The idea that the Bible is a perfect guide to morality is simply astounding, given the contents of the book. Admittedly, God's counsel to parents is straightforward: whenever children get out of line, we should beat them with a rod (Proverbs 13:24, 20:30, and 23:13-14). If they are shameless enough to talk back to us, we should kill them (Exodus 21:15, Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 21:18-21, Mark 7:9-13, and Matthew 15:4-7). We must also stone people to death for heresy, adultery, homosexuality, working on the Sabbath, worshipping graven images, practicing sorcery, and a wide variety of other imaginary crimes.
Jesus, at several points in the New Testament, endorses the entirety of the Old Testament law. "For truly I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:18-19
Try to interpret this without contextualization, historical placement, logic, and reading the text figuratively... You can't. History, context, logic, and an understanding of scripture are vital.
What does this say about morals? Is it POSSIBLE for the Bible to be the singular basis for morals and ethics? Should it be?
2007-07-23
08:12:41
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6 answers
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asked by
TransyMAJ
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Religion & Spirituality