What IS good, and how do we determine it?

[Randy Carson]

I don't think I have. Reread my post, quoted above. The one where you conveniently edited out the word that makes all the difference. The "idea" that it would be okay for Onan to be put to death by your god has real meaning in that society, regardless of what you are willing to admit. If your god thought this would be a good way to communicate to that society, you need to come up with what has changed from then until now that has nothing to do with society's mores.  

ETA: The bolded is a pretty damning statement to your arguments... you should really consider the impact of that statement in light of your idea that morality hasn't changed.

First, the morality of societies do change. Objective moral truth does not.

Second, Onan disobeyed God and it cost him his life. However, it may have saved many in Israel from future disobedience. If it bothers you that God may have made an example of Onan, that's simply too bad. God was in the process of forming a people, and He was not particularly tolerant in the process.

Well...upon reflection, it might be more accurate to say that after the fall, after the flood, after Sodom and Gomorrah, after the infidelities of Israel with other Gods and after the rejection of Jesus by the Jews...God has been VERY tolerant.

But if He has occasionally put an obstinate sinner to death, then it was well within His authority to do so as God and for the benefit of others that the bad influence was removed from their midst before he was able to lead others into the same sins.

I feel like this needs to be addressed. These people are going to a place that is being ravaged by AIDS, and telling them that condoms are evil, and that they will go to hell for using them. Condoms aren't only for contraception. They are also fantastically effective at preventing the spread of venereal disease. To call them evil in a place that desperately needs them is, in itself, abominable.

In the context of this discussion, if you don't want to die of AIDS or catch a disease, then don't have sex with people to whom you are not married.

Is this really so difficult?