Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Oh, those infidels! Or, you're looking in the wrong direction…

Christians are not supposed to ḥerem infidels and nonbelievers for the sake of purging the world of apostasy. They are not supposed to conquer territory and subject it to theocratic rule, and they are not supposed to pass murderous judgment on out-group individuals because of their immorality. Instead, they are supposed to ḥerem themselves for the sake of the integrity of the Christian community, not as punishment but in order to make space for God to carry out his purposes through their lives. That is what the conquest of Canaan did within the context and purpose of the old covenant, and that is what Christians are supposed to do within the context and purpose of the new covenant.— The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest, 252

<idle musing>
Amen and amen! Now here is an idea I can get behind! The "culture wars" have done more to hurt the Christian witness and destroy true discipleship than anything else—except maybe the crass materialism of the church—in the last 50 years or so. And the current spate of "christian" nationalism is anathema to the biblical witness. The Hebrew prophets would be all over the current christian culture in the US. Their cries for justice still ring out unheeded over 2500 years later.
</idle musing>

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