Is it intrinsically evil to slaughter infants or does it depend on the context? Our moral knowledge says one thing, biblical passages like 1 Samuel 15:3 seem to say something else. ?
biblical violence
Prolife Christians Who Support Child Killing
Defending the morality of the Canaanite genocide has disastrous consequences for a consistent Christian ethic as I explain in this video. ?
Quick Replies to William Lane Craig’s Bad Talking Points on the Canaanite Genocide
William Lane Craig has made truly impressive contributions to a range of deep philosophical and theological topics. His defense of biblical atrocities like the Canaanite genocide is a notable exception. In this article, I offer some responses to excerpts from his response to a listener question about the Canaanite genocide. Craig says: “The slaughter of […]
Fundamentalist Bible Reading and Literally False Descriptions of God
In this video, I explain how a passage like Exodus 32 forces fundamentalist Christians to abandon their “literalist” approach to Bible reading or face stark theological consequences. ?
Did God Command the Slaughter of the Canaanites? A Debate
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Jesus and Sodom and Gomorrah
A reader emailed me a question about how Jesus viewed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: “when it comes to sodom and Gomorrah it seems that Jesus affirms this event as literal in Matthew 11:23 and Luke 17:29. But if this is the case it seems as if Jesus is affirming genocide of a large […]
On the Rotten Spiritual Fruit of Genocide Apologetics
In Jesus Loves Canaaanites I argue that the purpose of Scripture is to make us like Jesus (2 Tim. 3:14-17). And being like Jesus means, among other things, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 23:37-40). And your neighbor is the person you are least likely […]
The Extraordinary Evil of Dehumanizing Rhetoric Against the Canaanites
Today, I was reading commentaries on Proverbs 20:30, a verse which commends physically beating people as a way to inculcate wisdom and goodness in them: “Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.” (Imagine how much pain and anguish has been inflicted on people as those in power cauterized their feelings […]
God Allowing is Not the Same as God Commanding
Yesterday, I posted the following tweet. Genocide apologists insist the Canaanites needed to be slaughtered in toto because they sacrificed their children. But herem slaughter to Yahweh is itself a form of *human sacrifice*, one that included children. It's like killing a man's dog to punish him for killing his cat. — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) […]
Why isn’t God Clearer? Dealing with Biblical Ambiguity
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We Struck Them With Axes: On ISIS and the Bible
In a recent CNN segment, reporter Clarissa Ward interviewed a leader of ISIS-K, a Muslim group that opposes the Taliban because … they aren’t serious enough about following Sharia law. As the interviewee observes of the Taliban, “they can’t present one example where they have observed fixed Islamic law punishments, where they have cut off a […]
Rethinking the History of the Canaanite Genocide: What Do You Have To Lose?
The other day, I received an email from a reader of Jesus Loves Canaanites who stated that while he was sympathetic with the argument of the book, he remained inclined to accept the history of the Joshua narrative (and by implication, the ethics of divinely commanded genocide) because of uncertainty over alternative interpretations of the passages. […]
Eight Problems of Biblical Violence in Three Minutes
A brief survey of eight distinct problems of biblical violence that every Christian needs to consider. ?
The Most Reprehensible Genocide Apologetics Talking Point Of All
Genocide apologetics is the enterprise of attempting to defend the ethics of a historical reading of the conquest of Canaan, one which meets the legal definition of genocide. In other words, it aims to argue that genocide is really not intrinsically evil and in some cases, it may even be morally praiseworthy. In Jesus Loves Canaanites […]
