What is proper doctrine with regards to the Joshua/Judges treatment of Canaanites and Jesus treatment of the Canaanite woman, especially if God never changes? Or does God seem to change in our perception of him?
God is essentially constant, faithful. Never less or more. Not up and down. God does not get better (or worse) at being God! As the Scriptures say, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever as the Son of the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Knowing that, and seeing what Jesus does with this Canaanite woman and her daughter, we can be certain that the command in Deuteronomy 20 does not and cannot mean what it seems on the surface to mean. And so the first Christians knew—many of whom as Jews had already learned this truth in a different way in their synagogues—that Israel's Scripture could not be interpreted simplistically. As Pelikan says, "There was no early Christian who simultaneously acknowledged the authority of the Old Testament and interpreted it literally.” To cut to the chase: as we read Scripture well, *we* change—precisely because God does not!
Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. Did the early Christian’s see that command meaning they should be careful of our penchant for idolatry? Something like that?
Yes! That these "Canaanites" in us are sinful passions, habits of feeling and thought, ways of acting that deface God and neighbor, and issue in our degradation and delusion—all the damage done by idolatry!
That’s what I thought. That’s a harder standard than a literal take. I had some commentaries by Charles MacIntosh that read the Torah that way. I got to a place where it was painful to read them because I fall so far short. Thank you for explaining and for how soul filling and challenging your teaching is. I still need to take pictures my Nouwen letters..
Thanks for the link to Rowan Williams on living theologically. I loved his reflection that living theologically is having the trap sprung on our self. Ouch.
And that’s the challenge, how do we practice resurrection? How do we know joy?
Amen!!
What is proper doctrine with regards to the Joshua/Judges treatment of Canaanites and Jesus treatment of the Canaanite woman, especially if God never changes? Or does God seem to change in our perception of him?
God is essentially constant, faithful. Never less or more. Not up and down. God does not get better (or worse) at being God! As the Scriptures say, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever as the Son of the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Knowing that, and seeing what Jesus does with this Canaanite woman and her daughter, we can be certain that the command in Deuteronomy 20 does not and cannot mean what it seems on the surface to mean. And so the first Christians knew—many of whom as Jews had already learned this truth in a different way in their synagogues—that Israel's Scripture could not be interpreted simplistically. As Pelikan says, "There was no early Christian who simultaneously acknowledged the authority of the Old Testament and interpreted it literally.” To cut to the chase: as we read Scripture well, *we* change—precisely because God does not!
Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. Did the early Christian’s see that command meaning they should be careful of our penchant for idolatry? Something like that?
Yes! That these "Canaanites" in us are sinful passions, habits of feeling and thought, ways of acting that deface God and neighbor, and issue in our degradation and delusion—all the damage done by idolatry!
That’s what I thought. That’s a harder standard than a literal take. I had some commentaries by Charles MacIntosh that read the Torah that way. I got to a place where it was painful to read them because I fall so far short. Thank you for explaining and for how soul filling and challenging your teaching is. I still need to take pictures my Nouwen letters..
You dog! This is great.
Thanks for the link to Rowan Williams on living theologically. I loved his reflection that living theologically is having the trap sprung on our self. Ouch.