Is the Bible a good reference for moral behavior?

[Lliam]

‐‐‐ on submission to slavery

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ."
Eph 6:5
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%206...
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"All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers."
1 Tim 6:1‐2
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...
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"Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them..."
Titus 2:9
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%202...
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"Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh."
1 Pet 2:18
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%202...
‐‐‐ on acquiescence to tyranny
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted..."
Rom 13:1–2
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2013...
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"Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right."
1 Pet 2:13‐14, 18
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%202...

Who actually wrote that crap?

[Paul09]

Hell no! I bet most of these people never read this Bible lol. They pick and choose what they want to believe. Good people are good because they know it's right thing to do. Religious people are mostly good because the fear of God.

[DrPepper12]

No. And people who need the threat of eternal damnation by a "loving" god to behave ethically are sus.

[Anonymous]

Slavery existed in the world long before the Bible was written, and though Scripture doesn’t explicitly condemn it or put an end to it, it does regulate it.

Several laws regulating slavery appear in Exodus 21. These laws gave some basic rights to slaves and curtailed the actions of masters in a historically unprecedented way. In the ancient world outside of Israel, slaves had no rights. But God’s Law extended to slaves the right to keep a wife (verse 3), the right not to be sold to foreigners (verse 8), the right to be adopted into a family by marriage (verse 9), and the right to food and clothing (verse 10). The law also limited masters in their use of corporeal punishment (verses 20, 26–27). Slavery was never meant to be the way we’ve always seen it throughout history.

Even in the New Testament era, the Bible did not demand that every slave owner immediately emancipate his slaves. Rather, the apostles gave instructions, like the verses you quoted, to slaves and their owners on godly behavior within that social system.

Jesus and the apostles did not outright condemn slavery. They didn’t need to. The effect of the gospel is that lives are changed, one by one, and those changed lives in turn bring transformation to entire families, clans, and cultures. Christianity was never designed to be a political movement, but, over time, it naturally affected political policy.

[lightbulb27]

I'd view that more like peaceful /passive protest... winning someone over slowly [boiling the frog] than doing so by force. If you rage against a power, then there is suffering and misery. Theirs was a bottom up approach to taking power.

I don't think I'd apply that in all scenarios of time and history though. In short, have to be careful what one reads and make own judgements, but I think the underlying force which I read the Bible as..."God is love"... does provide the moral compass. Elsewhere it talks about taking slaves... as I read it... it is an exchange to give that slave life, train them and set them free in 7 years. It doesn't talk about abuse the hell out of them. The problem really is humans distort love because of their selfishness and wounded emotional energies from which they derive their thoughts.

Clearly Jesus did not follow the passages quoted as he got upset overturning money carts in his father's temple and verbally thrashing the Saduccess and Pharisses. that was protest, but as well, it has a purpose to it... which was to get himself killed so could become the savior.

I would not say Israel is a moral compass, but I'm not saying they are all bad either. God (love) got thoroughly sick of these people... which is why they were scattered all over the place... according to the Bible. And as well, God (love) favored Hagar, whom created a nation of people... effectively Arabs.

All the knowledge of good and evil... so that we can have lots of "fun"... and cleanse. I'm sure you've done a colon cleanse... it appears to be like that in spiritual/emotional realm.

[DJB72]

I love how people take passages out of context to try to make an argument.

Slavery in Rome was vastly different from the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in America. Roman slaves were able to buy their freedom and even become citizens. A vastly different experience from the African slaves.

As to being subject to the government, consider who wrote it and what happened to them: St Paul - beheaded for preaching Christ, and St Peter - crucified upsidedown for preaching Christ. There's a huge difference between being subject to the government and blindly obeying them.

[Lliam]

Christians quote passages all the time. Is that taking them out of context? Or is it just out of context if the passage doesn't fit the desired narrative.

If those quotes are taken out of context, show me the context that proves that they don't mean what they say.

If anything, doesn't this prove that Romans wrote those passages in the Bible. And, if so, what other parts of the Bible were written for men's self-serving purposes and not inspired by "God".

The Old Testament (Talmud infused Torah) also endorses slavery and all kinds of horrible shit. Is THAT the word of "God"?

[DJB72]

Context is essential for real understanding. You're right, Christians can and do quote passages without context and as a result twist things to try to force them to say something that don't. Character limits make it difficult to share the 63,779 cross-references between the 66 books written over the span of over 2000 years by dozens of different writers who didn't have access to each other's writings.

St Paul was a Roman citizen, as recorded in Acts 22, but Peter was Judean. That's why Paul was beheaded not crucified as crucifixion was forbidden for Roman Citizens.

But one question I can't help asking: what are you so angry about? What has hurt you so deeply that you need to lash out at Christianity? What church failed you so badly in your hurt?

[Lliam]

I'm not angry about anything. It sounds like you're the one who is lashing out. 😭 All I did was run across those quotes and decide to share them on GAG.
I will say that Christians crack me up. They truly are "lambs of God", i. e. sheep.

[DJB72]

Yep. That's why we look to Christ. He's our Shepherd.

[Daniela1982]

Why is what the Bible says any worse than how slave owners in America treated their slaves? Southern slave owners whipped their slaves, had babies with the women, bought and sold them like candy, and even killed them. If a slave escaped, they hunted them down with dogs and thrashed them within an inch if their life. Seems to me the Bible told the slaves how to not get on their master's bad side which would be wise for a slave to adhere to. I also point out that the Israelites were slaves for over 400 years, including in Egypt before they were finally led out by God to go to their promised land which is now Israel.

[Lliam]

Israeli historian & top archeologist Ze'ev Herzog:

[Lliam]

There is zero historical or archaeological evidence that the Hebrews were ever enslaved by Egypt.

The Old Testament: Various Schools of Authors
Starting around the 7th century B. C., different groups, or schools, of authors wrote them down at different times, before they were at some point (probably during the first century B. C.) combined into the single, multi-layered work we know today.

These authors were Judean (from Judea) rabbis who inserted Talmudic messages into the Torah, hence all the contradictory messages.

[DrPepper12]

@Lliam is 💯 correct. It's apocryphal.

[genericname85]

i think the bible can provide you a few very good stories that can help you decide for yourself what good moral behavior should be. and that doesn't mean you gotta agree with the values and interpretations of the bible. however i do think that there's better means to that end than the bible.

[Juxtapose]

Reading the comments here, the Christians have such weak arguments against this.

[Dongie]

I see slaves as those who worked for a rich man. Not in chains and fed crap. Similar to one's boss at work. To think that God would have ownership of a person by another is not God's way.

[Dongie]

Better yet, having read some opinions, why don't you all get together and judge God. Since, being Almighty Creator, you have to know he got His word through the devils attempts to thwart the Word. I'll enjoy watching that.👀😉

[handsomelad70]

Of course, if its adherents would live up to their professed Christianity.

[John_And_Elijah]

There's a problem with everything you said. Why? Because it was taken from the NIV.

[John_And_Elijah]

"Ye seruauntes, obey you're BODELY masters, with feare and tremblynge, in synglenes of you're hert, euen as vnto Christ,"

-Ephesians 6:5 (Coverdale bible)

"Let as many seruauntes as are vnder the yoke, counte theyr masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God & hys doctryne be not euyll spoken of."

-1 Timothy 6:1 (Great Bible 1539)

"Let euery soule submyt hym selfe vnto the auctoryte of the hyer powers. For there is no power but of God."

- Roman 13:1 (Great Bible 1539)

[RedInnocent69]

Overall, no. Parts of the New Testament, sure.

[Sevenpointfive]

WHAT IS one of netanyahu's descendants ALEX

[jahaims]

Nah.