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Entries Tagged as 'Canaanites'

Bovine Faeces and the Sexual Proclivities of Rocks: We are all Selective Literalists

November 8th, 2010 13 Comments

Jónathan Mark Deundian sent us the following correspondence, You addressed the following paragraph to a blogger named RyogaM. This one and actually the one right above it was so common sensible but so completely profound. I read it to my wife and it was as if shutters fell from her eyes. Best thing since Molinism! lol [...]

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God, Morality and Abhorrent Commands: Part I Kant

October 13th, 2010 185 Comments

In this three-part series I will look at some different ways of adjudicating conflicts between apparent divine commands and moral beliefs starting with Immanuel Kant. In “Commonsense Atheism and the Canaanite Massacre“ I addressed a question put to me by Luke from Commonsense Atheism, “If Matt did think these events happened literally as described in the [...]

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Commonsense Atheism and the Canaanite Massacre

September 23rd, 2010 25 Comments

Luke Muehlauser at Commonsense Atheism has written a review of my argument on the genocide of the Canaanites (Joshua and the Genocide of the Canaanites Part I and Part II). Luke’s comments are largely positive (and I appreciate that a critic of Theism and Christianity sees merit in my position) he does, however, raise a few issues [...]

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Matthew Flannagan’s Opening Statement: Bradley v Flannagan Debate

August 7th, 2010 11 Comments

On Monday 2 August at the University of Auckland Emeritus Professor of Philosophy Dr Raymond Bradley and Dr Matthew Flannagan (of this blog) debated the topic “Is God the Source of Morality? Is it rational to ground right and wrong in commands issued by God?” For the benefit of those who could not be there, who [...]

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Contra Mundum: Did God Command Genocide in the Old Testament?

August 1st, 2010 139 Comments

Perhaps the most perplexing issue facing Christan believers is a series of jarring texts in the Old Testament. After liberating Israel from slavery in Egypt, the Israelites arrived on the edge of the promised land. The book of Deuteronomy records that God then commanded Israel to “destroy totally” the people occupying these regions (the Canaanites); [...]

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EPS Apologetics Conference: God and the Genocide of the Canaanites

July 9th, 2010 9 Comments

Matt has been invited to speak at the annual Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS) Apologetics Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, USA which runs 18-20 November 2010. He will be speaking alongside some big names in contemporary Christian philosophy including Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig. Experience seasoned teaching by Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, Greg [...]

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Wolterstorff, the Canaanites and Hyperbole: A Response to Ken Pulliam

June 29th, 2010 47 Comments

Critics of Christianity often ask how can a good and loving God command the extermination of the Canaanites as is taught the Old Testament? A clear assumption behind this question is that the Old Testament teaches that God did in fact command the extermination of the Canaanites, an assumption which is based on a straight-forward [...]

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Sunday Study: Joshua and the Genocide of the Canaanites Part II

January 10th, 2010 44 Comments

In my previous post, Joshua and the Genocide of the Canaanites Part I, I mentioned the position suggested by Alvin Plantinga and endorsed by Nicholas Wolterstorff that the passages in Joshua that appear to record the carrying out of genocide at God’s command, such as, “putting all the people to the sword”, “leaving no survivors”, [...]

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Sunday Study: Joshua and the Genocide of the Canaanites Part I

January 3rd, 2010 47 Comments

Critics of Christianity often claim that the book of Joshua teaches that God commanded genocide. Raymond Bradley for example states, In chapters 7 through 12, [the book of Joshua] treats us to a chilling chronicle of the 31 kingdoms, and all the cities therein, that fell victim to Joshua’s, and God’s, genocidal policies. Time and [...]

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