Four Views on God and Canaanite Genocide: Show Them No Mercy (Counterpoints)
Overview
Christians are often shocked to read that Yahweh, the God of the Israelites, commanded the total destruction—all men, women, and children—of the ethnic group known as the Canaanites. This seems to contradict Jesus’ command in the New Testament to love your enemies and do good to all people. How can Yahweh be the same God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? What does genocide in the Bible have to do with the politics of the twenty-first century? This book explores, in typical Counterpoints format, the Old Testament command of God to exterminate the Canaanite population and what that implies about continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
- Strong Discontinuity, C. S. Cowles
- Moderate Discontinuity, Eugene H. Merrill
- Spiritual Continuity, Daniel L. Gard
- Eschatological Continuity, Tremper Longman III
Top Highlights
“In a more practical sense, the extreme measure of Yahweh war was necessary for at least four reasons: (1) the irremediable hardness of the hearts of its victims; (2) the need to protect Israel against spiritual corruption; (3) the destruction of idolatry; and (4) the education of Israel and the nations as to the character and intentions of the one true God.” (Page 85)
“How do we harmonize the warrior God of Israel with the God of love incarnate in Jesus? How can we reconcile God’s instructions to ‘utterly destroy’ the Canaanites in the Old Testament with Jesus’ command to ‘love your enemies’ in the New Testament? The short answer is: with great difficulty.” (Page 14)
“The God portrayed in the Old Testament was full of fury against sinners, but the God incarnate in Jesus is not.” (Page 28)
“A comprehensive theological overview yields the conclusion that Israel must be holy because Yahweh is holy and that one of the major purposes of Yahweh war was to protect that holiness.” (Page 81)
“All civilized people abhor what happened on September 11; are we equally to abhor what happened in Jericho more than three millennia ago?” (Page 8)
- Title: Show Them No Mercy
- Authors: C. S. Cowles, Daniel L. Gard, Eugene H. Merrill, Tremper Longman III
- Series: Zondervan Counterpoints Series
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Print Publication Date: 2003
- Logos Release Date: 2011
- Pages: 224
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Canaanites › Biblical teaching; War › Biblical teaching; Genocide › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9780310493495, 9780310245681, 0310493498, 0310245680
- Resource ID: LLS:4VGENOCIDE
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-28T20:27:57Z
Stanley N. Gundry is executive vice president and editor-in-chief for the Zondervan Corporation. He has been an influential figure in the Evangelical Theological Society, serving as president of ETS and on its executive committee, and is adjunct professor of Historical Theology at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. He is the author of seven books and has written many articles appearing in popular and academic periodicals.