> <p>For John Allister <a href="http://custardy.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-amalekites.html">http://custardy.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-amalekites.html</a> and his paper on the Amalekites <a href="http://www.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_124_3_Allister.pdf">http://www.churchsociety.org/churchman/documents/Cman_124_3_Allister.pdf</a></p><br> <p> </p><br> <p>For Justin Schieber <a href="http://freethoughtblogs.com/reasonabledoubts/">http://freethoughtblogs.com/reasonabledoubts/</a></p><br> <p>Watch the video promo for Unbelievable? the Conference 2012 DVD <a href="http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew">http://youtu.be/6g-5jTMeZew</a> Order it at <a href="http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd">http://www.premier.org.uk/dvd</a></p><br> <p><br> <br>For more Christian/non-Christian debate visit <a href="http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable">http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable</a> or get the MP3 podcast <a href="http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx">http://ondemand.premier.org.uk/unbelievable/AudioFeed.aspx</a> or Via Itunes</p><br> <p>You may also enjoy:</p><br> <p><span><a href="http://www.premierradio.org.uk/listen/ondemand.aspx?mediaid=%7BBD4A5C6A-9C16-417C-8C3D-5D833B5F654C%7D">Unbelievable? 9 April 2011 - "Is God a Moral Monster?"</a> Paul Copan &amp; Norman Bacrac</span></p><br> <p><span><a href="http://www.premierradio.org.uk/listen/ondemand.aspx?mediaid=%7B425C4EDF-B72C-4471-B3CB-CB3F45BCA5EC%7D">Unbelievable? 8 Oct 2011 - Old Testament Grill-a-Christian with Peter J Williams</a><span></span></span></p><br> <p>Join the conversation via <a href="http://www.facebook.com/unbelievablejb">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/unbelievablejb">Twitter</a></p>