On this program, Michael Horton talks with Paul Copan about the claims of Richard Dawkins and other “new atheists” that the God of the Old Testament is a petty, vindictive, bloodthirsty, genocidal, ethnic cleanser. Is God’s command to Joshua to invade Canaanite cities and to kill men, women, and children best understood in terms of ethnic cleansing? How should we think about the God of the Old Testament? These important questions are on tap for this edition of White Horse Inn!
Is God a Moral Monster?
Series: The Gospel According to Joshua
Is God a Moral Monster?
39 min
Series: The Gospel According to Joshua
Is God a Moral Monster?
39 min
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Series • 7 Episodes
The Gospel According to Joshua
Explore AllThe Gospel According to Joshua
Moses is a tragic hero. Though he was called by God to lead the Children of Israel out of their slavery and bondage in Egypt, he was, nevertheless, forbidden to enter the Promised Land. After his death, a servant by the name of Joshua (which means YHWH saves) was called to lead his people across […]
Holy War
Christians rightly condemn acts of violence by Islamic terrorists—justified by the perpetrators as forms of jihad. But if the killing of innocent civilians is always wrong, how are we to explain the kind of holy war that we find throughout the book of Joshua? Is this a “text of terror” that we should reject and […]
Another Exodus
After God called Israel out of Egypt to be a chosen and holy nation, the people sin greatly against him and are forced to wander in the desert for forty years. After that entire generation dies out, a new generation led by Joshua is finally allowed to enter the land of rest. What new challenges […]
God’s Conquest
On this program, the hosts discuss God’s conquest of the city of Jericho. Is it appropriate to use this particular narrative as a pattern for things in our own lives that we’d like to conquer? How should we understand God’s command that every living thing in Jericho should be destroyed? What is significant about the […]
The Nation’s Inheritance
Some say that believers are “saved by grace but stay in by works.” Throughout the history of this program the hosts have rejected that view, arguing that we’re actually saved by grace alone on account of the work of Christ alone. Here in the book of Joshua, however, there is a kind of “works” principle, […]
Covenant Renewal
At the conclusion of the book of Joshua, the people renew their commitment to the Mosaic covenant, saying, “We will serve the Lord.” But Joshua’s reply is discouraging: “You are not able to serve the Lord,” he says, “for he is a holy God [and] he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.” Once […]
