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Please contribute: what are the most objectionable/obviously outdated bits of the Bible?
As a lifelong atheist (I was lucky to have agnostic parents), my knowledge of the Bible is sketchy to say the least.
I'm collecting some possible lines of 'argument against theism' on my website and am interested in moral evolution as a demonstration of the irrelevance of religions (since they codify and reflect the moral and intellectual standards of the societies that produce them).
I'd be interested to see specific examples of particularly outdated moral and intellectual ideas contained in the Bible (or other religious texts - Qur'an etc. most welcome).
I've read bits of the Old Testament and it seems to be crawling with objectionable stuff, so please stick to fairly succint examples of how Christianity reflects outdated ideas and standards.
Thanks,
S
I'm collecting some possible lines of 'argument against theism' on my website and am interested in moral evolution as a demonstration of the irrelevance of religions (since they codify and reflect the moral and intellectual standards of the societies that produce them).
I'd be interested to see specific examples of particularly outdated moral and intellectual ideas contained in the Bible (or other religious texts - Qur'an etc. most welcome).
I've read bits of the Old Testament and it seems to be crawling with objectionable stuff, so please stick to fairly succint examples of how Christianity reflects outdated ideas and standards.
Thanks,
S
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Staks Rosch on -
Numbers 31: 17-18
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Permalink Reply by Sigmund on -
Yes, I've come across that one, great stuff.
Ladies, how would you feel if you were disposed of thus:
'kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves.'
Presumably this sort of treatment would have been (at least conceivably) acceptable in those days - no new religion or cult would dream of portraying its prophet saying something like that...
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Permalink Reply by Goz on -
YES! This is the one I hate the most. A religious friend told me the bible never said that and I directed her to it.
'kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him. But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves.
That is truly disgusting.
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Permalink Reply by Gecko, Seth...brother of Richie! on -
That is truly disgusting.
Yes it is, and it was standard practice for most if not all Armies of that time period. A fine example showing how absurd to take as literal truth writings of ancient religious leaders say it is the word of an almighty god for all time.
I think this discussion will point out wonderfully how any ancient religious text must be "cherry picked" (no pun intended) in order to have relevance in modern society. If any of "gods" word is wrong than ALL must be called into question.
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Permalink Reply by FreeThinker on -
Matthew 15:1-4 - The Pharisees and scribes criticize Jesus and his disciples for not washing their hands before eating and Jesus replies by asking why they don't kill their children when their children disobey them (according to the Old Testament laws).
Matthew 4:11-12 - Jesus says he speaks in parables to keep those who reject God from knowing the truth. I looked up this passage to see how Christians try to explain it. A site called biblequery.org said the following about it:
Q: In Mk 4:11-12, why would Jesus deliberately obscure the gospel by speaking in parables so that people would not understand, turn, and be forgiven? Did he not come that all men might be saved?
A: Jesus was referring to Isaiah 6:9,10. Jesus spoke in parables to be merciful! Here are four points to the answer.
1) God wants all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel 17:23).
2) But some have chosen to reject God’s word and there are consequences for that in this life. These kind of people become hardened in their hearing, hardening their hearts. (Exodus 8:15,32; 9:17,34;Pr28:14; Romans 1:18-20; Hebrews 3:12-15;Zc7:12)
3) For people who reject God, it is better for them not to know truth than to know the truth and turn their backs on it, according to 2 Peter 2:20-22.
4) A parable is appropriate because those who want to follow God can be guided to know its meaning, and a parable will be not be understood by those who do not want to follow God.
If someone has already rejected the truth they know of God, God is not obligated to give them more truth.
Wow. They are basically saying God is intentionally hiding the truth from people unless they believe in him first. And they simultaneously claim that God wants everybody to be saved. That's really fucked up.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on -
"Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'"
-Matthew 19:21
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
-Luke 14:26
And pretty much the rest of the bible except for the golden rule.
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Permalink Reply by Stephen Moore on -
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible is trove of useful information.
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Permalink Reply by Jon Fleming on -
I would have to say the part where the require a rape victim and her Attacker to marry would have to be the most outdated and twisted thoughts
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Permalink Reply by Sigmund on
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Yes, that IS a classic...
I've read it before but can't remember where it is...
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Permalink Reply by Jon Fleming on
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It's in , Deuteronomy 22:28-29. I wrote a nice article about people needing to look at the bible as words written by Man, with all our historical erros and not as the word of any god for a class on Essays. and pointed out a few of the major issues and the fact that we have higher moral then the bible there for we have out grown the need for such a book.
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