60 Second Bible Answers-Why does God command Genocide in the Bible?

[xImBeaSTx]

trying to justify genocide, because the victims were just so terrible and corrupt, smh

[asukable]

Basically this Pastor's defense of the systematic annihilation of the Caananites is that they were so wicked, they deserved to be wiped out. Essentially he's arguing the Caananites, exercising their free will, brought this on themselves. But, doesn't everything that ever occurs, occurs according to God's will? If so, God is ultimately responsible.

[StockportWesleyanC]

Please note: Comments featuring gratuitous expletives (even ones that are spelled incorrectly) will be automatically removed. Please use the brain God gave you and make your point without swearing. Thanks.

[infinightsky]

What wicked acts did the canaanites commit to deserve this punishment and where did you get the information?

[barryjones]

If the promised land was well watered with vegetation to accommodate these staples of ANE life, then wouldn't making the pagans flee to outside the promised land, constitute forcing them to resettle in parched arid desert of far less water and vegetation? MOving would mean losing everything they had and increasing the likelihood that they would starve or thirst to death, as the Israelites complained about during the exodus, would it not?

In which case, your attempt to use the "give them a chance to flee" stuff actually makes God a greater moral monster than if he just required all Canaanites be killed.

Really now, when you read the Pentateuch, do you ever get the idea that God would have the least bit of tolerance for the pagan acts which the bible characterizes as abominations? God would mercifully give the pagans a chance to perform their abominations outside the promised land?

[arthurmcilveen]

Ok, so you are saying that what the lord commanded was not genocide, but ethnic cleansing and therefore it is ok. Do you think that what happened to the Armenians and Rwandan Tutsis wasnt genocide? Because they were given a chance to escape?

It wasnt genocide because, well, all the little girls werent killed. They were allowed to live as sex slaves for the isrealites, so god is ok, and loving and tollerant.

I am always amazed at the intellectual acrobatics christians will do in order to try and justify the unjustifiable. If any of this stuff happened in this day and age, the Isrealites would, rightly, be labeled war criminals, perpetrators of genocide and ethnic cleansing, human traffickers, pimps, and child slave traffickers. This is where christians get there morality from.

[StockportWesleyanC]

Just a reminder for everyone: Whilst I welcome input from all sides, commenters that cannot express themselves without resorting to expletives, will find their comments removed and they may be blocked. Let's keep it clean!

[JonathanDaniel]

Thank you for this. I think this is going to help me in apoligetics. :-D

P.s I don't want any debates in my reply...Thank you.

[louisnel]

what abou this. Samuel 15:3: "This is what the Lord Almighty says ... 'Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'

[StockportWesleyanC]

I know this sounds obvious, but could people please actually watch the video, before they comment!