“How could a loving God order the extermination of a whole city, even the babies? That seems like an evil thing to do.”
I don’t remember the link, but I’ve heard the apologist Jeff Durbin respond to this type of question. Part of his response (especially to an atheist) is something like, “When you bring up ‘evil’, you’re borrowing from my worldview.”
I didn’t understand that response at first, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
If we take God out of the equation, then one group of people exterminating another group of people is really just clumps of stardust bumping into other clumps of stardust, entirely controlled by the laws of physics. So…the concept of “evil” doesn’t really apply.
But, since the questioner is in fact putting God back into the equation, thus allowing us to coherently discuss “evil”, we have to be consistent. In other words, God is, by definition, the last word on “good” and “evil”.
So, yes, it’s good to meditate and study the Scriptures to learn more about why God does the things He does…but we do need to come as students…not arbiters.
Here’s an example of someone coming as a student:
[Luk 1:34 KJV] 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
She knows it shall be…but she wants to learn how.
And here’s an example of someone coming as an arbiter:
[Luk 1:18 KJV] 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
Zacharias doesn’t believe it shall be. I’m sure you remember what happened to him next 
Oh but wait! Zacharias wasn’t an atheist; he was a priest and a righteous man. So if he was prone to the arbiter mindset, what does that say about us?
In summary, is the questioner approaching God as a student, or an arbiter?
And more importantly, what about us?
God bless you, my friend.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Mailing list / Email:
If you want to be notified when there is a new post, just email me at gmail.com with subscribe in the subject. There will be a new post every week or so. What’s my gmail username? Good question, it is theformofthefourth. If you don’t want to subscribe but still want to contact me, please feel free!
Comments:
Comments are super easy! Most comments will immediately be posted. You can use a fake email address and name if you want, I don't mind at all. I just want to hear from you 🙂
RSS:
On the side of the screen (or the bottom, depending on what device you're using), look for the "Meta" heading. Under that heading, there is one link for the entries feed (meaning, all my blog posts), and another link for the comments feed. Tap the one you want, and then use an app like flipboard or podcast addict to subscribe. I don't know about all the choices out there, but I use Podcast Addict to keep a steady stream of audio podcasts and blog posts flowing into my phone.