Does it make sense to use the bible as a basis for modern morality?

Question

There are several issues in the US today in which activists on either side are using biblical morality as an argument for their case. Does it make sense to refer to an ancient text for guidance, given the immense cultural differences between biblical times and the present day?

For example, the question of abortion is never specifically addressed in the bible. The reason for this is because at the time the bible was written, the only reason a women would be pregnant was if she was married. Any woman who had premarital sex was labeled a whore. If an unmarried woman was raped, she was forced to marry the rapist, thus removing the question of whether or not to have the rapist's child. Women were viewed as property in this age. Should the views of such a culture influence our morality today?

This question is not about the abortion issue; it is a more general question of ancient versus modern morality.

To those who argue that ancient Middle Eastern society was better than modern American society, I respectfully disagree.

Would you really like to live in a culture that forces you to adhere to a certain religion - a society that advocates the death penalty for disrespecting your parents and encourages a conquering army to take slave-girls?

The morality of biblical times was appropriate for biblical times. But if any nation today tried to reinstate a cultural atmosphere as it existed 3,000 years ago, we would be regarded as barbarians by the international community, and most likely sanctioned for human rights violations. The world is different today than it was back then.

To those who say the laws of the old testament do not apply, I wish someone would explain the rationale behind this disavowal.
The bible is supposed to be the word of god. Every word, every passage, every chapter is divinely inspired by a god who is unchanging and omniscient. What makes the old testament less valid than the new testament?

Answer 1

I don't use it as a base for any type of morality. The actual morals that are included are also found in other cultures and civilizations that are just as old or older that the ones that brought about the Judeo-Christian ethos.
Don't murder.
Don't steal.
Don't lie.

Why? Very simple. Doing those three things breaks the peace and bond of the social group. It causes many to want to seek vengeance, and in turn others who do not feel that "justice was done" attack those who attempt vengeance. With everyone fighting, there is no food coming in, there aren't enough to do the work that needs to be done, there are children that need to be raised that are missing a parent/provider which adds to the burden of the society and so on.
All the rest of those so called Morals were restrictive tenets to ensure the continuation of the religion and the control of the masses of believers. Nothing more.

Answer 2

Excellent question and points raised. I think any intelligent person can quickly dtermine that the Bible is trash.

The Bible is the biggest load of garbage and codswallop ever written by man, and I’m sure it will go down in history as the greatest load of gobbledygook ever to inflict such traumatic mental and physical damage on humanity, but still today, some people sadly believe the Bible to be true. That’s very sad indeed. Very sad.

When people quote various passages from the Bible, for example ...

Mathew 5:29-30 God encouraged self-mutilation.
Isaiah 13:15-18 God allowed women raped and little children slaughtered.
Genesis 6:11-17 and 7:11-24 God is the greatest mass murder in history.

What happens? Religious people pop up from under every stone with the same old garbage. “That was the old Bible, or we’ve changed the meaning, or wrong interpretation, or we’ve changed the context, or the quotes are out of context or or or, excuse after excuse.”

The fact is, they are Bible quotes, and the Bible is full of evil atrocities which religious people continually cover up, yet seem happy to drum into the minds of gullible little children. This is such a shameful disgrace in a civilised world.

If religious people are unable to apply commonsense and logic to develop a simple moral code to live by, then perhaps they could strip out of the Bible the evil, murders, rapes, abuse, and all traumatic references. Granted there will not be a lot left to read, but at least religious people may end up with a decent moral code to follow based on good, and not scare the living daylights out of innocent little children.

Answer 3

Does it make sense to use the bible as a basis for modern morality? ABSOLUTELY!

For example, the question of abortion is never specifically addressed in the bible. YES IT IS, IT IS CALLED MURDER

This question is not about the abortion issue; it is a more general question of ancient versus modern morality. THEN WHY PUT IT IN YOUR QUESTION?

If we lived more by the guidelines of the Bible we would be much much better off the problem is some people say that we need the separation of church and state.

Answer 4

It is the basis for modern morality. Sure some of the concepts have changed but overall the message is still quite clear.you should do unto others as you would have them do unto you.You should be forgiving.You should not bear false witness against anyone.none of that has changed.
In so far as rape and abortion goes, abortions were not performed in biblical times or there would have been some kind of rules set down as to how to take care of it.
In the case of murder, it remains that those who hold the sanctity of life in so little regard should perhaps have to give up theirs in return.
If someone steals today, they should have to make reparations and perhaps loose a hand. They valued their hands so little as to use it for a crime. People have to learn to respect their own as well as other people's bodies and possessions. It was like that in the beginning and the same holds true today. as it is said, so mote it be. People who cannot live peaceably in society within the lax set of rules we have today, should be removed from said society. Forceably if necessary. There are some crimes that are so heinous and require such a long time of festering in the sick mind that those individuals will never be able to again assimilate right from wrong and my taxpayer dollars should not be used to house feed, clothe, provide cable for, etc. those persons. They are unrehabilitateableand as such should be sent by express train to where they really belong.My tax dollars would be better spent providing food and shelter for the homeless and dental and medical care for children who , despite both parents working, cannot afford to provide said care. If a man wants to be a rapist, then perhaps he should be made a eunich. He may still have perverse thoughts but it would certainly be harder to act upon them.

Answer 5

There are a lot of valid ideas in the Bible. "Thou shalt not steal" is a prime example. But the Bible is also cluttered with other things. It might be best to write a new stand-alone book of modern morality, without the religious overtones and "because God said so"-isms of the Bible. LOL. Probably someone's already done that.

Answer 6

Morality is about values not technology. The only difference between then and now is technology. And while it is true there are more issues today than yesterday, that is only because technology opened up new ways of interaction in society and therefore new challenges. But morality addresses all of them the same way in the past: With the eye to preserve the dignity and value of life. So it still makes sense to use the Bible as a guide having helped lay the foundation of Christian morality in the past. The problem is not the Bible but the people who quote from it as though they had the proper training to understand it. Its like laymen quoting from the constitution as though they're authorities.

Answer 7

you are confusing the customs of the jews in the OT with the New covenant i think? if you study the bible, you'll know that God says to the pharisees, 'you keep the traditions of man and not God' about the jewish laws. and ALL of Gods rules are benificiary to us. dont have sex before marriage. why should we not do this today? could get pregnant, STD's, labelled as a whore, you get it. dont be a glutton, and we can all agree overeating is unhealthy, drinking too much can cause liver damage, i dont understand what your question is asking specifically? my final comment is all of god's rules are benificiary to us TODAY, not just when the bible was written.

Answer 8

You're absolutely right about the Bible and abortion, I learned the same thing in my Law and Ethics class. It even goes so far as to support it, because it claims we are not "human" in God's eyes until we are born and breathe air on our own...by that, killing a fetus isn't murder according to the book. They shouldn't use the Bible, most if it cant be applied to present day, so yes, I agree with you.

Answer 9

I sometimes wonder (& I'm a republican) what the abortion laws, etc would be like if men TRULY were in the spot women were in. If their career or education could be dramatically ended, or if they could be raped & be forced to carry a child for 9 months, would we even be having this arguement? Remember that cosby show epidsode where the men were giving birth.

Answer 10

Only on the most basic level. "Do unto others...", "Thou shalt not kill...", "Honor thy father and mother...", basic morality should not have changed that much. For more sticky issues, such as the abortion debate, a more scientific approach is almost required to be applied in order to sort through the differences of opinion.