Finklestein syndrome from the RR article.
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Oh I see. Yes, I am sorry. It’s been a few months since I had read the article and I have been too busy at work and putting the kids to bed to reread it till now. I do remember it. I guess we all do become unnecessarily harsh sometimes. I don’t think I read to that point on Stark’s paper. God save us from that.
I guess my main issues with the cherem are twofold:
- It seems to be based on ANE sacrificial warfare, as shown by a Moabite cognate.
- It appears to be racially motivated against the giant clans of Canaan.
I agree that Stark is a little too uber-liberal for my liking (although I did enjoy his book The Human Faces of God). Greg Boyd is much more Orthodox, yet he is similarly critical of divine violence.
The overarching narrative of the Tanakh is one of peace, in the story of Noah’s Ark, the flood is sent due to human violence. Isaiah spoke of swords being beaten into ploughshares.
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