Now for the verses Evans presented to make his claim.
In the 'no' category, we have
Deuteronomy 24:16, Jeremiah 31:30, Ezekiel 18:20and in the 'yes' category, we have
Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 23:3-4
No:
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither*
shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man
shall be put to death for his own sin. -- Deuteronomy 24:16
But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth*
the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. -- Jeremiah 31:30
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the
iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of
the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and
the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. -- Ezekiel 18:20
Yes:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the*
Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me; -- Exodus 20:5
3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of
the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into
the congregation of the Lord for ever: 4 Because they met you not
with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt;
and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor
of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. -- Deuteronomy 23:3-4
Now, the way I read Deuteronomy 24, it is a chapter that tells the Israelites
how they are to treat each other, and, in particular, how judges are to judge
court cases. I don't know how general Jeremiah 31:30 is because we are all
sinners and the wages of sin is death. So, I don't see this verse as addressing
the issues of punishment by generational sinning.
In Exodus 20:5 we read that God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation. However, we aren't told if
God applied this rule automatically or only in certain situations. We are
also told that this 'punishment' (or maybe consequence) is applied to
'them that hate me', so that's a further restriction. Lastly, this 'punishment'
or consequence, may be built into the system of life: The children of
dysfunctional parents often become themselves dysfunctional.
So, Mr. Evans has conflated verses that individually concern Israelite-to-
Israelite, judge-to-Israelite-citizen, and God-to-Israelite. It's not clear to
me that from these given verses that one can find a clear inconsistency in the
Old Testament. Ezekiel 18:20 doesn't seem to me to clarify the situation.
As for the consequence stated in Deuteronomy 23:3-4, I doubt that the typical
Ammonite or Moabite could care less for being restricted from the 'congregation
of the Lord'. Anyway, the moral of these verses is that God expects us to show
hospitality to others in need. [Luke 11:41]
Question 5: How many of each animal entered the Ark?
For the time being, I will leave this question for the apologists to deal with.
Question 6: How many children did Solomon's daughter Michal have?
For the time being, I will leave this question for the apologists to deal with.
Question 7: Can or will our planet be destroyed?
Remember this: The righteous are mindful of the poor and help them; the wicked do not! (Proverbs 29:7)
You either get control of your lusts and feelings of entitlements or they will get control of you. -- Ilfinor