It specifies, over and over, whole categories of people who should be killed (including children who curse their parents ... Exodus 21:17). Are you aware that Silver Ravenwolf has written many books on Wicca, and that none of them recommends the killing of anyone?
2007-03-29 05:44:02 · 25 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Wow, talk about timing. I just asked a question to this effect.
2007-03-29 05:47:08 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
While that is true, Silver Ravenwolf is also not a very good source for the serious Wiccan.
Many Wiccan groups have dismissed Ms. Ravenwolf as promoting the "Hollywood" witch image, with her stereotypical name and 'spells' with purposes along the lines of "make yourself popular at school."
I would stay away from Llewellyn books in general, due to the fact that those publishers do not care about the quality or content of their authors' books.
Also, if it's found in the "New Age" section of your local Barnes & Noble, its credibility is suspect.
I suggest checking out local shops run by actual Wiccans (if any exist in your area), and getting your info and resource recommendations straight from them.
While Christianity's book is one of the bloodiest to date, Wicca has to deal with tides of 'fluffbunny' publications using its name.
Generic neo-paganism seems to be less confused than the Wiccan branch, in general.
2007-03-29 05:55:24 · answer #2 · answered by Johnny Sane 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes, God kills over 2 and a half million people in the bible (though more than half of which he ordered his followers to kill), while Satan kills 10. Clearly an imbalance.
The New Testament doesn't make things any better... Jesus repeatedly says that he hasn't come to counter or upset the Old Testament laws and that those are perfect word still in force. In fact, in Mark 7:9-10 Jesus criticizes his followers for not obeying OT laws and stoning their disobedient children to death. He tells them clearly they must do so. He says this again in Mathew.
And it's incomprehensible that christians point to the New Testament as if that changes their belief that god killed all those people in the Old one. Believing the bible and the NT doesn't make all of god's evil atrocities magically disappear.
2007-03-29 06:01:55 · answer #3 · answered by Mike K 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The Ritual Human Sacrifice theme throughout the Bible should be enough to turn off any person of reasonable intelligence.
The requirements in Leviticus to sacrifice all first born male children are simply ignored by Christians, Jews and Muslims, but the words still remain as a 'Testament' to the true origins of their religion.
Even the crucifixion of Jesus is reworked into a ritual sacrifice of a first born male virgin.
There is little real difference between Islanders in the Pacific sacrificing a virgin to a Volcano God and the nonsense you find in the Bible.
It's just more long winded.
2007-03-29 06:04:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
One thing I don't get with the people accusing the bible of killings, murders, etc. is that they always focus on the old testament. Why is it that they never read the whole book? It is like reading Harry Potter, people like you would just say oh ok he lived with his uncle and his aunt and he is oppressed then that is it. But since you never read or consider the rest of the book, you never really got to know what happened to harry, about how he found a nice family the weasleys and found friends etc. you have limited yourself in reading the only first chapter and focus on that. Same is what you are saying on the Bible. you are focusing on the beginning, why don't you read the whole thing, specially on the part when the hero gets to die to save the world. He knew he would save a few but he was willing to go through the hardship and be mocked, tortured, humiliated, crucified, and die for the sake of you and I, for the sake of the world. Now that is a good ending Isn't it? so girl, read the whole book, didn't your teacher ever tell you to finish reading your book when you were in grade school? tsk tsk tsk.
Wasabi
2007-03-29 05:56:04 · answer #5 · answered by Wasabi 737 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I see that you seem to have a problem with the concept of justice?
I agree that extreme justice, without mercy, can be cruel, but it also seems clear to me that pure mercy, without any retribution for the unrepentant, would also be cruel, because we would be letting people "get away with murder", so to speak.
I have no problem with the idea of justice. Sorry that you feel differently.
===edit===
In response to the comment by "jonjon418", above, the 2 Kings passage has also been explained here on Y!A a hundred times before. When God stands by and lets people get mugged or murdered, people say God doesn't care. The one time that God does intervene, and saves an old man from being attacked by a gang of teenagers, people say that God is cruel for protecting the old prophet. Skeptics will never be satisfied with any explanation, no matter how logical, and no matter how silly & irrational their own position sounds.
I see no problem in the story of two bears giving a group of teenage bullies exactly what they earned. I think that we could some more bears now a-days.
For those wanting a full explanation, check out the article at the link below:
===edit2===
In response to the comment by "justsomeguy564", below, the command in Leviticus to devote the first born males to God is NOT a command for human sacrifice, as is clear from the story of the prophet Samuel. As you may recall, Samuel's mother "offered" her son to Yahweh by sending him to become a priest at the temple -- she did not kill him (I Samuel 1:11 & 21-28). This is a very dishonest way of distorting the obvious meaning of the text.
I see that skeptics have to resort to lies & slander to attack Christianity, since they obviously have no honest gripes.
2007-03-29 05:49:22 · answer #6 · answered by Randy G 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Humans are an especially bloodthirsty race. No other creature on earth makes war with weapons.
The idea is to climb out of that pit.
The Bible is a pathway by showing you the two sides.
2007-03-29 06:29:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes it is. And everybody knows it is. The "Christian" goes to bible study specifically to be told how to excuse all the despicably bloodthirsty and savage passages in scripture that quite clearly show "God" to be a ruthless monster.
One of my personal favs - when God sics some she-bears on a group of kids who taunted the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 2:23-24). Damn - that's harsh! (And "Randy G," in attempting to refute me, simply takes the side of the bears! Yeah, those brats deserved to be torn limb from limb for calling God's prophet "old baldy." They had it coming. Free advice, people: DON'T leave your kids alone with "Christians.")
"Do a read of the New Testament." Ah, yes. Even the "Christians" have to admit that the OT was horrible - but then God had a change of heart after we offered His own Son up as a blood sacrifice. Sated on the blood of His divine offspring, He no longer needs to periodically smite a greater or lesser portion of the species every time He feels slightly irritated. This is what passes for the "Good News"!
2007-03-29 05:47:38 · answer #8 · answered by jonjon418 6 · 2⤊ 3⤋
If the Bible is a ' bloodthirsty ' book - it is so only because it documents the doings of wicked, bloodthirsty beings called people.
2007-03-29 05:47:01 · answer #9 · answered by vanamont7 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well to be truthful yes, the old testament was full of bloody wars. Some of the war stories are quite frightful.
2007-03-29 15:29:00 · answer #10 · answered by Pamela V 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As apposed to the Gita? or the Koran?
Actually, the new testament shows that God sent His Son as a sacrifice for us. Jesus represents the unconditional Love of God. Try reading Corinthians before you say it's bloodthirsty. The old testament times were a bloody time . . . it's documents tend to go that direction.
2007-03-29 05:49:15 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋