According to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), when God called forth his people out of slavery in Egypt and back to the land of their forefathers, he directed them to kill all the Canaanite clans who were living in the land (Deut. There is only one true God, and that God deserves all honor and worship. The debate between Craig and Hitchens occurred on April 4, 2009 at Biola University. Read them in the archive below. Doesnt the new atheists complaint ring hollow, since they are often at the forefront of defending a womans right to suction, dismember, or scald to death her unborn baby at any time and for any reason? In Ezekiel 18:23 we read, Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (see also Ezek. Copyright 2010-2023 Telling Ministries LLC. The most disturbing part of the conquest of Canaan for most people is the killing of children. Our enemies are the demonic forces that hold the world in captivity to sin, and our weapons are now prayer, preaching, and evangelism. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap. The Canaanites had hundreds of years to either repent and follow God or to reject Him and follow idols and false Gods. God waited to redeem humankind until they had the chance to be, as 2 Live Crew once put it, as nasty as they wanna be.. And how are Christians supposed to apply the erem laws today? No worldly government can exist unless it uses every necessary means to punish law breaking. As a result, they eventually received the same judgment the Canaanites experienced (Deut. Long after the conquest of the land, when God decided He would have to destroy Moab, according to Isaiah God wept bitterly over her cities (Isa. But this is precisely the thing that the unbeliever loses in denying the existence of God. the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (6:12). Real Questions. The Canaanites had not completely sinned away their day of grace. 10. Israel was not allowed to treat other nations as they treated the Canaanite cities. God allowed Israel to become slaves in Egypt (more on this in a moment). 34:1516). He can give and take life as He chooses. When God told Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham pleaded for them, and God agreed in his mercy that if but only ten righteous people were found, He wouldnt do it. For the story of Baal having sex with Asherah, see: El, Ashertu and the Storm-god, trans. But the war is not over. Little of the Canaanites' textual records remain, perhaps because they used papyrus instead of the more durable clay for writing. Such a complaint usually masks an unspoken premise: God shouldnt have killed the children because that wouldnt give them the chance to reject Canaanite sin. 1:16; 8:25). The category scholars use for such events as the battles in the conquest of Canaan is Yahweh war. Further, he said that Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35). Furthermore, justice must respond to the moral failure of sin. However, what is good and right or what is bad and wrong changes with societys opinions. Previous post: 10 Biblical Steps Towards Restoration After Sexual Sin, Next post: Baptism Quotes: 27 Inspirational Christian Sayings. Theeremlaws of the OT were an example of this intrusion. 2:34; 3:3, 6). Generation after generation of Canaanites continued in the same evil practices. In all of these respects, Israels laws were signposts to the spiritual realities behind Christs redemptive work for us. 7.1-2; 20.16-18). And then these same skeptics turn around and say if there is a God of justice, why does He permit the wicked to rule the world and bring sorrow and suffering on the innocent? A miracle child heralded by divine announcement, he grows up to become a one-man army against Israel's enemies. Their authority is based on the current societal perception of morality. This is an online Viewpoint articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. God knows what is best for humankind, but He allowed free creatures to rebel and find out on their own that He is right. [a] capriciously malevolent bully.{2}. 18:28; Deut 4:2329, 8:1920). Another biblical story that is similar to the story of Ananias and Sapphira is the story of Elisha's servant, Gehazi greedily wanting money for Naaman's healing . This is an online articlefrom theChristian Research Journal. 7. . 7:1-2). Incest. One of the problem passages she asked about is "Why does God order, I am a Christian and spend time talking with others often about God, but I have been speechless when they bring up the issue, for example, in I Samuel 15:1-3, Rick Wade served as a Probe research associate for 17 years. The modernistic notion that Melchizedek was merely the "high god" priest of the Canaanites (e.g., Baal), worshipped in pre-Israelite Jerusalem, is absurd (Hicks 1962, 343). We dont live in a theocracy anymore and, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:45, we dont fight with the weapons of the world, but we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (NIV). Rick Wade provides an expanded discussion of the issues around the Israelites battles against the Canaanites. God had decided to judge Nineveh because they were evil (Jonah 1:2). The people of the land had heard about all that had happened with the Israelites from the time they escaped Egypt. There are several aspects of Yahweh war. What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ. . What Does It Mean for the Saints to Judge Angels? Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide, Article II, University of the West of England, at: www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/. There are many nations and peoples called wicked or evil and then destroyed in the Bible including Canaan, Hittites, Giggahites, Amorites, Pharaoh and his people, Sodom and Gommorah. The Canaanites, by contrast, were destroyed at the direction of God and primarily because of their sin. Thus, Longman says, The war against the Canaanites was simply an earlier phase of the battle that comes to its climax on the cross and its completion at the final judgment.{5}. A common attack today on Christianity has to do with the character of the God of the Old Testament{1}. 4:26; 7:4). Yahweh derided these handmade gods that cannot speak and must be carried because they cannot walk (Jer. Jesus then warned, What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? In regard to the Canaanites, God commanded, "In the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. (3) Therefore, Christians should condemn Yahweh for commanding genocide. The problem with new atheist divine genocide claims is rather simple: God hates sin, but the new atheists do not.35 Consequently, they complain of divine genocide in the face of Canaanite sin! He begins with the Christian worldview and Rick Wade explores the meaning of the word defense in 1 Peter 3:15, suggesting that all Christians can do Rick Wade provides an expanded discussion of the issues around the Israelites battles against the Canaanites. Wouldnt that be a more merciful thing to do? Shedding light on this question will actually show that God is merciful and good. 7:1-2). Rusty Wright presents a compelling case for the historicity of Jesus resurrection. Longman goes on to cite OT scholar Meredith Kline, who proposes a theory of intrusion ethics. Scripture tells us that the punishment for all sin is death (Gen. 2:17; Rom. In Leviticus 18 God then warns Israel that if they commit similar sins that the land would similarly vomit them out. Dawkins, 338. After all, the Old Testament unequivocally commands that those who do any one of these things deserves to die. This article is a slightly adapted version of the program that aired on the Probe radio program. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against . In Genesis 15:16 the LORD made reference to the Canaanites when he said, "the sin of the Amorites (Canaanites) has not yet reached its full measure." God was waiting to fulfill his justice against this people. He is convinced that the hope of the world lies in men and women having a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Driving them out wasnt simply a way of making room for Israel. 22 Christian Quotes and Sayings About God. If they had sex with just about every living thing they could get their hands on, and they did, then all had to die. 1 (2009): 73-92; www.epsociety.org/library/articles.asp?pid=63. Real Answers. See Paul Copan, Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites, Philosophia Christi 11, no. Because of this, I think the term should be avoided. The object of warfare moves from the Canaanites, who are the object of Gods wrath for their sin, to the spiritual powers and principalities, and then finally to the utter destruction of all evil, human and spiritual.[2]. If I can find 50 good people will you spare Sodom God says sure. Genocide doesn't wait for people to have a change of heart; and certainly not 400 years. Concerning sexual desire, Dawkins questions why evangelical Christians are so obsessed with private sexual inclinations.30 The apparently not obsessed Christopher Hitchens considers dangerous sexual repression so serious that he calls it one of the four irreducible objections to religious faith.31 Dawkins and Hitchens are not just encouraging a sort of sexual libertarianism per se. Stanley Gundry (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), 173-74. From the Canaanite epic poem The Baal Cycle we learn: Mightiest Baal hears / He makes love with a heifer in the outback / A cow in the field of Deaths Realm. God didnt. However, if we take the Bible on its own terms, we will recognize that all humans are born guilty and corrupt. Tremper Longman III, The Case for Spiritual Continuity, in C. S. Cowles, Eugene H. Merrill, Daniel L. Gard, and Tremper Longman III, Show Them No Mercy: Four Views on God and Canaanite Genocide (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 185. The law given in Deuteronomy provided regulations for the people of Israel. In the meantime, we are still called to do battle, but not as Israel did. The Bible is explicit concerning the sins of the Canaanites: idolatry, incest, adultery, child sacrifice, homosexuality, and bestiality. 4. And how else would God have said it if He did mean that? 23:33; Deut. Staff. God gives nations a chance to choose that which is right and to mend their ways but if they refuse godliness and adopt immorality, idolatry, covetousness, sexual impurity, etc., then God has no alternative but to let them reap the consequences of their own wickedness. 2:25) and even included in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. The Spirit of God comes on Jephthah, but the military leader's efforts still end in tragedy. Tugis life was full of dignity and worth. If you think the Canaanites deserved to die because of their own wickedness, Dawkins will zealously compare you to acting like the Taliban.3 A closer look at several key facts will help explain Gods reason for the destruction of the Canaanites and reveal how our own sinfulness demonstrates our incapacity to judge rightly. 2:11). Bible Verses, Quotes, Christian Answers, Songs and More. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. Dan. They engaged in temple prostitution which was thought to be a re-enactment of the sexual unions of the gods and goddesses. Although no Scripture is definitive that all children will be saved, many Christians point out that it is possible (based on verses like Matthew 19:14). We must keep in mind, also, that Israel did not decide to exterminate the Canaanites, God did. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, in his " ", posits that one of the reasons that Sodom was not given the chance to repent was that even their children were wicked. He blogs at Allkirk Network. God mercifully provides time and opportunity for repentance from idolatry and spiritual fornication with this world ( II Peter 3:9 ). I think God meant it quite literally. The evidence says no. 11:31; Jas. God loves each of us as if there were only one of us"- Augustine. They are all part of an inherently wicked culture that, if allowed to live, would morally and theologically pollute the people of Israel.[1]. Like all Ancient Near East (ANE) pantheons, the Canaanite pantheon was incestuous. He points out 2023 Probe Ministries | Designed and Managed by Adquest Creative. Presumably, the Canaanites could have done the same thing. Had there been repentance, there would have been no need to execute wrath on evildoers. For further information Este artculo es una exclusiva en lnea de Christian Research Journal. In both Testaments we see that God hates sin and will punish it. Since the land wasnt empty, this could only be accomplished by driving the Canaanites out. Recently I asked some of the mamas of littles in our church, What God questions are your kids asking? Dr. Michael Gleghorn provides good reasons to believe that the stories about Jesus were reliably preserved by his followers Dr. Zukeran presents five major reasons to believe Christianity is the truth. Isnt that a better alternative? [Ed. {14} The only test we can put to God is consistency with His own nature and word. Killing of the Canaanites, Robert Driskell received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Pastoral Ministries and Biblical Studies from Mid-America Christian University in 1995. God was patient. In his article Yahweh Wars which was written after Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?, Copan presents two scenarios, one in which everyone was put to death, and the other in which the targets were military leaders and soldiers. But we must keep in mind that God is not subject to our contemporary sensibilities. Ones background theological beliefs make a big difference in how one sees this. Since Canaanite sin was regular and systematicthe entire adult population participated in the idolatrous systemGod judged the entire nation.
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