after reading the old testament how can people believe those are the words of god, or that its a GOOD book?

Question

i have read alot of the bible to only find contradictions and inconsistensies on a wide range of topics
Is God the creator of evil?
Isaiah 45:7
I ... create evil.
1 John 4:8
God is love
Lot refuses to give up his angels to the perverted mob, offering his two "virgin daughters" instead. He tells the bunch of angel rapers to "do unto them [his daughters] as is good in your eyes." This is the same man that is called "just" and "righteous" in 2 Peter 2:7-8. 19:7-8

God kills everyone (men, women, children, newborns) in Sodom and Gomorrah by raining "fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven." Well, almost everyone -- he spares the "just and righteous" Lot and his family. 19:24

Answer 1

Psalms 18:25, 26 (MKJV)

With the merciful, You will show Yourself merciful; with an upright man You will show Yourself upright;
with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the crooked You will show Yourself perverse.

Answer 2

It is an extreme position held only by some Christian groups that the Bible – in its entirety - cover to cover is the revealed word of God in every word, but they do a clever thing when they mention this, or make this claim. They will say that the Bible in its entirety is the word of God; inerrant (no mistakes) in the original writings.
So if you go to the Bible and point out some mistakes that are in it you are going to be told: Those mistakes were not there in the original manuscript, they have crept in so that we see them there today.
They are going on problem in that position. There is a verse in the Bible Isaiah 40:8 which in fact is so well known that some Bibles printed it on the inside front cover as an introduction and it says : “ The grass weathers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever”. Here is a claim in the Bible that the word of God will stand forever, it will not be corrupted, it won't be lost. So if today you find a mistake in the Bible you have two choices. Either that promise was false that when God said my word wont fade away, he was mistaken, or the portion which has the mistake in it was not a part of the word of God in the first place, because the promise was that it would be safeguarded, it would not be corrupted.
Are There Mistakes?
I have suggested many times that there are mistakes in the Bible and the accusation comes back very quickly: Show me one. Well there are hundreds. If you want to be specific I can mention few. You have for example at 2nd Samuel 10:18 a description of a war fought by David saying that he killed 7000 men and that he also killed 40000 men on horsebacks. In 1st Chronicles 19 it mentions the same episode saying that he killed 70000 men and the 40000 men were not on horsebacks, they were on foot. The point be what is the difference between the pedestrian and not is very fundamental.
How Did Judas Die?
Matthew 27:5 says that Judas Iscariot when he died he hung himself. Acts 1 says that, no he jumped off a cliff head first. If you study Logic very soon you will come in your course to what they call an “undecidable propositions” or “meaningless sentences” or statements that can not be decided because there is no contextual false. One of the classic examples sited is something called the Effeminites paradox. This man was Cretan and he said “Cretans always lie”, now was that statement true or false? If he was a Cretan and he says that they always lie is he lying? If he is not lying then he is telling the truth then the Cretans don’t always lie ! You see it can not be true and it can not be false, the statement turns back on itself. It is like saying “What I am telling you right now is a lie” would you believe that or not? You see the statement has no true content. It can not be true and it can not be false. If it is true it is always false. If it is false it is also true.
Well in the Bible at Titus 1:12 the writer is Paul and he is talking about the Cretans. He says that one of their own men – a prophet - said “Cretans always lie” and he says that what this man says is true. It is a small mistake, but the point is that it is a human mistake, you don’t find that if you carefully examine the true content of that statement. It can not be a true statement.

Answer 3

I imagin you say this becasue it is rather harsh and some of the things are rather silly sounding.

Keep in mind the old testement was givin to a people wandering the dessert, many of the rules god gives are more for healthy living in the desert than anything else.

We also know that god was alot more harsher back then, this is because people expected god to be harsh. Look through all the religions of old, can you find any from ancient times that involved peaceful worshipp of a loving god that wouldn't get mad if you didn't listen to him?

Its like I come into a room full of misbehaving children, what do i do to get there attention? yell at them, once i have their attention, i can be calmer, and eventualy let them be on their own.

When jesus came, God felt it time to put on the kid gloves and just show us how we are supposed to be behaving.

Answer 4

It is not only a good book it is a great book.
Sum up the Old Testament:
God had a dream and a plan a world with out sin and corruption
Man demanded his own way
We see how wicked men can be
God created, watched over Israel know the answer to sin (Jesus) would come through the Jewish race.
God shows His anger towards sin and his mercy towards other.
Holy Justice/Tender Mercy will always go hand in hand.

Answer 5

If you see it as Christians see it, then it does appear very confusing.

If you see it as Jews see it, there is no contradiction.

The Hebrew scriptures ("Old Testament" to Christians) are the following to Jews:

-- a set of Laws that set out how one should behave toward each other and toward G-d. Following the Laws regarding behavior toward each other means a strong and healthy community. Following the Laws regarding behavior toward G-d means a strong and healthy relationship with G-d.

-- family history; these are not "people from long ago and far away from a distant people" to Jews... these are FAMILY stories... ever-so-great-grandpa/grandma/uncle/aunt so-and-so did this, and this is what happened because of it....

When taken in the historical social context of the time, willingness to sacrifice family for the sake of a guest's safety makes perfect sense... if the man had no sons to fight for the guests, and he was outnumbered, his daughters must do their part to defend the guests. Remember, there were no real police forces back then. It was up to the locals to take care of troublemakers. The concept of stoning as a method of execution emphasized the community as responsible for internal matters. The rulers did what they could for internal stability, but their focus was the defense of the nation against OUTSIDE threats of invasion.

There are many things that don't seem "right" by modern cultural standards, but we are 3000 years away and cultures and community moral values have changed considerably. The story is not about how one should deal in today's world with criminal gangs attempting to attack your guests, but about personal strength and willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the responsibilities you have taken on (e.g. hospitality for guests).

-- wisdom -- observed outcomes from behaviors, with the idea that G-d sets all patterns in the world. If you sin (fail to follow the Laws), either you or your children will have to live with the consequences. These consequences are natural, just as gravity, time, etc. are natural, as established by the Will of G-d.

Jews recognize that these writings are Oral History, written by people inspired by G-d to be community leaders and moral guides.

Two conflicting stories are two Oral Histories, both included for the lessons they can teach regarding G-d's Will, morality, and personal spritural growth.

Answer 6

There was really the Bible..But it has been altered through out the ages to suit the followers need...
So it's now not authentic, the Only Authentic Book from God, which has never been altered and will never be altered is the Holy Qur'an!

Answer 7

I don't know. I find a lot of things in the bible to be conflicting, especially in the old testament. We read about this vengeful, angry, God that we should fear. I don't believe in a God like that. I don't believe in the old testament.

Answer 8

At least I see you're reading it, bless you. You may be too immature to understand it's meaning, pay more attention in Sunday school.

Answer 9

Sometimes I think when people say, "GOD SAYS ALL GAY PEOPLE SHOULD BURN IN HELL, MEGRHEGHG" etc. I wonder if it's actually clever satire, pointing out all the silly/outrageous things in the Bible.

Answer 10

It's not a good book, it's too hard to read