Pick The Most Appalling Old Testament Act

[Ken2468]

I'd vote for Genesis 19:1-14. You know, the one where Lot (nephew of Abraham no less) offers his two engaged daughters to the men of Sodom in exchange for leaving his male guests alone. What a swell guy. As an additional note, God, who voices and shows his disapproval in very clear and often violent terms throughout the Old Testament, said and did nothing about Lot's behaviour. I get how God and the Hebrews viewed women as property instead of equal human beings, but to offer your own daughters to be gang raped by sex-starved evil men is a little beyond the pale even by Old Testament standards, wouldn't you say.....?

[iSok]

Would this topic contribute anything?

This is also a topic started by you: http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6656
Why not continue there?

[hackenslash]

It's a tough question. Jephthah has to be up there, as does Abraham and Isaac, the slaughter of the Amalekites et al.

Top of my list, because it is the lie upon which the entire sham of Judeo-christian mythology is erected, and is therefore the root of all the appalling acts that followed from it, has to be the guff about the fruit of the tree, and the assertion that the serpent, who told the truth, is evil, while god, who lied, is good.

[lundberg500]

I'd vote for Genesis 19:1-14. You know, the one where Lot (nephew of Abraham no less) offers his two engaged daughters to the men of Sodom

And then let's not forget how those two daughters then had sex with their father Lot.

19:34 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 19:35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. 19:36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father.

I like the wonderful story from Judges 19 where a mob of gay guys comes knocking on the door of an old man so they can have sex with his newly aquired male guest. The old man does not want these guys raping his male guest so he offers up his own virgin daughter and a concubine to the mob of perverts. The mob refuses the daughter, but accepts the concubine and they "abuse her all night." The next morning she crawls back to the doorstep and the man who didn't get raped puts her body on an ass and takes it home. Then he chops the body up into twelve pieces.

19:22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. 19:23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. 19:24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. 19:25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light. 19:27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.  19:28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. 19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

What a wonderful story. Why didn't they teach me this one in bible school when I was a kid?