The God of the Bible also allows slavery, including selling your own daughter as a sex slave?

Question

(Exodus 21:1-11), child abuse (Judges 11:29-40 and Isaiah 13:16), and bashing babies against rocks (Hosea 13:16 & Psalms 137:9).



This type of criminal behavior should shock any moral person. Murder, rape, pillage, plunder, slavery, and child abuse can not be justified by saying that some god says it’s OK. If more people would actually sit down and read the Bible there would be a lot more atheists like myself.

Answer 1

I, too, once read the Bible in a literal way assuming everything in it was purported to be historical fact. Because I had followed many others and succumbed to the error of literal interpretation I was convinced the stories in the Bible were no more believable than the legends of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Bible as a whole made no sense to me whatsoever, and each part taken separately, made even less sense. Therefore, I concluded the whole thing as a product of many old men's deranged minds, full of their delusions and imaginations. And it was written thousands of years ago by men who were more ignorant than our least educated person in this much more enlightened and sophisticated age. I've since learned that I was wrong.

The Spirit of God wrote the entire Bible. Men wrote the words as they were moved to do so by the Spirit. Spiritual things cannot be expressed to men who are in the world, except by using words and examples of things known in the world. Spiritual things must be stated to men as parables, allegories, and metaphors, using elements of the world of matter for descriptions. Those who belong to the world of matter, those who are still "of the flesh," will interpret the spiritual messages in a fleshly manner (in a literal way). They cannot discern the spiritual meanings.

The theme of the entire Bible (despite its apparent diversity and variety of men who wrote it down) is concerning the plan of God to free man from the captivity he brought upon himself. The "Virgin Daughter of Israel," that is, the group of people "who had not known man" (who had not known man's interpretation of truth), eventually began to write the Word of God in a permanent, recorded form so it could be distributed throughout the world of flesh (the material world).

The Word of God was written with pen and ink upon material objects, and the Word was then "made flesh." This "flesh" was not allowed to be corrupted, that is, the meaning and the spirit of the Words were not allowed to be corrupted in its written form in the world. This does not mean that copyists', typographical, historical, and grammatical errors, etc., cannot occur in the printed Word, but means only that the Truth contained in the Word of God cannot be corrupted by the word of man. This is the reason, though the Bible has been copied again and again, even by men who did not understand what they copied, the text's basic meaning remains the same. This refers only to translations of the Bible, not to paraphrases of the Bible.

When one reads a verse in the Bible and cannot understand the meaning, the "flesh" of the verse is unavailable and he is seeing only the "bones" of the message. These "bones," of course, have never been broken and remain intact even to this day. Men who belong to the world (men not led by the Spirit of God) gnaw at these dry bones whenever they read the Words in the Bible, interpreting the Words "after the flesh." Throughout the history of mankind, the group of people who could only "gnaw on the bones" never understood the meaning and spirit of the Words spoken and written by those who were led by the Spirit of God. Though these two groups may have spoken the same words, they were talking about different things.

A good example of this difference is the story of Abraham and Sarah in the book of Genesis. It is an allegory told as an historical and earthly incident, but has nothing to do with an individual mortal man and a mortal woman. This does not mean that the events recorded in Genesis are untrue or false as the events related there are true concerning actual incidents and happenings between the Father, the Old and New Covenants, the Jerusalem "beneath" and the Jerusalem "above," the son born into bondage and the Son born free. But this story is not about an historical individual man named Abraham and an individual woman named Sarah.

In the same manner, the stories recorded in the Bible of battles between nations (including bashing of babies against a wall), slavery, human sacrifice, animal sacrifice, sexual abuse, incest, etc., are all stories about spiritual things: the battles between good and evil, between light and darkness, between knowledge and no knowledge, between the clean and the unclean, between the profane and the holy. These things were not meant to be understood in a literal fashion.

Perhaps another example will make this easier to understand. Most people commonly interpret certain passages in the Bible as a condemnation of homosexuality. But the "homosexuality" mentioned in the Bible actually has nothing whatsoever to do with the deeds committed by members of the so-called "gay" population. Rather, it deals with man worshipping man, with man revering the ideas and opinions of man, with man loving the traditions of man, man working that that is unseemly with man. By the way, just in case anyone is wondering, I am not gay. I am certainly not "pro gay." If anything, I'm probably personally against it. I'm not saying being gay is wrong or right. I'm only saying the Bible does not condemn it as many think it does.

Answer 2

Because ignoramuses like you don't know that when god gave man the bible there was written word and oral law - if you given something without the real instructions then you wouldn't know the rules of behavior. In the old testament the laws of slavery are so different to what you've read that you can't pass judgment.
For instance if you had a daughter and your family was starving you would be permitted to give her as a slave - but she would have to be raised in the family and the owner must take her as a wife - if at the age of 12 he decides that he doesn't want to marry her then she is able to go free. In the old times this was to prevent prostitution a the girl would be secure that she would not be abused. If you have studied the Talmud maybe after 20 years you would begin to have an inkling of what you are talking about - but you choose to be an ignoramus making stupid statements.

Answer 3

Wow, talk about being taken out of context! lol

Exodus 21:1-11 gives a fairness to slaves already held. This was not a new thing that Moses just decided to do, remember slavery was a part of the Isrealites life for over 400 years. It says that a man can only sell himself into slavery for 6 years, on the 7th, he must be let go. If he had a wife that came with him into slavery, she gets to go too. But if his owner provided him with the wife, she has to stay, but the slave can stay too if he wants.


The Judges verse is not about child abuse, it is about vowing to God things you should not. Jephthah vowed to offer a burnt offering to the Lord if God would help him overcome the Amonites. Said that the first thing that came out of his doors he would offer as a sacrifice. He didn't realize his daughter would be the first one out ... obviously he thought the dog would come out first. It's a moral lesson to the rest of us, don't vow to God what you are not prepared to give.

Isaiah 13 is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled, and speaks of some future horrible happening.

Hosea is again a prophecy about Samaria, and doesn't say that God will do this, it says that because Samarians have turned from their God, these things will happen, they will fall by the sword.

Psalms is not saying they should be bashing babies on the rocks, it's saying that's what the Edomites were saying, just look at the verse above.

Sorry, but these things you mentioned are not God doing it, but man. All these verses were either forewarning this would happen amongst ourselves, or showing how idiocy can cause it so learn from it.

I disagree, if you'd actually sit down and read the Bible, you'd understand how it is the Truth.

Answer 4

although the Bible is the word of God, it is also a history book in the sense that it records events and the state of different societies and cultures. The Bible NOWHERE commands people to sell their daughters as sex slaves or to have slaves. Just because it has in it records of some of the evils in that day doesnt mean that it supports it, and it definately does NOT mean that Christians believe that we should do such things. On top of all that, Christianity is not based on the teachings of the Old Testament solely, but primarily on that of the New Testament— everything changed after Christ was crucified.
why not take the time to carefully study the context of the scriptures, and the logic behind it??

Answer 5

I think that you are speaking of the bible which has been misinterpreted and mistranslated many times over the centuries, not to mention manipulated by early male religious leaders in order to promote their own patriarchal agendas to control the masses through fear-based living.

I have just ordered copy of The Modern New Testament: Translated from the Original Aramaic Sources, by George Lamsa.

Mr. Lamsa's mother tongue is Aramaic, which was the original language used in Jesus' time, of which the bible texts were written. There is supposedly a big difference in the meanings of the original text from the English versions and from what I understand, it never held much of the hellfire and brimstone fear-based messages in the commonly used versions today.

I am hopeful it will be a more inspiring message of love and acceptance.

Answer 6

Nope, it certainly can't.

However, the Hebrews weren't any further advanced in their cultural thinking than any of their neighbors. Only thing they had a hammerlock on was the concept of a single God, Who was Lord of All.

By their lights, He had every right to ask what they assumed He asked. Our understanding of what KIND of God God is has allowed us to know Him better.

Today we would never assume that the God Who so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son so that whosoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life is a God Who would condone, much less command, such behavior against His beloveds, ie humanity.

Get a grip, mr_mojo-ris. Jesus started us down the right road to a clearer understanding of what KIND of Person the Divine is. We've refined it still further and future generations will go even further than we. Kindly remove yourself from the 12th century BCE and rejoin us in the present. Or, if you insist on remaining mired in the past, then kindly refrain from trying to describe our understanding of God in defamatory ways. We ain't interested.

Answer 7

Wow. Thats terrible. I never knew that was in the Bible. I have been struggling to find my way with a high power ever since I was a little girl and reading that certainly makes me want to think twice about choosing to accept Jesus as my higher power. I'm glad you pointed that out. And I'm curious to see what Christians will say in defense of those statements.

Answer 8

You can summ it up by saying that, "The God of the Bible allows sin." Why? Well... What message would it send to the unfallen angels and peoples of the universe if God immediately destroyed anyone that sinned? Does God demand obedience? ...or, does He ask it out of a willing and loving heart? How could such unfallen angels and peoples conceive of the consequences of sin (sin's true nature) if those angels and peoples are not allowed to see it for themselves?

"The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."
(Matthew 19:7-9)

"But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28)

God knows the heart. Forget that.. He knows the end from the begining! He could have not created Lucifer in the first place, before he ever sinned, and, in so doing, God could have prevented the entire question of sin. Who would have known? Answer: God would have known. A truly loving God must allow all things -- but here is the crux of the matter -- only up until the point where they have proved their true nature, where they have permanently and irrevocably cut themselves off from God's Love. Then, Judgement comes and the reward is equal to the desires of the heart -- sinner and saint alike.

Answer 9

Please find out what SLAVERY is in the history of man and the REAL meaning.....HINT...get an education and you won't FEEL like a SLAVE living from hand to mouth.....that just mentioned may give you a hint of the historical word of slavery .....and those other big words you have used...look em' up and seek out WHY people DO those 'things'......HINT ...the situations/circumstances that CAUSE the above mentioned to happen....

Answer 10

God does not allow slavery anymore. Jesus paid the price for all slaves.