Mount Toll Productions

Using New Testament Theology to Justify Old Testament Genocide

Old Testament Theology

Old Testament theology can pretty much be summarized by these two passages found in the sixth chapter Deuteronomy.

Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to keep all God’s statutes and commandments, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

Simply put, the message to the Israelites is, “Obey Yahweh’s laws and you will be blessed. Disobey them or wordship other gods and you will be wiped off the face of the earth.” Just about all the prophets of the Old Testament profess this theology. But supposedly that all changed in the New Testament. It’s clear that there was a change, but it’s not the change you think it is.

New Testament Theology

Many christians see the New Testament as a kinder, gentler version of the God of the OT. “For God so loved the world…” and that kind of thing. But that’s not the main message of New Testament, is it? (Last year I wrote a blog about the absence of the word “love” in evangelical mission statements.)

Love is not the actual message of the New Testament.

What do we really get from the New Testament?

Every christian knows the verse from Romans 3: 23 which tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” A couple of chapters later we’re told that “the wages of sin is death.” Put those two verses together and you have a synopsis of New Testament theology.

“Everybody is a sinner (from birth), and therefore everybody deserves to die.

The only way to escape this fate is to join the Jesus club.”

A person doesn’t even have to commit a sin to be considered a sinner. According to Christianity, every person is born a sinner because of the sins a fictitious Adam and Eve committed in the Garden of Eden. It’s a ridiculous concept called “original sin” which, by the way, didn’t even exist in christian theology until the fourth or fifth century CE.

So, as we explore the justifications some christians put forth for the genocide found in the OT, we often find this New Testament theology that certainly did not exist in 1,500 BCE and wouldn’t exist for another two millennium. And it looks like this.

Using New Testament theology to justify Old Testament genocide (in their own words).

The second reason God commanded them all to be put to death is because they were all, every man, woman and child of them, sinners. And the wages of sin is death. (1)
When we read about the execution of the Canaanites we ought not to ask, “How could God do this?” but “Why does He not kill us all?” (1)
From the moment of our conception, we are all under God’s just death sentence. Every moment of every day is a momentary stay of execution. (1)
However, the question still remains: what about the children? This is not an easy question to answer, but we must keep several things in mind. First, no human person (including infants) is truly innocent. The Scripture teaches that we are all born in sin. This implies that all people are morally culpable for Adam’s sin in some way. Infants are just as condemned from sin as adults are. (2)
Every human on the planet deserves God’s judgment—not just the Canaanites. Right now, all humans everywhere—from the kind old lady next door to the hardened criminal on death row—are all deeply sinful. And they were born this way. Since birth, all human beings stand guilty, not only for their own sins but for the sin of Adam that has been passed down to them. And the penalty for sin is clear: “The wages of sin is death.” (7)
In the end, the conquest of Canaan remains a difficult and complex issue. And yet, if the conquest is viewed within the context of the Christian worldview, rather than from outside of it, then the objections quickly fade away. (6)
Second, God is sovereign over all of life and can take it whenever He sees fit. God and God alone can give life, and God alone has the right to take it whenever He so chooses. In fact, He ultimately takes every person’s life at death. It is not our life to begin with but God’s. (2)
God is under no obligation to extend anyone’s life for even another day. How and when we die is completely up to Him. (2)

Another curious twist of using of NT theology to justify OT genocide.

The book of Hebrews* tells us that the Canaanites were “disobedient,” which implies moral culpability on their part. (2)

Here’s the actual verse from Hebrews 11:31. See what you think.

^“By faith the prostitute Rahab**, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^”

The author of article 2 doesn’t actually delineate how the Canaanites were disobedient, and for that matter, neither does the author of Hebrews. Remember, the Canaanites weren’t under a covenant with Yahweh and weren’t under Jewish law. Nevertheless, they deserved to be slaughtered because they were “disobedient” and that disobedience “implied moral culpability.” The bottom line is that the author of article 2 is defending the act of (God directed) genocide against the Canaanites based simply on one verse in Hebrews which was written 16 centuries after the actual events. His justification is flimsy at best and downright deceptive and immoral at worst.

This faulty kind of justification might work with unquestioning christians, but hopefully there are also thoughtful believers out there who can muster the courage to publicly question such nonsense. I understand it’s socially risky to question the christian status quo, but it’s the right thing to do.

The following justification for the mass killing of children in the OT is disturbing. Prepare to be shocked.

The children who were killed went directly to heaven

It’s also worth considering the eternal state of those infants killed in Canaan. If God took them before the age of moral accountability, then they went straight to heaven (as we believe). Those children are in a far better place than if they had lived into adulthood as Canaanites. (2)
Without question, the Canaanite adults got their just deserts. Regarding the children, I personally take comfort in the fact that, on my view, those who die before the age of accountability are ushered immediately into Heaven. (5)

Notice that this author says he takes comfort “in the fact that” which is immediately followed by, “on my view” or better stated “in my opinion.” So, which is it, a fact, or an opinion? Does the bible address the issue of age of accountability or is he just making this up? Let’s see!

“The Bible never teaches that there is an age of accountability. The term never appears in the Bible nor does the concept in any form. Furthermore, scripture never suggests that children are born without sin or that they cannot be held accountable for sin because they don’t understand or recognize it” Verse by Verse Ministry.

(Oops! We see this often with christians. They seem to have a rather loose understanding of what constitutes a fact. The examples I have encountered in the last year are too numerous to cite here. I’m planning a future blog called “What’s the truth, dammit?” where I will address this issue in greater detail.)

Easily the most disturbing justification for the killing of Canaanite children in the Old Testament is found in an article from a website ironically called “2belikechrist”. (What follows is more than a bit disturbing, so prepare yourself.)

Furthermore, if God saves the innocent, which the Bible tells us He does, (where?) the Midianite children were being taken out of an immoral world and going to live in Heaven with God. (10)
There would have been some pain associated with that journey, but pain, in itself, is not morally evil. Consider our practice of poking babies with needles to give them important medicine. It causes the baby momentary pain, but we consider it a long-term good. (10)

Unbelievable! This author is comparing the prick of a needle for a vaccination with the violent and brutal killing of innocent children by either beheading them, running them through with a sword, or perhaps beating them against the rocks, like this lovely verse from Psalms 137:9.

Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks.

Let’s see if we can visualize these two scenarios. In the vaccine scenario the child is afraid but is sitting on her mother’s lap whom she trusts. A nurse comes in and while talking in a soothing voice immunizes the child with a harmless needle prick. The mother comforts the child by saying, “That’s it. No more. See that didn’t hurt so much.” Perhaps a lollipop is the reward for such a brave child.

In the Midianite scenario the child is afraid and also in her mother’s arms. Soldiers come and tear her away from her mother. Then as the child watches the soldiers violently kill her mother, by running her through with a sword, or maybe by beheading her. If the woman is with child, they will cut out the fetus and dash it against the rocks, all while the child is watching. And then they grab her. Just like a vaccine it causes momentary pain as they (in a not morally evil way) slit her throat or run her through with a sword. But 2belikechrist considers it a long-term good because now the child is in heaven with the god who ordered her family slaughtered.

Speaking of Christ, with reasoning skills like the author of 2belikechrist, Luke 18:16 should perhaps read like this, “But Jesus called them to him, saying, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. So, let’s bash their heads against the rocks and send them to join the kingdom of heaven right now.’”

When I related 2belikechrist’s reasoning to my wife, these were the words she used to express her reaction, “appalling, disgusting, frightening.” I couldn’t agree more. And I hope that even if you are a christian you would agree as well. If you’re not appalled by the morally bankrupt view of 2belikechrist then perhaps it’s time to rethink your religion.

Charlie Trimm in his book “The Destruction of the Canaanites”, concludes that there is a high cost for those who justify biblical genocide. He writes, “…it associates YHWH with something that looks a lot like genocide. Even if one thinks that they can defend this and live with such a belief, the social cost will be that many others will be repulsed by such a god and might also question the sanity and compassion of one who follows such a god. In addition, this belief could make evangelism more difficult.”

Do you think?

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Side notes:

The Book of Hebrews*

*Britannica says that “The language of The Book of Hebrews is extremely polished, elegant, and cultured Greek, the best in the New Testament. Plus, there are more Old Testament citations in Hebrews than in any other New Testament book.” This means that the references from the Old Testament would have also been in Greek, rather than ancient Hebrew. Whoever penned Hebrews (definitely not the Apostle Paul) was very well-educated and knew the Septuagint intimately.

The Story of Rahab (the traitor).**

If you’ve never read the story of the prostitute Rahab, it can be found in the 2^nd and 6^th chapters of Joshua. Joshua is planning to attack the city of (and the walls come tumblin’ down) Jericho. He sends out two spies to scout the city. They are about to be discovered by the king of Jericho, so Rahab hides them and tells the king that they had already left. She betrays her own people to save her own skin. She makes an agreement with the spies to spare her and her family. Verses 6:21-22 tell us what happened. “And the Israelites utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.” But Rahab and her family were spared. She is revered as a hero in Hebrew lore and is even listed in Matthew 1 as an ancestor of both King David and Jesus.