During the Reformation, Protestants widely rejected the allegorized interpretations of the Canaanite genocide that had become de rigueur since Origen. With that safeguard gone, it was not long before they were appealing to Joshua to justify their own genocides. To illustrate, here is a passage from Philip Jenkins, Laying Down the Sword:
And don’t think history can’t repeat itself. The call for non-violent readings of violent biblical passages is core to Christian individual and community formation. That’s why projects like the one I undertake in Jesus Loves Canaanites are so important.
