23
And he proceeded to go up from there to Beth´el. As he was going up on the way, there were small boys that came out from the city and began to jeer him and that kept saying to him: "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" 24 Finally he turned behind him and saw them and called down evil upon them in the name of Jehovah. Then two she-bears came out from the woods and went tearing to pieces forty-two children of their number.
I will start off by saying that I do not believe that this story is true. Two bears killed forty-two children? The scripture doesn't say how old these children are but think about it. If these were small children, say under the age of 12, then you have to ask yourself: What kind of evil man would Elisha have to have been to use his "connections" with the Yahweh deity to call out bears from the wood and have the children mauled and killed by them. Children tease. That's what they do. I have never met children that didn't.
What if they were older, teenage children? How could two bears kill forty-two of them? You'd think that they would have been bright enough to run away. There's no way two bears could catch and kill forty two children running in all different directions. It doesn't even make sense.
Still, if you are crazy enough to believe the story, the Watchtower teaches that these kids used harsh words that displeased Jehovah. So he killed them. Wow. Further, the Watchtower adds:
Jehovah dealt decisively because of their blatant lack of respect for the channel of communication that he was using on earth at that time.
" ... channel of communication that he was using on earth at that time."
Of course this is supposed to directly mirror the "faithful and discreet slave". Why does every authority figure in the Bible picture the faithful and discreet slave? I am so sick of this sort of mental intimidation that I don't know what to do with myself.
But wait, it gets worse. A 1973 article says:
Similarly, the law of God does not excuse children for lawless acts merely on the basis of their being minors. For instance, when small boys showed gross disrespect for the prophet Elisha, Jehovah God did not spare them from punishment, even though it may have been the attitude of their parents toward Elisha that moved them to do it.
So not only is the Yahweh deity, Jehovah, a bit uncaring when it comes to the lives of children but he kills them even if their minds were seeded by their parents? You congregation members better watch out! If you badmouth an elder, Jehovah might just have your kids mauled!
I'm pissed now.
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Sorry about the poor formatting. I can't seem to fix it!