Apologetics Press
In his New York Times best-selling book, The God Delusion, Dr Richard Dawkins — arguably the most famous atheist in the world — called God a racist, infanticidal, genocidal, capriciously malevolent bully.
How could a loving God instruct one group of people to kill and conquer other groups? In truth, God’s actions in Israel’s conquest of Canaan were in perfect harmony with his supremely loving, merciful, righteous, just, and holy nature. How exactly? Because punishing evildoers is not unloving. It is similar to how merciful parents, principals, and judges can justly administer punishment to rule breakers and evildoers. So too can the all-knowing, all-loving Creator of the universe. Loving-kindness and corporal, or even capital punishment, are not antithetical.
Prior to conquering Canaan, God commanded the Israelites saying,
You shall not hate your brother in your heart you shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And if a stranger dwells with you in your land you shall not mistreat him the stranger who dwells among you. He shall be to you as one born among you and you shall love him as yourself.
The faithful Jew, as is the Christian, was expected to not resist an evil person but rather go the extra mile and turn the other cheek. Love, after all, is the fulfillment of the Law. Interestingly, however,
the Israelite was commanded to punish, or even kill, lawbreakers, including and especially
fellow Israelites. Just five chapters after commanding the individual Israelite to not take vengeance but love your neighbor as yourself, God twice said that murderers would receive the death penalty.
Simply put, punishing evildoers is not unloving.
The Canaanite nations were punished because they were extremely wicked.
God did not cast out the Canaanites for being from a particular race or ethnic group. God didn’t send the Israelites into the land of Canaan to destroy a number of righteous nations. On the contrary the Canaanite nations were horribly depraved. They practiced abominable customs and did detestable things:
- They practiced idolatry,
- They practiced witchcraft
- They attempted to cast spells upon people
- and call up the dead.
- The inhabitants of Canaan would burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods
The Canaanite nations were anything but innocent. In fact, they were so nefarious that God said they defiled the land, and the land could stomach them no longer. It was the land that vomited out its inhabitants for their violence.
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