Flood and fury : Old Testament violence and the Shalom of God / Matthew J. Lynch ; foreword by Helen Paynter.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Part one: tReal problem (with options) -- Facing the problem (without burning down your house) -- Finding our way -- Part two: Shalom and its shattering -- Shalom in creation's DNA -- Violence against women in the Bible's prologue -- Creation's collapse -- Shalom redux -- Part three: Reading Joshua with Yeshua -- Wielding the sword -- Negotiating with the enemy -- Minority report -- Show them no mercy -- Completing the Exodus in Canaan -- Giants will fall -- Worship as warfare -- Part four: Old Testament and the character of God -- What the Old Testament says about God's character -- Irresolvable.

What do we do with a God who sanctions violence? Old Testament violence proves one of the most troubling topics in the Bible. Too often, the explanations for the brutality in Scripture fail to adequately illustrate why God would sanction such horrors on humanity. These unanswered questions leave readers frustrated and confused, leading some to even walk away from their faith. In Flood and Fury, Old Testament scholar Matthew Lynch approaches two of the most violent passages in the Old Testament - the Flood and the Canaanite conquest - and offers a way forward that doesn't require softening or ignoring the most troubling aspects of these stories. While acknowledging the persistent challenge of violence in Scripture, Flood and Fury contends that reading with the grain of the text yields surprising insights into the goodness and the mercy of God. Through his exploration of themes related to violence including misogyny, racism, and nationalism, Lynch shows that these violent stories illuminate significant theological insights that we might miss with a surface reading. Flood and Fury challenges us to let go of the need to rescue the Old Testament from itself and listen afresh to its own critiques on violence