The Joshua Delusion?: Rethinking Genocide in the Bible - Softcover

Earl, Douglas S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1608998924 ISBN 13: 9781608998920

Publisher: Cascade Books, 2011

Synopsis

Many Christians wrestle with biblical passages in which God commands the slaughter of the Canaanites-men, women, and children. The issue of the morality of the biblical God is one of the major challenges for faith today. How can such texts be Holy Scripture? In this bold and innovative book Douglas Earl grasps the bull by the horns and guides readers to new and unexpected ways of looking at the book of Joshua. Drawing on insights from the early church and from modern scholarship, Earl argues that we have mistakenly read Joshua as a straightforward historical account and have ended up with a genocidal God. In contrast, Earl offers a theological interpretation in which the mass killing of Canaanites is a deliberate use of myth to make important theological points that are still valid today. Christopher J. H. Wright then offers a thoughtful response to Earl's provocative views. The book closes with Earl's reply to Wright and readers are encouraged to continue the debate.

About this title

About the Author

Douglas Earl did his PhD on the book of Joshua at the University of Durham. He is author of Reading Joshua as Christian Scripture. Christopher J. H. Wright is an Old Testament scholar and the Director of the Langham Partnership

Edition details

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1608998924
• ISBN 13: 9781608998920
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 190