I think we can all agree the Bible is a bit weird. Merriam-Webster defines weird as "of strange or extraordinary character," and I think that definitely applies with a number of passages. As familiar as we may become with the Bible, it still contains things that remain a mystery, and some of those mysteries are quite disturbing - so disturbing that we may want to discount the entire book. As we continue our series, we're diving into one of those disturbing areas of scripture that causes people to discount the Bible altogether…the subject of war. Does the Bible tell us who we are to war with?  If we're going to take the Bible seriously, if not literally, we have to address that God seems to encourage and demand violence in the Hebrew scriptures. No matter how you translate it, God is given the credit for violent genocide, women being assaulted, entire cities being wiped off the face of the earth, and numerous other negative events as Israel is establishing itself as a people group. We can't just dismiss this image of God as an ancient understanding of how God operates. Even today, whether it's on the football field or the battlefield, God is often given the credit for very violent victories. How can we reconcile that with the God who teaches us, through Jesus, to turn the other cheek and to love our enemy? Is Jesus the hippie son of an angry God? Or, is the Bible offering us more than an either / or approach? In this message, Pastor Sarah shares about the idea of war in scripture and why people recorded God as the violent victor, and she will offer some ideas about how we can engage these stories in ways that make space for a different reading.