| Cooperator - 5/11/2022 23:21
You can pick your favorites, but you can't pretend the bad ones don't exist.
I mean really, there's a lot of stuff in there that would make Putin pale.
We are not pretending hard passages don’t exist. It is all there for the whole world to see. When we look at an issue like slavery in the Old Testament, we need to think about the historical context. Slavery has existed throughout all of human history. At the time, there were no restraints on it. A code of law that held masters accountable for abuse of a slave would have been revolutionary at the time. Bear in mind there was also a ritual given where a slave who had worked off his 7 years of service could request to be permanently joined to his masters household if the slave felt he was treated well and it would be better for him to stay with his master. I believe the fact that such a ritual existed is a powerful commentary on how slaves were treated under the law.
I think it is also worth considering the reason why you and I both find slavery to be an appalling practice. I believe it is because we both live in the west and the Judeo-Christian background of our culture give us an inherent presupposition of the value of human life. Slavery was widespread when the Old Testament was written and it was written with the eye towards the practical reality that slavery was not going to end overnight.
There are other things the Bible is honest about as well, for instance there is a footnote near the end of the book of John stating the earliest manuscripts do not contain the last few verses of the book of John. From there people have to decide if they believe the verses were added later by someone else or if it was an edit to add a couple more thoughts by John himself.
The Old Testament is really a commentary on the wickedness of people when left to their own devices. God set up a system of sacrifice for people to pay for their sins, it they remained hard hearted and cold. In the New Testament God changed the program. Jesus blood was given as the sacrifice once for all and the invitation was extended beyond God’s chosen race to all of mankind.
Yes, there are uncomfortable passages in the Bible, but I believe this lends to the credibility of the Bible. It is there is it’s raw form for us to read and ponder. It has not been whitewashed and sanitized. As we make discovery's like the Dead Sea scrolls and we find older and older manuscripts we are finding the texts remain unchanged over time.
Thank you for bringing light to an important subject. There are those who will dodge the question, but these passages are there and need to be dealt with. |
What’s your favorite Bible verses?
