"Truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. Ignorance may deride it. But in the end, there it is."
-Winston Churchill
Such is the Bible. Stripped to its' core, you have the message of a loving Creator, a Caretaker, and the ultimate Judge of anything moral or just. Yet if you host an aura of negativity when examining anything, you will draw from it nothing other than a negative outcome. If you have made your decision before you look at the facts, then you are going to find any way to apply the facts to your decision, rather than basing your decision on the facts.
The typical atheist will look at the cover of the Bible and see an evil book, therefore when they open it up they can see only evil texts, because that is what they are looking for. But then I must raise the question: how does the atheist define 'evil'? Where are they getting this objective perspective on which they justify calling anything evil?
Such an argument assumes God; because in an atheistic world-view, there is no standard of morality. There is nothing beyond ourselves, there is only nature. Therefore they have no grounds on which to support their statement that the Bible is evil. Their worldview does not support anything other than a code of morality that is completely subjective. They must borrow from a theistic perspective to support their perspective.
Of course, there is a standard of morality, and we all (including the non-believer) know what it is. Atheists and theists alike can stand united on this front: rape, murder, prostitution, genocide, and stoning homosexuals are objectively immoral. But I think, now, it is time to get my hands dirty and get into some 'evil' Bible verses..
"Kill all living creatures in this area; men, women, children, oxen, sheep." Joshua 6
Boy, it is pretty putrid that anyone, even God, would choose a random village and decide to slaughter the inhabitants. I agree, if any being decided that they were to bring a group of people to slaughter, for fun, or because they love death, then there is nothing I would want more than to warn of their chaos.
Alas, this is not what happened here. Any Christian, or somebody who studies the Bible can tell you that! The degree of destruction which was brought against the town was directly proportional the degree of evil that the town committed! God cannot stand to see evil, and before the new law of sin forgiveness, He had no choice but to simply obliterate it.
At this point the opposition would probably indicate, "Surely, not everybody in that town was evil!" Well, that is correct. God sought out a family in the midst of all of the chaos, and He released them (Joshua 6:22-23), for He is a God that cannot turn His back on the righteous!
"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out." Mark 9
When Jesus came into the world, He spoke in parables, as the prophesy indicated He would. We can identify parables in the great Messiah in the same way that we can in any other human being. Apply the logic used on Jesus' parable to the following parable:
"Man, that place charges an arm and a leg for cereal!"
I suppose supermarkets are evil. I wonder what they charge for the wheelchair that you will need after buying the cereal! But no, there is not a single human being who would come to such a conclusion, yet we do with the Bible because that is exactly what we are looking for.
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death." Lev 20:13
In that age, semen was regarded as the sole cause of life. (Source) So an act such as homosexuality or even masturbation were as objectively immoral (in the eyes of the people) as abortion. If somebody committed an act perceived to be murder, they would be murdered. Such an act cannot be objected to, because even the current United States government sanctions capital punishment!
This punishment was committed in the name of justice, not evil.
“And if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the male slaves do. If she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed."
This is an archaic method of arranging marriage. However, it is not the sale of a young girl to be a sex slave against her will for life. When they were purchased, they were culturally treated as though they were members of their new family, because that is exactly what they were becoming.
Every act of humanity has not been Gods' moral ideal. Jesus rebuked humanities' flawed laws throughout the New Testament. In John 8, a woman was guilty of adultery. The church leaders knew that Jesus would never condone the act of stoning, and they were attempting to trick Him into admitting that she should not be stoned, so that they could have a reason to arrest Him. So Jesus said "Let punishment be rendered. But may he who is without sin cast the first stone." The crowd stood in disappointed and then left. Once gone, Jesus approached the girl and said "I find no cause in you. Be on your way, but do not sin again."
I ask, is there a human being in the who can look objectively at this and say that this was an act of evil and not of love? As I stated, we perceive evil because that is what we are looking for. Jesus was victim to this, as he led a life completely void of sin, and the world perceived evil because that is what they were looking for.
I am aware that there are many more 'evil' Bible verses under question. But I think I made my point quite effectively. Maybe at a later time I will address some of the others.
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