旧约的暴力：上帝为什么命令战争？

核心论证 Core Argument

旧约中上帝命令以色列人征服迦南地的记载确实令人震惊，也是怀疑者最常引用的攻击点之一。但深入理解圣经的历史和神学背景后，我们会发现这些记载远比表面看起来的复杂。首先，迦南人的征服不是种族清洗，而是对极其邪恶文化的神圣审判。考古学证据和古代文献（包括乌加里特文献）表明，迦南文化包括系统性的儿童祭祀（将活婴投入火中献给摩洛神）、宗教性卖淫和严重的道德堕落。上帝在创世记15:16中说，祂等待了四百年才审判迦南人——「因为亚摩利人的罪孽还没有满盈」——这显示了上帝极大的耐心。 旧约学者保罗·科帕恩（Paul Copan）在《上帝真的命令了种族灭绝吗？》（Is God a Moral Monster?）中论证，「尽行毁灭」（herem）的语言在古代近东是常见的军事修辞夸张法，类似于今天说「我们彻底摧毁了对手」。约书亚记本身的叙事就表明许多迦南人实际上存活了下来（士师记1-3章）。理查德·赫斯（Richard Hess）在《约书亚记》注释中进一步论证，被攻击的「城」实际上是军事要塞，而非平民居住区。 更根本地，旧约的审判叙事指向一个深刻的神学真理：罪的后果是严重的，上帝的公义是真实的。但这一审判原则并非只针对迦南人——以色列自己后来也因同样的罪恶而受到更严厉的审判（被掳巴比伦）。整个旧约的叙事弧线最终指向基督：在十字架上，上帝对罪的全部审判倾倒在祂自己的儿子身上，使得所有信靠祂的人可以免于审判。旧约的暴力不是上帝暴虐的证据，而是罪的严重性和恩典之必要性的预示。

The Old Testament accounts of God commanding Israel's conquest of Canaan are genuinely disturbing and among skeptics' most frequent points of attack. But deeper understanding of the biblical historical and theological context reveals these accounts are far more complex than they appear. First, the Canaanite conquest wasn't ethnic cleansing but divine judgment on an extremely wicked culture. Archaeological evidence and ancient texts (including Ugaritic literature) show Canaanite culture included systematic child sacrifice (burning live infants to Molech), ritual prostitution, and severe moral corruption. God said in Genesis 15:16 that He waited 400 years before judging the Canaanites—'the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure'—showing God's extraordinary patience. Old Testament scholar Paul Copan argues in Is God a Moral Monster? that 'utterly destroy' (herem) language was common ancient Near Eastern military hyperbole, similar to saying 'we totally destroyed the opponent' today. Joshua's own narrative shows many Canaanites actually survived (Judges 1-3). Richard Hess further argues in his Joshua commentary that the attacked 'cities' were military fortresses, not civilian settlements. More fundamentally, the Old Testament judgment narratives point to a profound theological truth: sin's consequences are severe and God's justice is real. But this principle wasn't applied only to Canaanites—Israel itself later received even harsher judgment for the same sins (Babylonian exile). The entire Old Testament narrative arc ultimately points to Christ: on the cross, God's full judgment against sin was poured out on His own Son, so that all who trust in Him can escape judgment. Old Testament violence isn't evidence of God's cruelty but a foreshadowing of sin's severity and grace's necessity.