Joshua's Ancient War Cry

"Postcards from America - Postcards from Israel" ^ | November 13, 2011 | Norma Zager

[RoadGumby]

Read the book.

[Riodacat]

If you honestly don't know the difference between murder and war, you have more issues than can be solved on an anonymous forum, and I suggest you find some professional help.

Jericho didn't declare war on the Israelites.
It was a initiation or waging of a war of aggression by the Jews of the time and Senior Nazis were hung after the Nuremburg trials for the same thing - as would Joshua had he committed the same attrocities today.
The Israelis exterminated the inhabitants of Jericho and other cities in the area like the Germans did to the Jews.
Murder is murder. War is no excuse and neither is God..

[Riodacat]

Read the book.

The book that says "thou shall not kill" and to "love your enemies"?

[PapaBear3625]

Israel was told to do this, the land was to be theirs and Gods Law was theirs to follow. All traces of the existing paganism was to be wiped away to prevent its encroachment into Israel. Yet, overall, Israel did not obey. And to this day pays for it.

Perhaps Israel's current problems can be traced to a failure to expel the Palestinians at the beginning?

[RoadGumby]

As I said, if you have a problem with it, take it up with God.

Israel was/is His people.

[RoadGumby]

It has EVERYTHING to do with it.

[Tzfat]

Well I call the annihilation of innocent Euro Jews in the '30's and '40's mass murder and a holocaust and I would would say the same for the innocent inhabitants of Jericho.

Selective memory on your part. Are you American? Do you salute the flag? By your definition, we purposely "murdered" children, women, and the weak when dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. They were both chosen in spite of the fact that they were not military targets. Are you proud of that?

Since you call the inhabitants of Jericho circa 1300 BCE "innocent" I guess we would call you "atheist" then, right?

[AnalogReigns]

If you look at the 10 Commandments, and every moral and ethical standard found in civilized peoples (such as proscriptions against incest, bestiality, necrophilia, & homosexuality, and terrible torture, cannibalism, etc.) such practices were routine with the Canaanite peoples.

This is why Israel was indeed directly commanded (it’s in the Bible, you may want to actually read it....before railing against it) to annihilate the Canaanites. They ended up disobeying and intermarrying...and the majority of them later ended up being destroyed (the so-called “lost” tribes), with only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (mainly) remaining. Some of those who destroyed northern Israel (and very nearly destroyed Judah) were the very same ethnic groups commanded earlier to be wiped out....

Because of blood-feuds and other traditions—annihilation (a lot like our bombing in WWII....) was normal, acceptable war-time practice in the ancient world. You killed all the people in conquering a land...or else any of their descendents would return (even hundreds of years later...see the book of Ruth in the bible) to annihilate your people.

Then is not now....and neither Jews nor Christians, since 3000 years ago, have been commanded to annihilate anyone—as the Torah commands against the Canaanites were very time-people-and-place specific.

Very UN-like the Jihadists, where the Koran gives general commands to “kill them wherever you find them.”

[Riodacat]

Israel was/is His people.

How has that been working for them?

[Riodacat]

By your definition, we purposely "murdered" children, women, and the weak when dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

We didn't initiate aggressive war and we only killed til the enemy surrendered and then we treated those who were alive with compassion.
So no moral equivalence with Joshua and Jericho.

[Riodacat]

every moral and ethical standard found in civilized peoples (such as proscriptions against incest, bestiality, necrophilia, & homosexuality, and terrible torture, cannibalism, etc.) such practices were routine with the Canaanite peoples.

there has never been any evidence of that..

[Riodacat]

(such as proscriptions against incest, bestiality, necrophilia, & homosexuality, and terrible torture, cannibalism, etc.) such practices were routine with the Canaanite peoples.

And even if part of this has any validity, does that mean you also have to kill all the victims of torture and abuse - and all the small innocent children and babies? - and then blame it on God - the God of love, of mercy, of compassion, of all that is good?
Peddle your religious snake oil somewhere else, 'cause I ain't buying it.

[Riodacat]

Very UN-like the Jihadists, where the Koran gives general commands to “kill them wherever you find them.”

Leviticus 24:16

[RoadGumby]

So far so good.

Why the attitude?

[Little Ray]

Failure to do so led Israel in error - repeatedly.

[TruthConquers]

Like someone has already posted to you, read the book.

God has not abandoned His people, nor will he ever do so.

So, the answer to your question is a matter of faith.

But you don’t sound like a man of faith, you sound like an atheist. And atheists have no room for faith, and therefore, fail to understand. To their own demise.

[Tzfat]

We didn't initiate aggressive war and we only killed til the enemy surrendered and then we treated those who were alive with compassion. So no moral equivalence with Joshua and Jericho.

So, you feel the Augustinian "Just War" principle is what is morally correct, is that right? It is OK to obliterate non-combatants if the other side starts it, is that what you think? Or maybe you just think it is OK to kill combatants no matter what. What is your source for morality - your feelings?

Since you think "moral equivalency" is the method for determining morality, am I correct to assume that you were educated in public education? Do you know what truly determines what is moral? Do you think it is what "society" or "civilized people" determine? If so, than I feel very sorry for you. Germany was highly civilized in the mid Twentieth Century. Do you feel the Nazis were wrong because they lost?

When morality is left up to the social ethos, it is subjective and over generations and geography, what you think today is moral may be considered immoral.

The fact is, you would not even think that killing "innocent" children and women is worse than killing soldiers if it were not for an objective morality taught in the Bible. What you fail to realize is that the morality that says that murder is wrong, cones from the same Source that said that the seven nations of Canaan should be wiped out completely.

BTW, why are you even on a conservative site? What defines conservatism is not moral relativism (which you express), but moral absolutes, as defined in the Bible.

[Bellflower]

Reading the Bible, Old and New Testament, is an integral part of any vital Christian's life. I am wondering, is reading the Old Testament, the ancient Jewish writings, an integral part of a devout Jew's life? I do not recall reading about or hearing about too many Jews referring to the written word of God or quoting from it. Upon occasion I have seen it written about Jewish religious leaders quoting from the Old Testament but not "lay" Jews. It may just be my path and I have a misconception. Do Jews read the ancient writings of The LORD as a daily part of their lives?

[Bellflower]

and to claim that God told you to do it is totally insane.

Unless He did. God has the right to decide who lives and who dies as He is God. Because some phonies try to say that God said this or God said that when He hasn't doesn't mean that He doesn't. You and I do not know why God would want a group of people killed but He did on several occasions and He is righteous in all of His ways. The Israelites were and are God's chosen people whom He ordained at times to speak to, giving commandments and instructions through His prophets.

[Bellflower]

It may be possible that the genetic make up of the people in the area were polluted with giant blood (the blood of demons/angels ,son's of God, mixed with man's). The LORD wiped out all people except Noah and his family with the flood. Without a pure race of human beings there could/would be no salvation. Christ came as a man to be our substitute when He died on the cross in our place, paying the blood price our sins required. Giants or part giants could not be saved as Christ was not a proper substitute for them. The land of Canaan at the time of Joshua had many giants living therein.

Also, not everyone was killed. Rehab and her family were saved. She became part of Christ' genealogy.

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Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare [children] to them, the same [became] mighty men which [were] of old, men of renown.

Gen 6:9 These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.

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Jos 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.