Why is the Bible considered to be 'the good book'?

Question

I mean, compared with say, the buddhist sutras, the contents of the Bible are violent, oppressive and God is the most ruthless being to have ever existed (Noah's arc- he wipes out EVERY living being on the planet other than the arc dwellers). According to the Bible, God also thinks/demands tens of millions of innocent people should be killed/stoned to death.

If you work on the sabbath you should be killed.
If you drink/eat too much as a teen you should be killed.
If you sleep with another man you should be killed.
People of other nations should be enslaved, and beating them is OK.
Women should be oppressed and not allowed to talk in public.
Villages/towns of atheists should be destroyed & every inhabtant killed.

I am against murder for whatsoever reason, and ~apparantly~ so is God in the 10 commandments, so how can the Bible be deemed 'good' for legitimizing murder in some of the above scenarios and more?

It also says God's law is perfect (so just), and it stands for all time, so should those parts of the Bible be followed today? According to it they should:

"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25but the word of the Lord stands forever."
1 Peter 1:24-25

"18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, 19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. 20They shall say to the elders of his town, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death."
Deut 21:18-21

"34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they

"desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church."
1 Cor 1:33-35

Princess- I do not mock, nor do I claim to know all. I am quoting complete parts of the Bible which it DOES say are true and just. OK to you a God is good or just yet he calls for the slaughter of many innocents in the Bible.

I believe in karma, so there's my explaination for pedophiles and murderers and the like, it comes back on them in equal doses, you don't get away with anything for not thinking of the consequences.

Everybody (including me of course) makes mistakes.

Answer 1

Read the new testament. The new covenant (or law) which is through Jesus Christ signaled the time at which the old testament law was done away with. The old testament law was perfect, but man wasn't, and could not live up to the standards, so that's why a new covenant was introduced. The new covenant involves Grace.

It appears as though you have put a lot of time into reading the Bible, but I challenge you THIS. Ask God, I'm serious. I am positive that there is no way that I could, on Yahoo Answers, persuade you that the Bible is the good book. But to be honest, you sound like you haven't even given it a chance. It's a holistic book, the story doesn't end halfway through.

If you really want to find an answer to your question, and not just evoke a bunch of God-fearing Christians to defend the Bible when you have absolutely no intention of listening to a word they say, then ASK GOD, in humility. Because, I promise (and my promise might not mean anything to you, but it does to me) that if you really desire an answer, you will get it.

I'm not intending to be mean, or cut you down, I just want you to find the truth, because I believe in it above all else.

Answer 2

I read it...
it was not that good a book. It was long, dry and peppered with odd commandments like not to eat things like bats, not to look at naked people or suffer witches to live (sorry Samantha!) or to have a rabbi come and look at leprosy on the wall.
The only character that I thought was interesting was introduced in the last chapters of the book and then died unexpectedly.

I give it a D-


I suppose that people call it the Good Book because it is full of good news for them.

( i hope they never base a movie on it!)

Answer 3

Lets clarify a few things. Since sin, mankind is less than perfect. Perfection is YHVH's standard. YHVH sent the Savior YAHOSHUA so that by receiving Him man could receive the perfection needed to live in a perfect world. If a person chooses not to receive this gift, then he cannot live in the perfect world, and therefore, when the Almighty cleanses this world with fire, and burns up all sin (prior to making this world new, and perfect) then those people attached to their sins will be burned up with the sins they refuse to give up. How could the Almighty be more generous????

Answer 4

I have found that those who mock God's word and the things they don't understand have some sin to hide. I'll leave that for you to admit between you and God if it applies. Those who are angry with God's judgments are wanting out of the fear of those same judgments and hoping they can love their sins more than God and get by with it.
The best way to combat the deceptions named here is with truth. The truth will set you free. Only if you want it. Your eyes are blinded to the truth and your ears are not hearing the spirit speak to your heart.
The difference between God and other Gods is that God is good. Man is wicked. God is just. He executes that justice. God hates sin. God loves man. He provided redemption for sin from the beginning with a blood sacrifice which made coverings for man's nakedness. He has done so once and for all through sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ into the world. Who are you to judge GOD??? He is the living God, not made by hands and has shown His power to execute judgment upon the ungodly. Other gods have no power. Dagan was knocked flat on his face and broken up. Baal's prophets were destroyed. If you are living righteously and enjoying God's blessings, you will not be angry with nor fear God's righteous judgments.
These examples show us that the beginning of wisdom is to fear God and keep His commandments. You would not fear a powerless God who didn't execute judgment. That is what makes Him righteous. He cannot tolerate evil. It is a stink in His nostrils to commit wickedness. The two most important ones are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

You do not know the concept of justice or mercy. The law brings justice. The grace of God brings mercy. Justice called your name also for all the sins you committed. Will you accept the grace of God and let mercy answer?
One question to ponder in your heart; if your child were abducted, raped, tortured and murdered would you not be angry? Would you feel they needed to pay the penalty for their sin? Do you think this person deserves to go free from any punishment? Of course not. Would you go further and say "God, forgive them. They know not what they do"? I dare say you would not without the grace of God to do so. The law is for the lawless nevertheless. They must be restrained and contained. That preserves the righteous people and the innocents who are law abiding. There is no way to stop serial killers or rapists or other criminals except the law. Yet, Christ died for the ungodly while we were yet sinners. Even for the murderers and even for the thief hanging on the cross. One railed against Him but one met Him that day in paradise. Which malfactor will you be like?

God designed this system of justice for mankind. Every other civilization has borrowed those concepts ever since. Sin is like a cancer to individuals and thus to the earth. The earth will once again be cleansed and the chaff burned up. It's like taking out the trash. You can either be trash or treasure to God.
It is not murder. God can build up and He can tear down. The earth is His. It is unbelievable mockery and ignorance and blasphemy to accuse God of being a murderer of innocents. I don't hear you crying about what was done to Jesus. Perfectly innocent. Beaten with a beating that left His back like hamburger. So you could be healed physically and spiritually. A crown of thorns and vinegar and hyssop, taking the curse of the sin upon Himself. Hours of suffering on the cross, the shame, the torture, the mocking. (you are still mocking today) All so you could be free from the law of sin and death. So you could come before God clean and free from His wrath through the blood of Jesus. You must understand the nature of God, sin, man and redemption. This comes from a proper perspective of God's Word. Without anger. With sincerity and humility searching for who God really is and the truth.
They brought destruction on themselves. They were committing horrible crimes such as sacrificing their children in fires to demonic gods and idols, having sexual orgies, and the list is long. Sinners still do the same today. They killed His prophets. Decieved and defiled His people to go a-whoring after other gods after all He had done for them to prove He was God. God put a stop to it then. He will do so again. Sin brings destruction but righteousness brings blessings. If you drive the speed limit, you don't get a ticket. Simple. You know what the limit is. You've no one to blame if you get a whopper of a ticket but yourself.
We murder over a million babies every year in America alone if I'm not mistaken. So, don't you think He will deliver justice for all that innocent blood that's been shed?? He surely will. It cries from the ground for justice to be served. (those guilty can find forgiveness) He prefers mercy and His mercies are from everlasting to everlasting. Under the new covenant, we can live long enough to find forgiveness for our sins committed openly and those that no one but God can see. You see, you are not stoned for your blasphemies but given opportunity to repent and find grace just as Noah found grace.
Without Jesus Christ for your lawyer and His atoning blood to cover your sins and cast them into the sea of forgetfulness, you also will likewise perish. (or anyone else it applies to, "you" is used theoretically but if the shoe fits, wear it.)

Answer 5

Because it is the Good Book. Read it and learn my friend.