Letter to the editor: Fact or fiction ?

Notes: "Like the genocide of the Midianites by the Hebrew people, historians suggest the 'slaughter of the innocents' by Herod very likely never happened ('Not wholly innocent', by Canon Jeffrey Metcalfe, anglicanjournal.com, Jan. 11, 2018). That offers some solace for those disturbed by the ethical implications of the stories, but it raises other questions, too: Why did the writers tell their story this way ? How do fictional atrocities contribute to the writers' theological purpose ?" [Text of entire article.]

Subjects: Violence in the Bible; Massacre of the Holy Innocents; Bible - Criticism, interpretation, etc. - Anglican Church of Canada; Bible. Old Testament - History of Biblical events