reasons to dismiss the bible

[faith_no_more]

Supposedly god gave moses a tablet with the 7 commandments on the top of a mountain.

If the bible was written by god and the  7 commandments are clearly known about by everybody,then why does god contradict himself?

he condones slavery murder torture degradation of homosexuals blacks and anyone who isn't a christian of the same color of skin.

There are even several paragraphs where god orders men to torture people and degradate their enemies.

What kind of sick  god is this?

So either we shouldn't be listening to god at all because he is one sick twisted evil god,or it was written by men as a excuse to do what they wanted.

[Thumpalumpacus]

What kind of sick god is this?

Given the put-upon nature of the Jews -- trapped between the two antagonistic superpowers of their day, astride the only reasonable route for either side's invading armies, in a land that yielded little fruit for long labors -- it is no wonder that their god is as you've described.

Very much like a cultural revenge fantasy.

[Argie]

Besides the contradictions that you rightly mention, I have always thought upon the tale of Jacob and his brother Esau.  The jews belive to be the descendants of Jacob.  Jacob´s story is the story of a cheater and a liar.  To summarize it for who didn´t read the Bible, Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac (and here is another story to ponder upon the all loving and merciful god of Abnraham); Esau was the eldest, and therefore had the right of the firstborn... on Rebbeca´s advise, Jacob cheats his brother and father to recive the blessing (and inheritance of course) of an old sick, blind and dying Isaac... and then god, the same one that sais not to lie and to honor your father and mother, convalidates this dreadfull act of treachery.  The jews in their prayers and chants always feel proud to be descendants of Jacob, so jews fell proud to be the offspring of a cheater.  Incidentally, Jacob´s sons, once sold one of their brothers as a slave to the egiptians bercause they were jelous of him.  Jacob´s grandfather, the good old Abe, was told by god to abbandon his first born Ismael and his mother in the dessert and deprive him of his rightfull inheritance.  Proofs of the loving nature of the so called god of the israelites, the judeochristian god that talked to Moses, and conversates with GW Bush.

[The Black Jester]

Supposedly god gave moses a tablet with the 7 commandments on the top of a mountain.

Ten.  There were ten Commandments.  Unless Moses dropped one of the tablets, a la Mel Brooks.

[elliebean]

Supposedly god gave moses a tablet with the 7 commandments on the top of a mountain.

Ten.  There were ten Commandments.  Unless Moses dropped one of the tablets, a la Mel Brooks.

For that matter, which set of
commandments are we talking about?

One of the best-kept secrets in the discussions on the Ten Commandments concerns the fact that (according to the story) Moses smashed the first set of tables in a fit of anger, because the Israelites chose to worship the golden calf. (That this would happen or would be told casts doubt on the whole Exodus tale, but we will not cover that here.)

As the tale goes, Moses smashed the tables of stone, and God said he'd make a new set of tables containing "the words that were on the first" (Exodus 34:1). However, as we see on the second page, the second Ten Commandments in no way resemble the first set. To popularize this knowledge is to knock the wind out of this entire move to place "The" Ten Commandments in our schools.

Notice that the two readings are not identical. They actually consist of 17 statements, and there are no instructions in the Bible on how we are to combine and group these 17 statements so we end up with ten commandments. This presents us with an immediate problem -- which reading do we use, the one in Exodus or the one in Deuteronomy, and how do we combine and group the 17 statements so we arrive at 10 commandments? The answer is no one agrees. The Catholics, the Protestants, and the Jews all have their own way of combining and grouping the 17 statements, each arriving at their own distinctly different version of the Ten Commandments.

[Prea]

he condones slavery murder torture degradation of homosexuals blacks and anyone who isn't a christian of the same color of skin.

There are even several paragraphs where god orders men to torture people and degradate their enemies.

What kind of sick  god is this?

So either we shouldn't be listening to god at all because he is one sick twisted evil god,or it was written by men as a excuse to do what they wanted.

It is the individual who chooses and believes though. And it is the individual who decides their actions based upon their beliefs and understandings. God does not decide these things for us.

Imo the Bible is somewhat of a test for ignorant people. And when you take it too literally, and focus on the destruction and separation that you PERCEIVE is in the bible (and then act upon it), then you fail this test (but life is full of tests, to measure what is truly in one's heart).

God says "he who knows himself knows the lord" and since there is only one I/eye, if you truly knew that we are all one in the same person you would not treat others negatively, as you are just treating yourself/the one self negatively.

http://near-death.com/experiences/research22.html

Jesus told a gay man that he would send guardian angels to help him when he returned. It was two gay men who helped him.

[The Black Jester]

Thanks, Ellie - I do remember reading that as a child, when I read the Bible, and being confused.  But I don't think at any time there were ever only 7 commandments.

[Martin TK]

he condones slavery murder torture degradation of homosexuals blacks and anyone who isn't a christian of the same color of skin.

There are even several paragraphs where god orders men to torture people and degradate their enemies.

What kind of sick  god is this?

So either we shouldn't be listening to god at all because he is one sick twisted evil god,or it was written by men as a excuse to do what they wanted.

It is the individual who chooses and believes though. And it is the individual who decides their actions based upon their beliefs and understandings. God does not decide these things for us.

Imo the Bible is somewhat of a test for ignorant people. And when you take it too literally, and focus on the destruction and separation that you PERCEIVE is in the bible (and then act upon it), then you fail this test (but life is full of tests, to measure what is truly in one's heart).

God says "he who knows himself knows the lord" and since there is only one I/eye, if you truly knew that we are all one in the same person you would not treat others negatively, as you are just treating yourself/the one self negatively.

http://near-death.com/experiences/research22.html

Jesus told a gay man that he would send guardian angels to help him when he returned. It was two gay men who helped him.

Again, my friend, you assume to know the mind of your god, by saying this is a test for ignorant people.  The bible was written by men, who had an agenda when writing it, an agenda that was based on the perception of the world they lived in, nothing more.  There was not some great thought for the future, and that their writings would some day end up in a "bible" that would be believed by modern man.  To assume this is absurd, and then to interpret what was written and try to apply that to today's world is even more absurd.  If god were truly omnipotent, he would have seen the need to include wording in the scriptures that would have some bearing on today's world, or at least have the foresight to update his editions from time to time.  Finally, why do you say PERCEIVED destruction and separation in the bible, when it is clearly written that there was evil done by both god and man in god's name?  All you have to do is look at Abraham, the first man to believe in a monotheistic god, and what does this god do to reward him, ask him to barbque his son, then at the last minutes says, "Psyche, I was just testing you."  This is not the behaviour of a loving god, and surely not one I am willing to put my trust for an eternity in.  What will stop him from deciding at some future time to send us all to hell and start over?  He wiped out the Earth and all life once, he killed innocent children in their sleep in Egypt, he allowed Herod to kill all the first born males when Jesus was born (I don't believe in any of this by the way) he killed his own son, then he just clammed up for the past two thousand years and left the interpretation of his "word" to men.  He doesn't have a great track record.