If it is not the will of the Father that one of these little ones should perish, skeptics ask, what of the Flood, the Amalekites, and other places where children are killed in Old Testament narratives? Within Christianity, such extreme Old Testament events are often understood through a Patristic allegorical lens, signifying the spiritual eradication of sin rather than literal divine mandates for violence. Furthermore, in this passage, the word for "perish" is apollumi, which is used for eternal damnation, not merely physical death. Note that Matthew 18 deals entirely with the matter of moral behavior and eternal judgment.