On Christ and Conquest

A frequent commenter on a few of the reviews of my book on Amazon has made a couple of fresh charges, namely, that I don’t like Jesus and I don’t like Jews. Normally I wouldn’t respond but I think these charges are particularly deceptive and therefore merit correction. First, regarding my identification as a Christian, he writes:

Since John Loftus, who states plainly on his blog that he wants to see Christianity destroyed by the end of the 21st century, recommends Stark’s book and says that he and Stark are “in the same camp” it is pretty clear what is really going on. Stark gives various reasons for being a Christian, but does not mention Jesus Christ as being the central reason. Guys like Stark think they are being really clever or sneakiy [sic.] or something when they try to draw Christians in to [sic.] their system. At least Loftus is UP FRONT about it.

The commenter is making a number of false claims here, claims that are clearly contrary to what I stated in my own response to John Loftus, and contrary to my consistent articulation of my position. First, unlike Loftus, I do not wish to see Christianity destroyed by the end of the 21st century, or by the end of any century. My desire, on the contrary, is to see Christianity mature and thrive. So to claim that my being in the “same boat” as Loftus means that I share his disdain for religion is a malicious lie, one befitting only the most fundamentalist of apologists. I concurred that in some way Loftus and I are in the same boat, and by that I meant that we both acknowledge the human origins of the Bible. But what I clearly stated, and what the commenter blatantly ignored, is that while I concede that Loftus and I are in some sense “in the same boat,” we are, nevertheless, “paddling in different directions.” Loftus is paddling away from religion, and I am paddling toward it.

Second, it is simply not true that I do “not mention Jesus Christ as being the central reason” for my continuing to identify as a Christian. The commenter made the same mistake Loftus made, ignoring that one of the reasons I identify as a Christian is that “I happen to like Jesus, warts and all” (p. 242). I continue to affirm, as detailed in my book (which this commenter supposedly read), that the heart of Jesus’ gospel of justice and peace is a genuine revelation of the divine. Moreover, as detailed in the book, I affirm that for Christians, “Jesus of Nazareth takes pride of place at the center of our ethical and theological reflection” (p. 241). Sounds to me like Jesus is pretty central to my identity as a Christian, wouldn’t you say? In a recent interview, moreover, I stated that in an important sense, “Jesus is foundational” for Christians. I also stated that Christians begin with Jesus, and build on his legacy and teachings.

The commenter may not like the fact that I have some serious disagreements with Jesus, and that’s fine. He’s free not to like that. But to claim that I have not identified Jesus as “central” to my self-identification as a Christian is a bald-faced lie. Thus, his insinuation that I am not being “up front” about what I really believe is also a lie. I have been very clear, and perfectly consistent, on this point.

On the comment thread of another review, this same commenter offered more irresponsible and deceptive remarks:

The references to Israel’s “genocidal” practices ignores the historical situation that Israel existed in, and that was the attempt by the surrounding culture to wipe it from the face of the earth. It is not unlike the situation today, and borders on anti semitism [sic.] since other nations are not held to be “genocidal” when their national leaders say they want to wipe Israel off the map. Ancient Israel fought back. In more recent times, in the World War Two era, the Jews did not fight, and would have been exterminated had not what can be called “genocidal” tactics been applied to a monstrous force which could not be stopped otherwise. Of course, if ancient Israel had not fought, we would not be dealing with any of these issues today, for, as the rabid New Atheist Christopher Hitchens says, “We could have been spared the whole thing.”. [sic.]

First, let’s get one thing straight. When recently certain extremist Muslim leaders have made threats about “wiping Israel off the map,” there isn’t a sane person in the world who didn’t interpret that language as genocidal. Of course, Israel has not been wiped off the map, and so no genocide has occurred, but no one has denied that such language is genocidal. The commenter is delusional to claim otherwise.

Second, the commenter claims that Israel’s wars in the Canaanite conquest were “defensive.” This is a claim he has made repeatedly in response to my book, which he claims to have read. But had he read my book, he would know that I devote several pages to refuting this argument. At the most basic level, Israel’s conquest of Canaan was an aggressive campaign. They didn’t invade Canaan because Canaanites were attacking them first. They invaded Canaan, according to the text, because they were on a mission from God to obliterate the Canaanites, to wipe them off the map, and take their land from them. They’re not called the “conquest” narratives for nuthin’. How this commenter can claim, with a straight face, that an aggressive invasion of foreign territory is somehow “defensive” is beyond my capacity to comprehend. Now, it’s true that a few of the battles are portrayed as defensive, in a certain sense, but let’s get this straight. Why was Israel being attacked by the Canaanites? Were the Canaanites attacking the Israelites for no reason? Um, no. The Canaanites were attacking the Israelites because the Israelites attacked them first. The Canaanites were defending themselves against Israelite aggression! Not the other way around. The text itself is quite plain on this point. It’s just insane to characterize Israel’s conquest of Canaan as “defensive.” As far back as Origen, at least, a clear distinction was made between Israel’s defensive wars, and its genocidal conquests. Origen said that the defensive wars were morally permissible, but the genocidal conquests, if taken literally, were morally condemnable. Moreover, even if we were to concede that, somehow, Israel’s wars in Canaan were “defensive,” that hardly justifies the wholesale slaughter of women and children! Were they worried an army of toddlers was going to wipe them out? Give me a break! This isn’t modern warfare. Israel wasn’t carpet bombing cities. They fought armies outside the cities, and then went in, allegedly on Yahweh’s orders, and slaughtered all of the non-combatants, including women and children, after the warriors had been defeated. And let’s not forget that these were their orders even before they entered Canaan in the first place! That’s not a defensive war. That’s aggression. That’s genocide.

I stated in my book that one of the problems with our Scriptures is that they teach us to reason just like war criminals, just like the modern perpetrators of genocide we love to loathe. This commenter has proven my point splendidly. Well done!

As for his reference to Christopher Hitchens, what this commenter is doing is attempting to insinuate that because I disapprove of Israel’s genocides, I must want to see Israel wiped off the face of the earth. This is malicious deceit, not worthy of the name Christian, but typical of fundamentalist apologists. It’s disheartening and sad to see that some people’s grasp on their religion is so feeble that they have to resort to these sorts of deceitful and underhanded tactics to “score points” for their cause. But this whole line of reasoning is based on the spurious assumption that Israel was in danger of being wiped out, had they not slaughtered Canaanite babies. But the reality is, despite what the conquest narratives tell us, the actual history of Israel’s emergence in Canaan was not very violent at all. Israelites were Canaanites. There was no mass exodus out of Egypt, and their was no grand conquest into Canaan. The archaeological record is unequivocal on these points. Thus, it is simply not true that Israel had to kill women and children in order to survive. And anyone who claims the wholesale slaughter of children is necessary in order to survive needs to get their head checked and their propaganda meter re-calibrated.

In short, yes, Israel committed genocide. No, they didn’t have to do so in order to survive. Yes, I condemn the positive portrait of genocide painted in the Bible. No, that doesn’t make me anti-Semitic. After all, the Canaanites were Semites too. (Or doesn’t this commenter realize?) So when I’m sticking up for the Canaanite babies, I’m pro-Semite all the way.