CONFRONTING QUESTIONS
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I am uncomfortable with all the talk of conquest, wars, battles, and apparent genocide in the Bible’s stories of the people of Israel moving into their new land.
I struggle with the dispossession of the land’s previous inhabitants in the name of God; it sounds too much like the colonization that stretched across most of the world in more recent centuries. I get even more upset by the explanations in the stories that God orchestrated these victories, which then led to mass slaughter. It seems yet another example—perhaps even the original example—of how religion has often been used in the worst ways across history, as a pretext, motivation, and rationale for conquering, oppressing, and exploiting other people and taking their lands. Various explanations are given for these jarring stories.
These kinds of narratives are common in the ancient world, it is said, in which gods compete with each other, with their respective powers being reflected in the fortunes of those who worship them. Or it is said that the stories ascribe human attitudes to God and simply use Him as an explanation or a way of narrating the nation’s history.
Another explanation is that God was using the Israelites as a means of exercising His judgment on wicked peoples. Or that in these battles, God was defending His people and establishing a holy nation that would be a means of working out His larger plans for our world. Most likely, some or all of these explanations are true to varying degrees at different times. While the Bible is a special book, it leaves much incomplete, and there are many unanswered questions. Perhaps even in the midst of these questions, we can still hear the voice of God echoing from His repeated commands to Moses and the people, “Do not be afraid.” When the forces—or the questions—confronting you feel overwhelming, “Do not be afraid.”
