Reblogging for future reference.
Bishop's Encyclopedia of Religion, Society and Philosophy
Welcome to part 5 of this series. We will focus on common apologetic defenses of biblical genocide and the justifications given for them, and why they do not succeed as providing a rational justification for God’s commanding genocide.
Part 4 – We Don’t Understand the Depravity of Sin.
Part 6 – To Come.
A common justification of the Canaanite genocide is what we could term as “irredeemable” or “reprobate” culture. The charge is that the Canaanites were so morally corrupt and degenerate that they were beyond redemption, thus providing a rationale for extermination. According to Copan,
“So Yahweh fought on behalf of Israel while bringing just judgment upon a Canaanite culture that had sunk hopelessly below any hope of moral return…Yahweh issued his command in light of a morally-sufficient reason – the incorrigible wickedness of Canaanite culture” (1).
Copan argues that the only answer to such a culture is that…
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