A Summary of Show Them No Mercy in 4 Parts:View Number 3 (Eschatological Continuity)


View Number 3: Eschatological Continuity

Daniel L. Gard’s position is that of Eschatological Continuity. To summarize, this view sees ancient Israel as God’s theological, political and chosen people to punish the Canaanites via genocide and occupy a land that God had granted them. God acted through Israel to perform this function. Gard goes further into the Old Testament also to argue that sometimes God acted solely in the destruction of His enemies in a type of herem. He sees that as the only justifiable genocide of history and it will only be repeated by God in the last days when he commits a final herem upon the people of the Earth.

There is a lot to praise in this portion of the book though I don’t favor his view. On page 116, Gard gives a great summary of what herem (or the ban) means and how it was acted out in the biblical accounts versus the Canaanites. Rooted in what I see as his evident Reformed background, Gard is terrific on the attributes of God and thus His character and conduct. However, it is that reformed position that I take issue with but not that alone.

My reformed brethren are very good on many of the doctrines of God. I respect that. However, in their view of Israel I would have to disagree. I believe it is clear that God’s promises are of an everlasting covenant (Genesis 17:7, 13, 19), an everlasting possession of the land (Genesis 17:8: 48:4) and their being His everlasting covenant people (Genesis 17:7). The reformed movement sees the Church as inheriting the promises to Israel and therefore Israel has no right to call itself the people of God today unless they as individuals are incorporated into the Church through salvation in Jesus Christ. While I agree with the Apostle Paul in being burdened for the salvation of the Jews, I believe that God’s Word is quite clear that His covenant with them is irrevocable and while they may be faithless, God remains faithful.

Gard views Israel’s activity as historically accurate. He sees the Scriptures as a reliable historical text. Thus he believes that Israel was divinely sanctioned to commit “genocide” against the Canaanites. As I mentioned with the second view, a view that I favor by the way, I believe that the very meaning of genocide is inherently negative and evil. What God did through Israel as recorded in the Old Testament was not evil so the term genocide, not being a neutral or good term, is inadequate and in fact detrimental in describing what God did and why He did it. While applauding Gard for his high view of Scripture, I disagree on this as I did when Merrill used the term.

No nation of people today, argues Gard, are the people of God on earth today as ancient Israel once was. I have already discussed my disagreement with this assessment. The Church alone is the people of God, he continues. And making the link to eschatology, or the last days, Gard argues that “the Lord of the Church alone,” not the Church, will conduct a “great and final herem.”

He correctly asserts that genocide in our world today is always wrong and never justifiable and that the Church has never been authorized by God in the mass murder of others. While this view adequately separates ancient Israel’s activity versus the Canaanites from what was done in the Crusades, in Rwanda, Bosnia and throughout Europe under the Nazis, etc., I do not believe it bests settles the argument as to why Israel was justifiable in its behavior versus the Canaanites while no one since has been. Also, I would not classify God’s coming wrath in His Second Coming as genocide either.

In conclusion, I would advocate for the second position, The Case for Moderate Discontinuity, but would understand that many of my Reformed brethren would embrace this view instead. To me, it is a close second in best explaining the justification of Israel’s actions regarding the Canaanites and its being unlike what is done in our modern world. Daniel Gard does the Reformed movement a great service despite my disagreement. 

View number 1: Radical Discontinuity

View number 2: Moderate Discontinuity

 View number 4:  Spiritual Continuity

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Call to be a Ragamuffin: A Review of the Movie on Rich Mullins' Life

Image
I thought this film was absolutely great.  The acting was good and the story was real.  Shocked and saddened at the ghosts of Rich's childhood, if I may use that terminology, I was drawn into the healthy and unhealthy ways he struggled with his raising.   Like the Bible does with its heroes, Ragamuffin doesn't sugarcoat Rich's life.  He struggled with smoking and with alcohol.  His language wasn't always church language, to put it mildly.  One sees someone seeking to be real.  Tired of the masks Christians often put on and the blindness to the call of Christ to provide for the least of these, Rich gives generously to Christian churches and charities while living humbly.  Seeing the poverty of others and the difference he could make in the lives of those with less, Rich Mullins pours himself wholly into ministry.   Just a few other thoughts in closing.  His tragic death is handled well.  In  the special features section, Dav e, Rich's brother, does a
Read more

What's In a Name?

Image
What’s in a Name?  In 1990, I graduated from Philadelphia College of Bible.  Over the years, PCB changed and with it, its name altered as well.  After achieving university status under President Babb, a new name was chosen, Philadelphia Biblical University, one that does not easily roll off the tongue.  Eventually, students, alumni, the community, etc., got used to it like will eventually happen with the new name change.  However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t reasons to wrestle with the proposal.   The rationale for the name change Dr. Williams, current president of PBU, argues that there is a perception of PBU being a Bible college with “university” in its name, leading people to believe that it has “limited offerings and a narrow vocational focus.”  My thought:  The word narrow sounds familiar to me.   Matthew 7:13-14 Furthermore, market research conducted via focus groups and a survey yielded data that was considered in favor of a name change in gene
Read more

Reproducible Pastoral Training - A Book Review

Image
Reproducible Pastoral Training: Church Planting Guidelines from the Teachings of George Patterson by Patrick O’Connor is a book about missions. However, its insights are also helpful to anyone who is either starting a church or seeking to see it grow. Patrick O’Connor dives into the wisdom of George Patterson and presents it in an intelligent way. Various topics are explained in the text. How does one reach a culture with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? What is better, door-to-door evangelism or another technique? Is it best to begin with a multi-cultural church or to start with one culture? How does one utilize contacts for the sake of the Gospel? Also, how does one prevent establishing a foreign church rather than a native one? Furthermore, the author goes into issues like how leaders are trained and when they should begin serving. I found myself revisiting preconceived notions of what is done in Western churches and thus is considered to be biblical. For instance, the d
Read more