The Spiritual Fog of War

Well, readers, I hope you enjoyed that brief comic aside, because I am here to tell ya that all of the book of Joshua is about war, my friends. It is violent; it is vicious; it is unrelenting. This book I am reading is clearly by and for males and would make a great graphic novel. It might be interesting to speculate what the emphasis would be were it written from and toward a female perspective. I’m sure there’d be more about relationships, nurturing, and God’s moral law as applied to child rearing. Perhaps more on this proposition later.

ANYWAY, line after line, scene after scene in Joshua depicts the Israelites’ invasion of, conquering of, killing of, plundering of, burning of tribe and city, always hanging its king. Only one tribe was spared – the Gibeons – because this group was smart enough to “trick” the Israelites into a treaty. Good going, Gibeons!

“He (Joshua) totally destroyed all, not sparing anything that breathed…Joshua waged war against all these kings (thirty-one in all) for a long time…For it was the Lord Himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that He might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy.”

First of all, Joshua and his tribe were the aggressors overall, and can’t the Lord destroy through some divine act like an earthquake.  W H Y   W A R ? ?

And what happened to earlier claims by God of His merciful nature?

The concept of “chosen people” drives every action here. Why not live peaceably alongside? Why not work to convert, bring new tribes into the fold of the “chosen?” Is it not this same exclusivity obsession that drove Adolph Hitler and others to do the same to the Jews, after all? As well as extremist jihad today? And in Darfur?

We must destroy those who are different.

Good God, deliver us from this mindset!


Confession#47: I’ve long had a problem with the notion of “tolerance,” of others, because it implies negativity. After all, I must tolerate (“to withstand the unpleasant effect of something”) what I frankly can’t stand, such as traffic jams, long waits in line, other people’s rude children. "O.K., I'll tolerate your habits, your culture, your way of living your life."  "Gee - thanks."   Until we learn to embrace and appreciate, even enjoy differences in others, any movement forward will be tenuous at best.

Confession #48: I fear world leaders (including our own beyond-lame one) who hang their policies on Bible models for all kinds of issues (see gay marriage bans) because if the book of Joshua could be held as a blueprint for justifying any group’s entitlement strategy, this planet remains in peril.

Confession#49: I appreciate that none of you dear readers points out how often I use parentheses and the way I jump between tenses when summarizing the bible. How kind.