OK, do you think those commandments are in any way helpful to anyone alive today? If so, which one(s)?

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No it's fine, disagree with me all you want, that's what we're here for Well, god kills or demands the death of over 2,000,000 people in the bible. Most of which for petty reasons. He orders the slaughter of entire villages, including women and children, sometimes sparing the virgins for sex slaves. He burns people alive. He interferes with their free will so they will oppose him, so he can send more punishment on them. He firebombs entire towns, while letting the guy who offers his daughters up to be gang raped off the hook. He drowns everyone and everything because he fucked up. He punishes everyone ever born for something the first 2 people did, and they knew no better. He demands worship, and eternally tortures you if you don't comply. He condones slavery and sexism.

I don't really know what evil things there are that he hasn't done. I think this qualifies as a monster.

(January 10, 2015 at 11:15 am)robvalue Wrote: OK, do you think those commandments are in any way helpful to anyone alive today? If so, which one(s)?

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No it's fine, disagree with me all you want, that's what we're here for Well, god kills or demands the death of over 2,000,000 people in the bible. Most of which for petty reasons. He orders the slaughter of entire villages, including women and children, sometimes sparing the virgins for sex slaves. He burns people alive. He interferes with their free will so they will oppose him, so he can send more punishment on them. He firebombs entire towns, while letting the guy who offers his daughters up to be gang raped off the hook. He drowns everyone and everything because he fucked up. He punishes everyone ever born for something the first 2 people did, and they knew no better. He demands worship, and eternally tortures you if you don't comply. He condones slavery and sexism.

I don't really know what evil things there are that he hasn't done. I think this qualifies as a monster.

Well I'm not going to try and answer the whole thing because I'll have to frame an answer adequately. And since i take the books from Genesis to judges as mythology all that doesn't hold for me. I'll have to take a while. Just for your last 3 points-

Adam and eves sin, and the eternal torture thing. That doesn't hold for me either because I'm orthodox Christian. We don't believe in eternal torture and original sin heaven as a place in the sky. I can't explain it more at the moment but im sure it's on Wikipedia. Since it's evening in this part of the world I don't really have time to write a big answer

(January 10, 2015 at 11:32 am)Grasshopper Wrote:

(January 10, 2015 at 11:15 am)robvalue Wrote: OK, do you think those commandments are in any way helpful to anyone alive today? If so, which one(s)?

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No it's fine, disagree with me all you want, that's what we're here for Well, god kills or demands the death of over 2,000,000 people in the bible. Most of which for petty reasons. He orders the slaughter of entire villages, including women and children, sometimes sparing the virgins for sex slaves. He burns people alive. He interferes with their free will so they will oppose him, so he can send more punishment on them. He firebombs entire towns, while letting the guy who offers his daughters up to be gang raped off the hook. He drowns everyone and everything because he fucked up. He punishes everyone ever born for something the first 2 people did, and they knew no better. He demands worship, and eternally tortures you if you don't comply. He condones slavery and sexism.

I don't really know what evil things there are that he hasn't done. I think this qualifies as a monster.

Well I'm not going to try and answer the whole thing because I'll have to frame an answer adequately. And since i take the books from Genesis to judges as mythology all that doesn't hold for me. I'll have to take a while. Just for your last 3 points-

Adam and eves sin, and the eternal torture thing. That doesn't hold for me either because I'm orthodox Christian. We don't believe in eternal torture and original sin heaven as a place in the sky. I can't explain it more at the moment but im sure it's on Wikipedia. Since it's evening in this part of the world I don't really have time to write a big answer

Well your brand of Christianity i am fine with. But yes sin doesn't exist neither does hell. All loving god wouldn't need to punish anyone. god on his own should be scary enough to scare souls straight.

Fair enough. Yeah there's some 40,000 brands of Christianity so I'm not familiar with the details of each one. I'm glad to hear you don't take (at least some of) the bible seriously.

Slavery and what the inspired Word of God has to say about it in Deuteronomy.

16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.



Simple enough.

(January 10, 2015 at 11:53 am)robvalue Wrote: Fair enough. Yeah there's some 40,000 brands of Christianity so I'm not familiar with the details of each one. I'm glad to hear you don't take (at least some of) the bible seriously.

Yeah no there are only 3 branches. Catholic, Orthodox, protestant. Protestant is the one with many more branches.
Orthodox and catholic split up and Orthodox stayed the same while catholics added to their theology.

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(January 10, 2015 at 12:03 pm)Full Circle Wrote: Slavery and what the inspired Word of God has to say about it in Deuteronomy.

16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.



Simple enough.

Come on I doubt anyone would do that. Even if they did it was voluntary. Knowing what was about to happen they had a choice

(January 10, 2015 at 10:48 am)Grasshopper Wrote:

(January 10, 2015 at 10:29 am)whateverist Wrote: Just read it. So would you say the bible's intended audience has come and passed? Is it still relevant today?

Of more interest to me is why you think the bible is of special value.

You know I don't know why people read it. Hell I don't know why I read it. I haven't completed it yet.

Good answer. So that makes me wonder if there are other books which have had as much or more importance to you as the bible. I'm more than willing to concede that the bible can be a good book. I just don't think it is god's official, transcribed word to mankind. Doesn't mean you can't read it to extract wisdom and meaning in your life. But I've done the same from so many other books that I just don't think it deserves the standing that Christians tend to attach to it. Then again, I haven't read it all or very much. I mostly know it from its being mentioned here or in other things I've read.

(January 10, 2015 at 12:18 pm)Grasshopper Wrote:

(January 10, 2015 at 11:53 am)robvalue Wrote: Fair enough. Yeah there's some 40,000 brands of Christianity so I'm not familiar with the details of each one. I'm glad to hear you don't take (at least some of) the bible seriously.

Yeah no there are only 3 branches. Catholic, Orthodox, protestant. Protestant is the one with many more branches.
Orthodox and catholic split up and Orthodox stayed the same while catholics added to their theology.

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(January 10, 2015 at 12:03 pm)Full Circle Wrote: Slavery and what the inspired Word of God has to say about it in Deuteronomy.

16 But if your servant says to you, “I do not want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your female servant.



Simple enough.

Come on I doubt anyone would do that. Even if they did it was voluntary. Knowing what was about to happen they had a choice

In biblical days you were given a wife if you were a male slave so if you had a child with your wife and had a family you could be permanently branded and you and your children would be owned by your master. If you were one of the smart ones you would do your slave work to pay off your debts do not have a child and move on.

(January 10, 2015 at 12:22 pm)whateverist Wrote:

(January 10, 2015 at 10:48 am)Grasshopper Wrote: You know I don't know why people read it. Hell I don't know why I read it. I haven't completed it yet.

Good answer. So that makes me wonder if there are other books which have had as much or more importance to you as the bible. I'm more than willing to concede that the bible can be a good book. I just don't think it is god's official, transcribed word to mankind. Doesn't mean you can't read it to extract wisdom and meaning in your life. But I've done the same from so many other books that I just don't think it deserves the standing that Christians tend to attach to it. Then again, I haven't read it all or very much. I mostly know it from its being mentioned here or in other things I've read.

Ya well I guess it's like a window to how people have been worshipping and seeing god through the years. I noticed a very drastic change in the way God was portrayed in the first 5 books and the rest. In the first 5, he is like actively involved in the journey of israel. In the rest of the old testament he is portrayed in a more passive way, speaking to prophets or through signs only prophets could interpret. In the new testament he doesn't even have a role other than being mentioned. The more his role decreases the historical validity increases in proportion. I don't know the observation I feel is interesting. That is why I take the first 5 books as just stories depicting glory