What do you think of Psalm 137, the end of the psalm where it talks about blessing people who bash babies heads against the rock?
I was asked about it during a job interview and didn’t have a good answer. If I had a better answer I think I would have gotten a job in England back in 2005. (I started working at Biblical in 2006.)
While I can’t say I like Psalm 137:9, I’m glad it’s in the Bible.
In this blog for Biblical Seminary I discuss this highly troubling text.
Check it out here: Cursing, Baby Bashing, and Psalm 137.
Apparently atheists love this verse. I found this image on what appears to be an atheist website: http://www.religifake.com/psalms-1379-christian-bible-girl-baby-religion-1079.html.
Christians should be troubled by, but not afraid of, this verse. I hope my readers who consider themselves Christians know people would consider themselves atheists who they could discuss Psalm 137 with.
A student told me yesterday that her atheist professor embarrassed her in front of the class when he asked about another troubling text, the rape of the Levite’s concubine in Judg. 19. She still vividly remembers this experience decades later.
We Christians too often ignore these troubling texts of the Old Testament, so when they come up in discussions with atheists, agnostics or skeptics, we don’t have an answer.
Check out the Biblical blog for some of my thoughts (I hesitate to call it the “answer”).