Among the harshest criticisms leveled by skeptics against the biblical record, and even God Himself, is the wholesale slaughter of the Canaanite civilizations to the last man, woman, and child. How can we explain this? How can we possibly reconcile the “horrific commands” of Deuteronomy 20:11–18 with the same God who is depicted in the NT as a God of love? This issue of TOTT offers four emphases concerning a subject that causes even many Christians to question these acts: the Appalling Character of the Situation; the Appealing Nature of God; the Administering of Love, Mercy, and Grace; and the Admonishing Effect of the Result.
