Conquest and Dispossession: Justice,Joshua,and Land Rights

Abstract

This study compares four contemporary theories of justice (desert, contract, rights, and empowerment) with four motifs from the Book of Joshua (the land as entitlement, the dispossession of the Canaanites, the covenants with Israel, and the dilemma of empowerment). These comparisons raise questions about the justification of the conquest of indigenous peoples, like the Australian Aboriginals, and the ideology of Joshua in a post-New Testament context.