In Reflection...

In reflection of Show Them No Mercy, I have thought through a couple of issues. It seems like two discussions predominate how one is to understand the issue of the Canaanite genocide. Like many things, the issue isnt the issue...it is what underlies the issue that needs discussion.

The first thing is Salvation theology, essentially Calvinism v. Arminianism. For those who dont know much about this debate, it has been going through the centuries since the Church was brand new. It is predestination (God picks who is saved) against free will (people choose whether or not they are saved). Those who believe in predestination point to some very explicit and difficult passages that seem to suggest predestination as the mode of salvation. Those who believe in free will point to a great body of more subtle passages that seem to imply free will, and to personal experience. This debate underlies the Canaanite genocide because what one believes about God's role in salvation (e.g. does he do the selection process or just the saving process?) will inform what one believes God might do in the situation of commanding genocide.

The second thing is dispensationalism or some sort of framework of theology. This topic has received far too little expressive debate, at least in my ears. People seem to believe what they believe and not have a lot of helpful discussion on the matter. This theology seems to be a little bit like the theological version of the theory of everything. It has to do with how one view's the difference or similarities between Israel and the Church, and God's relationship with each of them. It has to do with how God relates to people throughout time, and the consistencies and inconsistencies thereof. I dont know enough about all of this to provide an in-depth study, but I know that it has severe implications. If one views God's relationship to mankind basically continuous across the generations, it may suggest one way to interpret the Canaanite genocide, whereas if God's relationship to mankind is highly discontinuous (e.g. very different for the Israelites under different covenants, etc.) then it may suggest (or even allow) different interpretations of the genocide.

Perhaps more thought and consideration is needed on these fronts if we are to get to the bottom of it all. The difficulty in reconciling these big issues of theology is that they grow from every fundamental belief and doctrine in the faith. What one believes about how God saves people is much more than a survey of relevant passages, it is a study of the nature and character of God, the mission of Christ, the role of the church; it either informs or is informed by so many other theologies. So, in understanding some of these issues, it is like building a skyscraper from the ground up, when all people ever seem to talk about is the highest stories of the building.

Anyway...just thought i would mention all that stuff.