The  Biblical account of Joshua's conquest of Canaan in the late second millennium B.C. has brought much criticism against the Bible and anyone who would defend the concepts presented in it.  The problem is that the language used advocates (in the name of God) the genocide of seven nations of people.  Joshua was instructed by Moses and presumably by God to kill all creatures that breathed.  This would include man and animal, male and female, adult and child, child and babe.

The general topic that this discussion falls under is that which is called theodicy (the defense of God's justice).  Is a god, who commands the extermination of a race, worthy of our adoration and praise or do we offer these things out of fear that he will exterminate us if we don't say he is just?

Many avoid this question by saying, "This is the god of the Old Testament, but I worship the god of the New Testament."   A reminder to such people is that the god of the Old Testament is the god of the New Testament.  He is immutable and will not change his nature.  It would seem logically consistent that if he practiced genocide and did so justly and someone calls this act of genocide unjust then he has made himself the judge and accuser of God.  If one does this then he made himself as much an enemy of God as he would if he had attributed evil to him.

The question of the genocide of the Canaanites is not really brought forth as clearly in Joshua as in Deuteronomy.

I. The Question and the Existence of God

A.  At the heart of the problem is the bigger question of the existence of God.  If there is no God or one that does not posssess the attributes of the Jewish/Christian god then the question is irrelevant.  What Deuteronomy and Joshua would then be teaching would just be a theological justification for the murder of a people that had something the Israelites wanted--land!

B.  If there is a God with the attributes traditionally held by Christianity then the question is much simpler, though still difficult.  Christianity must be allowed to define these attributes and not the external attacker.  If someone, in an argument, allows another to define what he believes when he does not believe it then the argument is lost.

C.  I once had an interesting conversation with a university student who when asked to assume for a moment that there was a god with the attributes of the Christian God.  He adamently refused to go further in the conversation. He said, "That is a trap!  Because there is no problem if I assume that."

D.  The answer to the qustion must do the following:
 

1.  Leave the attributes of God intact because ultimately the answer is found in the attributes of God.
2.  It must not draw a distinction between the god of the Old Testament and the god of the New Testament.
3.  It must not confuse good with evil.
4.  It must allow the believer to honestly love and worship God.

A.    Comments:
 
B.    Texts Concerning the Character of the Victims
C.    Minor Texts
D.    Major Texts

A.  Joshua's Character
B.  Joshua's Actions
C.  Canaanite Options
D.  Canaanite Character

A. Principles of Waging  a War:  If one reads about wars that men in general consider to be just wars, he will find that the military leaders, who are considered to be great and honorable, followed the following principles:
 
1.  Identification of the Crimes and Criminals
 
a.  The crimes must be against humanity and be worthy of causing the death of the following:
 
(1)    The Criminal Leaders
(2)    The Criminal Supporters of the Leadership
(3)    Opposing Troops
(4)    Occasional Civilians
(5)    Innocent Children.
 
b.  The true criminals must be identified so that they may be judged at the conclusion of the conflict for the crimes that initiated the war, for the endangerment of civilians, and for the deaths of countless troops on both sides.

c.  War is never waged for the sake of war, if it is to be called a just war.
 

2.  Waging the War:
 
a.  All actions must be expedited in a timely fashion so that the war is brought to a proper conclusion.  Wars must not be waged or prolonged for the sake of political advantage, personal gain, or national gain.
 
(1)  Patton in WWII was commanded to slow down his advance toward Berlin so that our Russian "friends" could take their share of the territory.  This highly irritated Patton because he was a true soldier.
 
b.  The enemies ability to fight must be neutralized.  This may include the destruction of civilian targets, if the target in some way contributes to the functioning of the war machine or if the non-destruction of the target would cost more innocent lives than the non-destruction.
 
(1)  For example orphanages and irrigation dams were destroyed in Vietnam because the Vietnamese put SAM missiles on or beside them.
 
(2)  The Romans would make prisoners build their siege mounds because the archers on the walls would not shoot their own people.
 
(3)  When Israel bombed the Iraqi "breeder" nuclear reactor, they probably killed "innocent" civilians, but if they let the reactor be completed, millions would have died.

(4)  In American military thinking we gain air superiority, destroy all threats to that superiority (missiles, airfields, radar installations, etc.), and then tear the rest of the military machine apart.
 

c.  The most important thing is to remove the enemy's will to fight.  If this is left intact the enemy will regroup and rearm with better weapons.
 
(1)  To remove the will to fight was one of the reasons the U.S. dropped the nuclear weapons on Japan.

(2)  Thutmosis III ran into the problem of Canaanite will about 75 years before the conquest of Canaan by Joshua.  He would force the Canaanite cities to submit, but when he would leave they would rebel and he would have to return the next year.  The Canaanite heart was one of total and constant resistance.
 

d.  Finally the enemy's land must be occupied.
 
3.  The Resolution to the Problem that Caused the War
 
a.  The war machine is dismantled, but not by military action.  It must be dismantled in such a way that it does not inflict on the "innocent" citizens of the defeated land a fate that would be more criminal than the original crimes of their former leaders.
 
(1)  Nebuchadnezzar realized this when he captured Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah.  He burned the cities and systematically tore down the walls.

(2)  After World War II Germany was broken apart and limitations put on her military.
 

b.  The criminals must be arrested and either executed or imprisoned.
 
(1)  Those directly responsible for the crimes against humanity must be executed for the crimes and for the deaths of the "innocent" soldiers on both sides.

(2)  Those with a lesser responsibility should be punished to the degree of their involvement to remind the general populace not to follow and enact the unjust decisions of evil men readily.
 

B.  A Logical Question
C.  Joshua's War Seen as a Just War: We remember generals who waged less than just war as being honorable men.

A.    God as the Answer
The theological statements concerning the attributes of God are not isolated concepts but man's limited attempts at describing in part the reality of the being of God.  His attributes are integrated in his person.  No argument works or is valid unless God is who and what he says he is.  His person is paradoxical from an existential standpoint, but ultimately he is love.
B.    Hyperbole
This is the idea that the commandment may not have really intended children, but that the language was hyperbolic to mean that the ones worthy of death must be surely exterminated.  An analogy is made with Numbers where only the Israelites over 20 were to die in the wilderness for rebelling and refusing to enter the land of promise.
C.    Creator-creature
God is God and can do anything he wants.  Who is man to argue with the creator.  This is not a great argument unless God is truly what scripture and theology declares about him.  The argument is best understood by analogy.  A patient should not argue with the surgeon on how to amputate a malignant tumor or what tools to use.  (Cf. Romans 9-11; Job 38:-42)
D.    Restitution
Gen. Patton caused the inadvertant deaths of many children and non-combatant adults, but he could never restore any life that was accidently or unjustly taken. But the God who is omnipotent and just can.  In the restitution passages God ultimately is seen as going overboard on restitution.
E.    Disease/Genetics
If the Canaanites were into fertility practices that involved the varieties of sexual deviation listed in Lev. 18 & 20, then the extermination of the race was to prevent sexually transmitted disease and genetic problems caused by incest.  In one of the minor passages (Dt. 7) on the topic a prohibition against inter-marriage is closely linked to extermination of the people, but it also must be noted that the stated reason is religious--the Canaanite partner will turn the Israelite partner away to serve other gods. 
F.    Position of the Victim
1.    This argument is closely linked to D.
2.    In eternity God can restore what was lost by the "innocent" Canaanite children.
3.    Remember according to Jesus, the angel that represents a child before the Father has the right and the ability to ever behold the face of God (Mt. 18:10).  Whatever this means, it is a totally positive statement on the subject of children in eternity.
4.    In this life the children would potentially have faced the following:
a.    Being the victim in child sacrifice
b.    Being made to "pass through the fire."
1)    Was this a rite of initiation?
2)    Was it a means of obtaining knowledge of divine will?
c.    Being made to participate in religious sexual practices.
d.    Eternal condemnation.
5.    In eternity they will be with God (remember to insert all of his attributes at this point).  The victim is the one that should complain, not the casual observer. In eternity the pain of the Canaanite child will be removed by the true knowledge of God.
H.   The later Problems Caused by the Canaanites Exonerates God
I.    Frailty of Man