Join Dr. Jacobs’ membership for all kinds of perks and access: thenathanjacobspodcast.com/membership (use code LEWIS for a discount on the Fellows tier!) Today Dr. Jacobs takes a look at the challenge of genocide in the Old Testament, particularly the commanded extermination of the Amalekites and Canaanites. We’ll critique divine command theory from a realist metaphysical framework and explores how Eastern patristic theology understood divine providence, justice, and redemption in relation to these narratives. Dr. Jacobs will dig into cultural practices of ancient Near Eastern peoples, the distinction between race-based genocide and practice-based judgment, and how concepts like Christ's descent into Hades inform a coherent theological reading of these difficult passages. All the links: Substack: https://nathanajacobs.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenathanjacobspodcast Website: https://www.nathanajacobs.com/ X: https://x.com/NathanJacobsPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0hSskUtCwDT40uFbqTk3QS Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nathan-jacobs-podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanandrewjacobs Academia: https://vanderbilt.academia.edu/NathanAJacobs 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:19 Series context & the question 00:05:27 Divine Command Theory is not the answer 00:38:13 A thought experiment about evil 00:41:05 Cultural examples: Game of Thrones & black death 00:47:40 Lord of the Rings & the Orcs 00:51:48 Understanding the Amalekites 00:56:20 What Genocide really means 01:05:40 A horror movie scenario 01:13:02 The story of Saul & Samuel 01:17:34 The story of Jonah 01:26:08 Christ's descent and redemption 01:31:38 Death as gift and mercy 01:35:08 The broader narrative context 01:39:03 Addressing the epistemological worry
