How am I supposed believe in the bible if it commands me to kill???

Question

This is just one example----I had to borrow it from another post since I don't own a bible and don't plan on getting one any time soon.


Leviticus 20:13.

"'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

And then there's the whole----If your wife isn't a virgin you should stone her, etc, etc.

If you believe in the bible aren't you commanded to live the laws of the bible? If you believe it, do you believe every word of it or just what is convenient to believe?

If the new and old testement are both the word of god, does it mean he has a habit of changing his mind? It was ok to kill before but not now?? Why the change in heart?

ooops----testament

Answer 1

The "Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation" (Vat. 11, Ch. 3.11) of the Catholic Church says that "all that the inspired, or sacred writers, affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, and without error, teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to be confided to the sacred Scriptures." This is the Church's teaching on the matter after twenty centuries of Christian discernment.

Biblical inerrancy, then, is the Bible's privilege of never teaching error. Does this mean that every statement in the Bible is divine teaching? Of course not. The Bible does not always teach. There are many statements in its various books that are there for historical, geographical, poetic or other reasons. However, whenever a biblical author intends to teach us something, then the Holy Spirit intends that too. Everything that the Bible teaches is without error, but everything in the Bible is not meant as teaching. Each author was left free by the Lord to express himself according to the ideas of his own day. It is the revelation contained in the Scriptures that is important.

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 2

These laws were made because God wanted his people of that day ( the Israelites or Hebrews) to be kept pure and sinless.
If you are a human living on earth you obviously already know that it is virtually impossible to be sinless. Such laws in the long run pointed out human kinds failure at being holy and their desperate need for a Savior.
God is very harsh on sin. If you've read the old testament you know this. Through Jesus the mercy side of God is reveled. One dose not have to stone a sinner because there is now forgiveness.

PS: I can not help questioning you question. Do you ask this because you really want to know? or are you just looking for an excuse to discredit the Bible? or perhaps you just want to argue? . . .

Answer 3

The passages you quoted are from the Old Testament which was the Jewish Law of the Day. When Jesus entered the scene, He stated that he had fulfilled all the law and that he would make a new convenant with those that followed him. Thus, the old laws are no longer binding. Jews however still follow the law...although I haven't heard anything about them honoring those particular passages. However, in the days in which they were written, those things were causes to be killed by the rest of society. Christ gave us the opportunity to be kind and loving rather than judgemental.

Answer 4

I have heard that Jesus used the Law to break the hard heart, then the Gospel to heal the broken heart. These laws and regulations spelled out in the old testament point to our inability to meet God's requirements. He planned to send a Savior from the very first sin. He just needed to show us that we needed one.
Grace and forgiveness is what I see when I read the Bible.

Answer 5

Well, I think that because of the time in which the bible was written, some of the messages were taken from what was believed by that society/culture at that time, but as time has moved on, and societies have progressed, not all of the messages still apply. Overall, the bible has a good message...just certain parts need to be updated, to fit how our society has developed :)

Answer 6

Evil must be destroyed, Or let them be so the meek can be destroyed piece by piece. Every word in the Bible is not literal keep that in mind, it must be believe in good and live. Or believe in bad and die, which side do you want to win Good or the Bad? Bad people dont care if they kill so good people die, And yet we the good people should not kill?

Police kill people all the time, and they are good are they not? Who by the way are you wanting to kill? Or that you dont want to kill? Either way, living and dying its all part of the game. And YES you are commanded by the Bible to follow its teachings, you cant just pick and choose.

Answer 7

You are reading from the portion of the Bible that is called the "Law". That was God's perfect law for His people to live by. His children were supposed to be different from other people - set apart. I can't pretend to understand it all, but I do know that the "Law" was in place to show people their need for a Savior. We are all bad, and we have all sinned - thank God for His mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. Just believe in Him, and you wont have to face God's righteous judgment.
We cant live by the law, and we are not supposed to try - we are not to live a life trying to earn our right standing with God - it is impossible. We have to accept what He has done for us.

Experience His love

Answer 8

Let me ask you this, you go buy a book and plan to read it, but on the way home you open it in the middle and start reading '"and blood gushed out of his throath, heads bouncing on the floor.........etc....'"

In discust you throw the book away.

is this the way to learn what this story is all about?

Lifesafer suggerstion, go and read the Bible. It is the manual for mankind survival, yes there are things that upset, but in the long run there is everlasting life to enjoy.

BTW we are not bound to follow those laws.
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Answer 9

Are you an Israelite living before the time of Christ under a theocracy with Mosaic law?

If not, then what makes you think that this law applies to you?

You see you need to read these laws in context. We are currently under the New Covenant (or New Testament) established by the blood of Christ which paid every penalty that the law demands. The Mosaic law which you are quoting is a part of the Old Covenant that was abolished at the cross.

Nowhere is a Christian commanded to kill, instead we are commanded to forgive and to bless those who curse us and pray for those who mistreat us. Jesus commands us to love one another as he loved us, that is he layed down his life for us - and likewise we are to put the interests of others ahead of our own interests and serve other people.

To answer the second part of your question:
Jesus fulfilled the demands of the law. Its not that God changed his mind, God had this plan all along: That he would send his Son so that Christ would died the death that you and I deserve because of our sins. Even though Christ was sinless, he chose to die for us in obedience to God's will.

Because of what Jesus did, all of God's wrath towards our sins was extinguished on the cross because God poured out all of his anger towards us on his son and punished him instead of us. That is why we can have a joyous and guilt-free relationship with God today.

Also - regarding your point: It was never OK for an Israelite to kill indiscriminately, but these laws are referring to capital punishment. Just like we have in America, Israel had capital punishment for various offenses. God created this people Israel so that they would be perfectly holy. Immorality, sexual or otherwise, earned you a death sentence in that culture. You could just as easily have decided that you no longer wanted to live in Israel and leave if you decided you did not want to be part of God's community you know.
Please check out the link if you would like more information.

Answer 10

You are reading the Old Testament which is the Jewish Bible. The New Testament is the Christian Bible which overrules the Old.