Why do many people. . .?

Question

. . .who do not know the Bible slander it and say that it is evil?
Their tactics are ridiculous,
taking things out of context, looking for errors when they're not even there, saying that the Bible promotes "hate" and "male chauvinism" and "homophobia" and this and that.
No it doesn't.
God is love, not hate. God made man and woman equally, not man superior. God hates sin, not the sinners.
It's humans who have taken the Bible and twisted what it says to suit their own agendas, e.g. Inquisition, Hitler. . .
The Bible is not the cause of our woes, nor is God. We are the cause.

Homophobia is hatred of homosexuals.
In the OT, the punishment for homosexuality is death. But the laws of the OT have been annulled, and no longer stand, except for the 10 commandments.
Homophobia is not biblical.

No one seems to get my point.
Oh well. . .

Answer 1

The Bible may not promote hate/chauvinism/homophobia if you read it a particular way, but many religions and religiously devout sure as hell do! And they use Bible verses to justify themselves, so why can't the non-religious use such verses against them?

Thanks for acknowledging that we are the cause of our woes, if only everyone could take responsibility for their actions and not pass the buck to God.

Answer 2

I do not believe the Bible is evil, but I do not believe it to be the Word of God. Having studied religion as a major in college, there are errors present, and both believers and non-believers are guilty about taking things out of context. I agree that man is his own cause of problems, not God (or a Devil, for that matter). There are certainly many negative things that can be found in the Bible.
And why would part of the Law be annulled and not others. I can find nothing where Jesus says the Ten Commandments were not annulled. The Ten Commandments are part of the Torah (or "Law"), it is not separate. Either all of it was annulled, or none of it was.

Answer 3

I don't think you've ever read the Bible if you're claiming God is love.

God did not make man and woman equally, but woman from man, and, if you take the time to read enough of Corinthians, you will realize that God made woman FOR man, and that 'the head of every man is God, and the head of every woman is man'.

God preferred the animal sacrifice of Able to the vegetable sacrifice of Cain. Obviously, he prefers violence.

God required his devoted follower to sacrifice his son to him, stopping him at the last moment and claiming it was a test.

God destroyed all life on this planet with a flood solely because of human action, electing only to save his favorite humans, ignoring innocent humans and animals.

God destroyed all of Sodom and Gomorrah because he did not like their practices. Note however, that when Lot offers up his daughters to the angry mob in place of the visitor angels, God does not judge him. But when Lot's wife turns around in a moment of doubt (or perhaps mourning of the city), she is turned directly into a pillar of salt.

God smote all the innocent first born sons of Egypt, AFTER he had hardened Pharaoh's heart against giving in and freeing the Israelites.

God required his son Jesus to die on the cross as a human sacrifice, IN ORDER to forgive the rest of humanity for a grudge from their ancestors. Obviously, he prefers sacrifices, and this one wasn't a test.

God created Hell, a place for your soul to be tortured for eternity with no hope of salvation.

God hates gay people, as noted in Corinthians and Leviticus. How can you say you've read the Bible and then say God isn't homophobic?

Not to mention that whole quote from Jesus that he did not come here to bring peace but to 'bring the sword'.

Please, read your Bible a bit more carefully. Which of these events paints a picture of an all-loving God?

You claim homophobia isn't Biblical, because it was in the Old Testament. Don't Christians also claim that the reason the New Testament is true is because it fulfills the prophecy of the Old Testament? Don't Christians also claim that God is perfect and never changes? Why would his mind change here?

And have you not noticed all your compatriot Christians quoting Leviticus against homosexuals?

Answer 4

I do not say that the Bible is evil, I just do not believe it is true. If it does present God as he really is, then there are some major problems with God......
For example look at the 10 plagues. God kills all of the first born sons of Egypt in order to punish the pharoh. This means that God is capable of killing innocent children in order to prove his point. This is not simply interpretation, this is actually the word of the Bible. So how can I respect a deity that kills innocent children in order to prove his point? How is that "love"?

Answer 5

There are times when it can be difficult to see that people who are being aggressive and using the Bible as their excuse, their cause, their cover are putting meanings into it that it does not have.

Take for example the attitude of most Christians (as expressed thru the media) concerning gays. I find nowhere in the Bible any definition of marriage as being a thing involving only one man or only one woman. Because the Bible has said that single gender sex is an 'abomination' in the Old Testament, Christians seem to feel empowered to hate them, hurt them, persecute them........
There's no directive in the bible instructing men to be quiet in church, but there is such a directive concerning women......
Paul teaches that it's okay for slave christians to hate their non-Christian masters.........

Perhaps it does not promote homophobia, male chauvinism, or hate, but if that is so, it is far too easily twisted in the cause of those who are against these things.

People seem vastly able to choose which verses apply (give unto Caesar, for example) and which ones do not (Go not unto the Gentiles, but only the lost sheep of Israel), and are lead much more toward hating and fearing groups of 'others' as opposed to following Jesus' instruction on how each one of them should live their lives.

Jesus said that anyone who had faith in Him would be able to do everything He was able to do and greater. I don't want greater, but if I could interact with ANYONE who could demonstrate any faith in Jesus, that would counteract all of the holocaust, the inquisition, and even the modern church-bloodlust,,, for me.

And don't go on about how none of you are perfect, because that isn't what He said.

Answer 6

You're wrong. The bible does say all of those things. Just because there are people that don't like anything the bible says doesn't mean they've never read the bible.

You need to open your eyes and realize the world is alot bigger place than your little bible. And many people have become wise to its lies.

Answer 7

I believe that the bible was written by early law enforcement authorities to keep the ancient world in one piece not by a god or deity. This site says a lot for the whos, whys and hows I think.
http://godisimaginary.com/index.htm

Answer 8

The Bible doesn't promote homophobia? That's news to me.

Answer 9

So when a Christian takes a verse out of the Bible, it is completely ok, but when someone else does the same it is "out of context"? Very hypocritical there.

Answer 10

Homophobia is biblical, as injunctions against it also appear in the NT.

It can be used for all of the things you mention, and that is unfortunate. Like fire, its power can create or destroy -- it depends on who wields it.

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