Question

Hi Michi,
I shared with M. from Tirat Zvi [the son of my former partner] my insights regarding the role of progressive Judaism.
And in the course of that it occurred to me that since Christians see themselves as the heirs of the Jewish people, perhaps they adopted the commandment to destroy the peoples of Canaan as a source of legitimacy for exterminating various kinds of heretics [that way they can live in peace with the commandment of compassion that is supposed to characterize Christianity…]
M. argued against me that the Christians did not need that commandment, because they were the heirs of the Roman Empire, which was known for its belligerence
and unrestrained cruelty.
And then I remembered David, the sweet singer of Israel, who ordered:
“He struck Moab and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; he measured off two lengths for death and a full length for life…”
And Amaziah king of Judah, who fought against Edom, and “The men of Judah captured ten thousand alive, brought them to the top of the cliff, and threw them down from the top of the cliff, and all of them were dashed to pieces.”

So the Christians definitely had the option of learning cruelty from us too…
I would be glad to hear whether you have any comments or insights on the subject.
All the best