Today, and for centuries hitherto, one of the more frequently debated topics is religion. It has been debated among great intellectual minds, and among minds much less intellectual. Sometimes debate is founded on respect and reason and tolerance in a civilised fashion. Other times it is fed by disparagement and turbulent emotion. And so we either have two individuals sitting adjacent to one another, taking turns to persuade the audience that their opposite number is wrong - or, perhaps more accurately, that they are right - or we have one state threatening to destroy another by means of nuclear incursion. In any case the aim of this piece is to represent only a factual representation of the information relating to some highly controversial Biblical passages, and to ultimately question the source from which millions believe their morals are derived.
Before you continue, know that what you read hence is simply an analysis of text followed by further analysis of wider issues. This is in no way an attack or abasement of any beliefs or views you personally hold. The objective, however ambitious, is to open the reader's mind to issues he/she may not have considered, and ultimately to elicit a consideration of one's own stance.
First of all, it is necessary to consider a number of passages, each of which is taken from different sections of the Bible. [archaic language will be explained beneath the text, in addition to my comments].
The focus for now is on morality within the Bible.
Encouragement of murder, rape and slavery?
Deuteronomy 20:10-14
When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.
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Not only does God encourage deception, but he also promotes the murder of an entire city, the forced slavery of children and the rape and absolute ownership of women.
Absurd consequences of premarital sex
Deuteronomy 22:28-29
If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
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betrothed: married
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It appears, then, that a man who has sexual relations with a woman (who is at the time a virgin) must pay the woman's father money, he must marry her and he is forbidden to ever divorce her.
Rape, child killing & an unusual form of forgiveness
2 Samuel 12:11-14
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
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First, God says that he will give innocent wives away to David's neighbour to be raped in front of everyone. David repents, and God, having borne this mitigating factor in mind, forgives him, but kills his unborn baby to teach him a lesson.
Killing of women guilty of fictional crimes
Exodus: 22:18
Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live
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The present day equivalent of a 'sorceress' is a mentally unstable woman. Consider how many innocent women were killed because of this. Also note that disease was attributed to these sorceresses and the spells that they cast upon others. Isn't it curious how God failed to mention microorganisms?
Gays must be killed
Leviticus 20:13
And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
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This one's topical. At the time this piece was originally written (24th March 2014) the United Kingdom was but five days away from celebrating the monumental (and long overdue) step forward in equality with the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 on the verge of enactment. As the name suggests, this legislation enables couples to go one step beyond a civil partnership and do what a man and woman have been allowed to do for centuries. The Bible calls this an abomination.
Adulterers must be killed
Leviticus 20:10
And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife , the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
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Wait a minute, 'even' with a neighbour's wife? Perhaps this speaks of the social norms around at the time. Consider how many of today's human population ought to be killed according to this passage.
The sons of sinners must be killed
Isaiah 14:21
Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter because of the iniquity of their fathers.
They must not arise and take possession of the earth, and fill the face of the world with cities.
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If one is truly to pay for his or her father's mistakes then, again, it's a safe bet that there wouldn't be too many of us left.
God will kill your cattle and destroy your children
Leviticus 26:21-22
If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted.
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The notion of free will goes right out of the window here. It's obey or be stripped of your existence.
Slavery is permissible and encouraged
Leviticus 25:44-46
Those men and women you may have who are sold as servants will be from the nations around you. You may buy from among the children of the strangers who live among you, and from their families that are with you and were born in your land. You may own them. You may give them to your children after you, to receive as their own. You can have them as servants forever.
Ephesians 6:5
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your [a]masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ.
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What can be said of this?
Beating of slaves OK, so long as they don't die
Exodus 21:20-21
When a man hits his male or female servant with a stick so that he or she dies, he will be punished. But if he or she lives a day or two, he will not be punished, for his servant belongs to him.
Disobedient slaves will receive a beating, even if they didn’t deserve it
Luke 12:47-48
And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few.
Now ask yourself the following
- Is there a single passage mentioned above that is agreeable?
- Is it reasonable to ignore these passages in favour of those of a more pleasant nature?
- Is it likely that if the Bible is, as a matter of fact, the word of God, that there would exist therein so much discrimination?
I hope that the answer to all of the questions is 'no' - an emphatic 'no,' at that. If, however, it is 'yes' then I would invite the reader to stop reading and engage with something more to his or her taste.
For those of you who are still here, it appears as though we have: a God who endorses rape, murder and slavery; a God who will kill your children if you don't obey him; and a God who will kill people who are born a certain way, notwithstanding Genesis 1:27 declaring that 'God created Mankind in his own image.' We must then move onto another fundamental flaw in this scripture, the lack of clarity.
First of all, it is necessary to consider a number of passages, each of which is taken from different sections of the Bible. [archaic language will be explained beneath the text, in addition to my comments].
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betrothed: married
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God will kill your cattle and destroy your children
Slavery is permissible and encouraged
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| Well, if that's what it says... |
Contradiction Fiction
Isaiah 40:28
God does not become weary or tired
Exodus 31:17
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labour, and was refreshed. [a tireless, almighty God who knows not the weakness of being tired ceases from labour!?]
Exodus 15:3
The Lord is a man of war
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts
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Now we know Tolstoy's inspiration.
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Now we know Tolstoy's inspiration.
Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill
Genesis 22:1-2
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Genesis 17:10
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised.
Galatians 5:2-4
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Leviticus 20:21
And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
Deuteronomy 25:5
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.
Mark 3:29
But whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin
Acts 13:39
And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Matthew 27:5
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself
Acts 1:18
Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the middle, and all his bowels gushed out.
John 10:30
I and my Father are one
John 14:28
Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Psalm 112:1-3
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
Matthew 19:24
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Genesis 32:30
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
John 1:18
No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him
It seems to me that one who accepts the Bible as the word of God and claims to stand by it must do so at all times. Should they succeed in deciphering and reconciling it all, that is. Moreover, it would be both hypocritical and an admission of sorts if one were to pick and choose, yet that is precisely what happens. That, by implication, indicates that not everything within the Bible is accepted as inherently good or morally valuable. But how can this be if it is the word of God, He himself the infallible and omnipotent one? Clearly there is something amiss here, but that's OK for humans need not rely on scripture.
Innate sense of morality
It may be said that a person who claims their morals emanate from prehistoric, contradictory gibberish (especially such containing the encouragement of slavery, homophobia, sexism and murder) deserves to be admonished in the most extreme sense. Thankfully, however, we are not indebted to or bound by scripture, we are all born with an innate morality which is far more beautiful, far more sophisticated, far more sensitive than anything written in the interests of the divine.
When thinking men and women truly analyse the claims of this book, they cannot, and naturally do not, reach differing conclusions. Some religious advocates claim ipso facto that without this divine guidance we would be lost souls. The late Christopher Hitchens described this notion as "an attack on our deepest most essential integrity. We (humans) could not, individually or collectively, decide upon a right action without celestial, divine permission? How else would we know - Our human solidarity, our innate awareness of what is right and wrong, our acute knowledge of what is fair and unfair? These are all (apparently) worthless to us." In a speech delivered to the First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Sam Harris - neuroscientist & philosopher - said the following of morality and religion:"When we go to scripture, we are the guarantors of the wisdom we find there. We find the golden rule and say ‘that’s why you should read the Bible!’. But then we ignore the rest of the book in Deuteronomy and Leviticus and 2 Samuel where the most mind-numbing, theocratic barbarism is recommended...Our moral tools come from outside the text." Richard Dawkins - evolutionary biologist - responded when asked about an 'absolute morality' among non-believers "the absolute morality that a religious person might confess would include stoning people for adultery, death for apostasy, punishment for breaking the Sabbath. I want a morality that is thought out, reasoned and discussed. If you look at modern moralities, we don't believe in slavery, we believe in equality, in being kind to animals, all of which have developed through a consensus of reasoning, sober discussion, argument, legal theory, political and moral philosophy. These do not come from religion. To find the good bits you have to cherry pick, find the occasional, acceptable profession of morality and leave out all of the horrible bits. You then say (of the horrible bits) that we don't believe that anymore, we've grown out of it. Well of course we've grown out of it, because of secular (moral) philosophy and rational discussion."
So why do people still follow?
I am certain that some readers will, despite having read and agreed with the arguments against their position, remain loyal to their monotheistic dogma. Despite how far humans have evolved over the thousands of years, one characteristic, which somehow remains as potent as a skunk, is weakness. This encompasses many things but I'm referring specifically to loneliness, the need for help, the need for attention and the need for acknowledgement - all things which we as humans should be aiming to eradicate in the next evolutionary step. These are the confines that prevent the vast majority of us from letting go. To open these shackles is to accept that there is no one else. We realise that we are alone in our journey. It is often said that it is simply so much easier to attach your emotions to the idea of a higher power, and to let go of many of life's worries in the hope that something or someone is watching over you, guiding you, and protecting you from all of the harmful things that you will invariably have to face. It is also much easier to think that there is an end goal; that all of this is for something. You must ask yourselves this question, however: should one believe something that isn't true, even if at first blush it, whatever it may be, appears positive, moral and helpful? This is somewhat of a trick question, but it is submitted that in any given situation one must assess all of the evidence fairly and then reach a reasoned decision. If one were to hold his or her position (regarding anything) despite indisputable evidence to the contrary, then that person is one of two things: incapable of formulating or comprehending reasoned argument, or, an incompetent oaf who is holding back the progression and advancement of himself and others through sheer ignorance.
To address the question, there was an analogy I once read which used the example of a young child getting ready to go to bed at night. The child would tell her mother that she was scared of monsters coming into her room, to which the mother replied 'Don't worry, sweetie. Whenever you feel scared just turn on your night light and it will protect you from all the bad things.' This is a common remedy utilised by mothers across the world to relieve their children's irrational fear of the dark. It is effective. It is helpful. It certainly serves its purpose. However, it is simply not true. The fact of the matter, bluntly, is that it makes no difference whether the light is on or off. The child is not going to be harmed by the dark and will eventually fall asleep anyway. When a man on death row in his final hour seeks forgiveness and 'repents,' it is not going to make any difference to his situation, he is bound for death. When a suicidal father prays for a bit of luck when the lottery numbers are being read out, it makes absolutely no difference whatsoever to, dare i say it, his fate. The numbers are randomly selected and in order to win his numbers must correspond with the numbers that are picked out. By its very definition it is a matter of pure chance. What can be said of the child, the inmate and father is that they all believe that they are in need of help. Cognitively, they fail to view their issues objectively and come to terms with them. Instead, they seek the aid of someone or something else to ease their worries - even in instances where anyone else can see that nothing has the power to change their situation.
Sometimes a person will describe an event in their life as a 'miracle,' not knowing and/or accepting the fact that there is a perfectly reasonable answer to why that event occurred. For example, a woman who cannot swim is about to drown when she missteps and falls into a lake. The fact that a brave individual - whose act displayed commendable altruism - had jumped in and rescued her, is, to her (ironically enough) irrelevant. Her overcoming of this ordeal is labelled miraculous and attributed to the loving grace of the Almighty Lord. But one must then ask why the Lord would subject this hypothetical Christian lady to such a terrifying and life-threatening experience, only to save her afterwards? A sound argument for this I have yet to come across, though what is worth mentioning is Bertrand Russell's position on the matter: "never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or what you think could have beneficent social effects if it were believed. Look only and solely at what are the facts, and what is the truth that the facts bear out."
If you’re still reading and awake, you may now be of the mind that the Bible is not the quaint book of peace designed to answer all of your life problems. Instead, it is an obsolete restriction on your life. It is and has been used as a means of theocratic encroachment around the world, and it can be discarded so easily if only you are willing to think for yourself. You can choose to respond to everything in this world with an open mind, an eagerness to learn, an insatiable hunger to question, whilst maintaining a willingness to consider and accept criticism. You will come to know that together we have the ability to accomplish greatness and overcome even the most challenging of obstacles if only we set aside these boundaries which inhibit us from accepting others because of how they look, who they sleep with, or which other 'incorrect' religion they follow.
Choose wisely.
Your life really does depend on it.
