Did God really sanction the genocide of the cannaanites among others?

Question

I devoted 2 years of my life studying nothing but the bible, so I have some idea what I am talking about. Though there are nuggets of wisdom scattered throughout the book there are also conflicting passages and historical claims about God that seem down right evil. I do believe there is a loving God but do not believe God told the Israelites to commit Genocide like it says in the bible. According to the bible he called for not only the death of the men of war, but all the men, women, children, babies, animals, trees, as well as knocking the buildings to the ground, a scorched earth policy. I believe this portion of the bible is a political text used to motivate people to do morally difficult things. If you think it is God's will it is much easier to take over other peoples land via murder and rape. It’s claimed God had a softening of heart at some point and the men could keep the virgins for themselves from the invasions. How convenient (said like the "Church Lady").

scc1fan, I know the hard hearted answer as to why God supposedly told them to do so, i.e. so they would not fall into idolatry but this is just phariseeism. It is the spirit of the Law not the letter of the law. Mercy triumps over judgement. Do unto others what you would have done unto you. Love thy enemy, and the list goes on and on. There is no way you can do any of these by murder and rape. There is no justification on the explaination that self serving individuals wrote this and somehow people today are still believing it because they will not dare to nuance their religious beliefs.

billy t, when I read these things I doubted in my heart because I was brainwashed by the silly notion that the bible is inerrant. I prayed for forgiveness. Often I felt like I was literally drowning. Thank God I woke up and listened to the pangs of my conscious that I was so desperately repressing out of fear and legalism. I am confident without doubt that I have found the right answer. To believe otherwise besmirches the very barer of the name you claim to hold dear.

phoenix_slay..., according to even fundamentalistic measures we all deserve death. I do not subscribe to such hard assed interpretations but if I did it only would be logical that, "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw the stone". Jesus was revolutionary confronting some pretty messed up ideas about the Old Testament. Many of the teaching of the Old and New Testaments really don't Jive.

robert c, so at one point in history we were under law and now we are under grace? If all our acts are like menstrual rags before God I'm surprised this despot version of a god would have allowed and to live including Noah and family along with his descendents the Israelites.

chapelite_av, "Later, God did allow the Israelites to keep virgins of the people they conquered, because they hadn't yet been corrupted by the sexual sins". Oh I see and the female vigirns before were corrupted by sexual sin. What about the children and babies? There is no excuse. This is an evil belief. Please turn back before you harden your heart out of legalism.

"As far as political writings, I've gotta tell you, I've never seen political writings have the impact on a person that the Bible has on folks. Mein Kampf didn't, Das Kapital didn't, along with many others. They always fall short, and any change from them is often negative. (See Naziism and Communisn for examples)" Oh you mean like the Koran (killing of infidels) and the Bagavgita (caste system) are not political in the least having no lasting impact. The Koran explicitly sets up a political/religious system as does the Old Testament. The New Testament could be claimed to be apolitical but look at the history of the Catholic Church over the last 1300 years.

Answer 1

The idea that God asked the Israelites to destroy the Cannanites is nonsense! There is a saying that "he who writes the minutes of the meeting gets to say what happened at the meeting". So it is with the old testament. Those Cannanites were just as much God's children as the Israelites. The flood story is a myth the Jews borrowed from the Persians, likely related to a failure of a natural dam that once existed between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

Answer 2

When God destroyed the entire human race except Noah and his family it was because he found that mans heart was on evil continually once a city has reached that point ie Sodom and Gomorrah God does what he sees as best but he will not destroy the righteous with the wicked he is a loving God but he is also a God of Justice and as the Judge he is bound to uphold the law. Just thank God that today we are not under the law but under Grace only because God became flesh and gave his body (Jesus Christ) as a sacrifice for our sins St Jn 1verses 1 and 14 .

Answer 3

This is a difficult question. The reason, however, that God asked the Israelites to do this is because the Caananites had been depraved individuals. It was His plan for His people to live without the possibility of falling away from Him. That's why the other races were to be destroyed.

Kas

Answer 4

There are plenty of hard passages (try Psalms 137:9 - "Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock.") in the Bible. But, it's the very words of God. Therefore, it's true whether you believe it or don't.

Answer 5

Yes, because of their wickedness. Just as he destroyed everyone but Noah and his family in the Flood.


Deuteronomy 9
1 Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: "Who can stand up against the Anakites?" 3 But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you.

4 After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Answer 6

that is a good point that you have ,but i believe that can study to hard and get to deep did you pray before you would study.

Answer 7

There are some issues I need to address with you before I can answer the original question, "Did God really sanction the genocide of the cannaanites among others?"

First, God did not have a softening of heart at some point. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) He also is not like man, because He doen't lie, or change His mind. (I Samuel 15:29) He is sovereign over creation, and uses situations for His glory. This even includes what the wicked do.

Second, God did not want to see the Canaanites get destroyed. He doesn't want to see the wicked die, but to turn from sin and live (Ezekiel 18:23). But He is not just a loving God, He is holy as well. He is the Judge of the whole earth. His justice demands that the guilty be punished. He allowed all of the Amorites (those living in Canaan) centuries to turn away from wickeness. (God told Abraham that his children would end up in a land and become enslaved, but He would bring them back to Canaan, after the sin of the Amorites reached its full measure. Genesis 15:13-16) The sin of the Amorites was not just little stuff. The Canaanites sacrificed their children in fire, they offered up ALL of their daughters as priestess prostitutes to Baal. None of those girls could leave the temple of Baal until they had lain with a man. They embraced homosexuality, they murdered, defrauded others, enslaved people, ripped open pregnant women's wombs, and dashed little kids' heads on the rocks. Oh, and they did this all in the name of their idols. Can you not see how these practices offended a holy God daily?

God is incredibly patient with the wicked. He is not at all capricious. But, when He has reached the limit of His patience, He acts. It is often swift, and people then ask, "Why did God allow this to happen?" And yet, they cannot see the trees for the forest.

Now, getting to the original question. Yes, God did sanction the genocide of the Canaanites. It was His righteous judgment on His enemies. Keep in mind that God was setting aside a people for Himself--Israel. They were to be a beacon of righteousness to the pagan peoples around them. But they were not to inquire about the pagan religious practices of the peoples. This would make them stumble, and fall away from God. Most of these pagan practices were sexual in nature, and are a strong draw for the fleshly lusts that we all share. After all, what's not to like about a religion where you can do the horizontal polka in the name of God?

That is why the Israelites were required to destroy completely the nations that lived in the region. To destroy occultic and pagan practices from the land. To bring out a new and righteous nation in their place.

Later, God did allow the Israelites to keep virgins of the people they conquered, because they hadn't yet been corrupted by the sexual sins that their religion would've required.

As far as detsroying the trees, God allowed them to do that so they could build seige ramps and towers to get over fortress walls, and was a common practice among all the nations. What you failed to mention tough, was how God limited them to non-fruit bearing trees. (Deuteronomy 20:19-20)

As it turns out, God was right about what would happen to Israel if they failed to detsroy the nations around them. They would become ensnared by the practices, and turn from the true and living God, and turn to idols. The northern kingdom demonstrated this the most, when Ahab married the priestess of Baal, Jezebel. Israel had never been more depraved than at that time. (I Kings 16:28ff)

As far as political writings, I've gotta tell you, I've never seen political writings have the impact on a person that the Bible has on folks. Mein Kampf didn't, Das Kapital didn't, along with many others. They always fall short, and any change from them is often negative. (See Naziism and Communisn for examples)

UPDATE: Response to Additional Details Posted by Love of Truth.

It is unlikely anyone will be able to get me to "turn back before I harden my heart out of legalism." My heart is actually revolted by legalism. And my response to you was not on a basis of legalism, but of truth, which your nickname here presumes to love. You don't seem to understand God's sovereignty. That He has the right to do with His creation as He sees fit. When Jesus made some pretty bold statements, many of His followers left Him, mentioning that He was saying some difficult things. He even asked the Apostles, "Do you want to leave me, too?"

Regardless of how you may view God's sovereign choice, you have a responsibility to act on yours. Before I chose to follow Christ, I was much like you. I blasphemed God, accused Him of all sorts of vile things, and even justified my thoughts and actions everytime I saw a highly visible preacher fail, like Jim Bakker, for example. But, God allowed me to fall deeply into my own sin, until I couldn't dig my way out with a steam shovel. And by His grace, He saved me. How can I "turn back" and deny the Lord who bought me with His precious love and sacrifice?

Now, just to update about your comments regarding the Koran and the Bagavgit; you are merely confirming what I'd said previously. These have affected their cultures negatively, as I quote from my earlier post: "They always fall short, and any change from them is often negative..." The Koran and the Bagavgit both marginalize human beings. The Bible has the opposite effect. It frees people from bondage, it doesn't enslave them. Besides, when I made my comments about political writings, I was responding to your comments on the Bible where you said, "...the bible is a political text used to motivate people to do morally difficult things." I was showing, using Mein Kampf and Das Kapital as examples of political writings that have adversely affected people. Yes, they may motivate, perhaps even inspire, but history has proven that they also oppress.