As a wannabe stoic, I admit that stuff can trouble me — like genocide of thousands as a result of a stooopid family feud (see Genesis 16 & 17). Here’s my quick synopsis: It details a family feud in which Ishmael, son of Abram and Hagar (Abram’s wife’s Egyptian slave-girl), is said to be a wild-ass of a man (yes, the Bible actually says this; see NIV). (Abram, a childless man named "father of many" was later re-named "father of many nations” — Jews, Christians, Muslims.) One of Abraham's grandsons was known as Jacob "take-over artist, or Usurper" — and he was later re-named Israel: "God is in charge" . What family has not had wild sons? Warfare is not football. It's deadly. Genocide is a spiral to the bottom — which side can be more brutal. Family's don't do that.
As a wannabe stoic, I admit that stuff can trouble me — like genocide of thousands as a result of a stooopid family feud (see Genesis 16 & 17). Here’s my quick synopsis: It details a family feud in which Ishmael, son of Abram and Hagar (Abram’s wife’s Egyptian slave-girl), is said to be a wild-ass of a man (yes, the Bible actually says this; see NIV). (Abram, a childless man named "father of many" was later re-named "father of many nations” — Jews, Christians, Muslims.) One of Abraham's grandsons was known as Jacob "take-over artist, or Usurper" — and he was later re-named Israel: "God is in charge" . What family has not had wild sons? Warfare is not football. It's deadly. Genocide is a spiral to the bottom — which side can be more brutal. Family's don't do that.