Psalms
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"Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." -- Psalm 137:9

Psalms for Skeptics

The thing that stands out about the psalms is how violent, vengeful, and vindictive they are. "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth ... let them be cut pieces." Such prayers fill the psalms along with statements like this: "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked."

Here are some highlights:

  • God will hit the heathens with a rod of iron and "dash them in pieces." 2:9

  • God hates sinners. 5:5

  • Dead people neither remember God nor give him thanks. 6:5

  • God hides from those who need him the most. 10:1

  • God will rain fire and brimstone upon "wicked" people. 11:6

  • Atheists are fools who never do anything good. 14:1, 53:1

  • Smoke comes out of God's nose and fire comes out of his mouth. 18:8

  • God rides upon cherubs and can fly. 18:10

  • The God of Peace teaches us to kill our neighbors in war. 18:34, 144:1

  • If God doesn't like you, he'll burn you to death. 21:9

  • If you forget God, he will tear you in pieces. 50:22

  • If you don't trust God, he'll kill you, and while you're dying the "righteous" will laugh at you. 52:5-6

  • Bad people are bad from birth -- God made them that way. 58:3

  • "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth, ... let them be cut pieces." 58:6-8

  • "The righteous" will rejoice when they see "the wicked" being dismembered by God. They'll "wash their feet in the blood of the wicked." 58:10

  • The heathen "make a noise like a dog ... Behold, they belch out with their mouths." 59:5

  • God will "wound the head of his enemies" and the righteous will dip their feet in their blood. 68:21, 23

  • "Let their eyes be darkened ... and make their loins continually to shake." 69:22-23

  • The earth is stationary and does not move. 93:1, 104:5

  • God will "fill the places with dead bodies." 110:6

  • God is praised for slaughtering little babies. 135:8, 136:10

  • Happiness is smashing your little children against rocks. 137:9

  • God is in hell. 139:8

  • "Do not I hate them, O Lord? ... I hate them with a perfect hatred." 139:19-22

  • A prayer that God will burn people to death. 140:10