Rev. David Holwick * Evening study
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
June 18, 2006
Joshua 6:11
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I. God has a bad reputation because of Old Testament atrocities.
A. Critics are clear.
1) Charles Templeton: "His justice is, by modern standards,
outrageous.... He is biased, querulous, vindictive,
and jealous of his prerogatives."
2) Atheist George H. Smith: "Jehovah himself was fond of
directly exterminating large numbers of people, usually
through pestilence or famine, and often for rather
unusual offenses."
3) Thomas Jefferson: the Old Testament accounts reveal God to
be "cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust."
B. Related issue - the reliability of the Bible.
1) Is it God's inspired Word, or a collection of myths?
2) We must distinguish between what the Bible approves and
what it records.
II. God's orders to kill.
A. Total destruction of the Canaanites ordered in Deuteronomy 7.
1) No treaty, no mercy.
a) Fulfilled in Joshua 6:21 - all humans and animals killed.
2) Justified? (Norman Geisler)
a) Canaanites had a sinful culture (human sacrifice).
b) They were utterly opposed to Israel.
c) Even the children were sinners, as all humans are.
1> God created life, so God can take life.
2> Ultimately, he takes all our lives because all die.
B. The inclusion of children in Hebrew concept of "herem".
1) Whole society had to be exterminated - but the children
went to heaven. (age of accountability - Isaiah 7:16)
2) Canaanites were given opportunities to repent.
a) Some, like Rahab, did so and were spared.
b) Others must have fled before the destruction.
3) God is not cruel, but he is just.
III. Other issues.
A. Extreme Bible stories. 2 Kings 2:24
1) Elisha's ridiculed baldness and death of 42 youths.
a) Geisler - they were older youths, not innocent children.
1> They threatened Elisha, not just ridiculed him.
B. The pain of animals.
1) Animals don't have a moral sense, but they suffer anyway.
a) This does not seem fair or humane.
2) Geisler - the animal world suffers along with the human
world, but both will be transformed someday. Romans 8:22
IV. Can the Bible be trusted?
A. Confirmation by archaeology.
B. Evidence of divine origin of the Bible.
1) Confirmation by fulfilled prophecies.
2) Confirmation by miracles.
V. Coping with contradictions.
A. Some questions cannot be answered, but it could be due to
our limited knowledge rather than a mistake in the Bible.
1) The Bible has been proved true on many disputed points.
B. Why the Bible is so hard to believe.
1) It speaks to our (im)moral condition, and we don't want
to face that.
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This evening series was adapted from Lee Strobel's book "The Case For Faith."
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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