Nowadays, there are many readers who take offense at Biblical violence. In this respect, I think many modern Western people read the Bible differently than their forebears. Several reasons come to mind:
i)Due do general affluence, our lives are more comfortable.
ii) Apropos (i), we benefit from modern medical science. Anesthesia. Painkillers. Cures for many diseases. Surgery that brings symptom relief.
iii) We typically feel safer. We don't fear a civil war, coup d'etat, military invasion, or martial law. We don't fear famine or epidemics.
Childhood mortality is low. Most people die in their 70s-80s or beyond.
iv) We've delegated violence to a professional army and police force.
But in the not so distant past, and in many parts of the Third World today, life is brutal. As a result, people have (or had) a tough-minded outlook.
And the Western world is teetering on the brink of reverting to the harrowing conditions that our ancestors took for granted.
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