The Bible's bad bits ?

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The Bible's bad bits: silent women, mass murder and a weary concubine -Times Online

Ship of Fools: Features


The Bible's bad bits: silent women, mass murder and a weary concubine


Biblical verses apparently endorsing sexism, genocide and the slaughter of sorceresses have been identified by readers of a Christian website as the least endearing parts of the holy book.
The online survey by shipoffools.com, a humorous online magazine, lists the ten verses people would rather had been left out of the Bible, in an attempt to show the dangers of quoting scripture selectively.



n second place is the order by Samuel, one of the early leaders of the Israelites, for his people to commit genocide: “This is what the Lord Almighty says ... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel xv, 3).
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Namaste G2G,

Thanks for bringing this up, actually one of my favorite contemplations.

As for me, I don't believe in a vengeful G!d, but a loving caring one. So anytime I can not replace the word G!d in the bible for love and the sentence makes sense...I start to look at what else is going on. eg Is someone using the name of G!d for their own benefit, or can I read this Metaphysically?
In second place is the order by Samuel, one of the early leaders of the Israelites, for his people to commit genocide: “This is what the Lord Almighty says ... ‘Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” (1 Samuel xv, 3).
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So to take a metaphysical look...
Amalek (from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary) Esau represents the body consciousness. From him the Amalekitees were descended. Ameled signifies lust, that base desire which, when established in the animal forces of the subconscious mind of man is the begetter of destructive, rebellious, perverted appetites and passions. Amaleks father was Eliphaz, meaning G!d is strength, G!d is fine gold. Thus desire (of the father) at its origin is good and is of G!d, but when misinterpreted in man it becomes lust (Amalek)
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The people represent these ideas, the children represent offsprings of these ideas, the animals represent our animal nature...

So my interpretation metaphysically using the above definitions is that G!d told Samuel to wipe out all that carnal thought from his consciousness, along with every other thought it produced (offsrping), or cared for (animals), both spiritually and physically.

(note, sometimes we'll read texts like these and G!d says, save the virgins and take them for yourselves....kill everyone else. The virgins represent virginal thought, untouched by prevailing negative consciousness. So G!d is instructing us to care for an nurture that which is pure and innocent, and wipe from our consciousness that which is not)
 
So... When god told a king(a man in control of an army) Go and make sure this nation is destroyed.... That is god saying... Hey sam.... Forget about it. Sheesh... I hope I never get a message from this god, I wouldn't know what he'd want, with crossed wires like this example.
 
well, that drive to understand the Divine Will is a fundamental of jewish culture; you're faced with these complex, apparently contradictory Commands (you must blot out 'amaleq, but yet at the same time remember 'amaleq) and it is our challenge to resolve these contradictions in a workable, integrated fashion. by doing so, we become more fully human, by using our capacities for both compassion and stern judgement to take responsibility for our actions, not just getting on with it. we believe it's that which G!D Wants.

b'shalom

bananabrain
 
wil said:
Namaste G2G,

Thanks for bringing this up, actually one of my favorite contemplations.

As for me, I don't believe in a vengeful G!d, but a loving caring one. So anytime I can not replace the word G!d in the bible for love and the sentence makes sense...I start to look at what else is going on. eg Is someone using the name of G!d for their own benefit, or can I read this Metaphysically?
So to take a metaphysical look... The people represent these ideas, the children represent offsprings of these ideas, the animals represent our animal nature...

So my interpretation metaphysically using the above definitions is that G!d told Samuel to wipe out all that carnal thought from his consciousness, along with every other thought it produced (offsrping), or cared for (animals), both spiritually and physically.

(note, sometimes we'll read texts like these and G!d says, save the virgins and take them for yourselves....kill everyone else. The virgins represent virginal thought, untouched by prevailing negative consciousness. So G!d is instructing us to care for an nurture that which is pure and innocent, and wipe from our consciousness that which is not)
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I see what you mean but I tend to view the Old Testament as historical so that it actually happened at least a lot of it did, I know that some people it as being metaphorical and all sorts maybe that can be read into but at the same time a lot of really happened including the bad bits.
 
Or Samuel needed to go to war with this people, so God having commanded his chosen people to wipe out an inferior race was a pretty good morale booster.

People go to war all the time. If one side thinks that they have been commanded by God and are completely in the right, they will fight better. They 'know' they will win because they have God's favor.

Might not be true, but that's what seems most likely to me... ya know... considering how many times war has been started in the name of God.

Just a thought...
 
I am with wil on this one.
People need to look at it allegorically, as it is an allegorical text.
Many of the things written as history are not likely to have actually happened.
But it is a good means to ensure that people remember the stories as they are based on things they can easily wrap their minds around.
Propagation is thereby insured.
Brilliant.
 
I'm not so sure complete allegorical reading is the answer.I know I could never get my head around Jihad until I read the Bhagavad Gita... which is ironic. All great religious scripture involves war for some reason. From the Divine Homer to the Mahabharata.
 
And then again, there is the G!d or the Devil made me do it scenario....

Want to get your followers to run pell mell over the mountain and slaughter everyone to take their land?? Tell them G!d said to do it.

But back to the allegory...vs. historical fact...they need not be mutally exclusive...eg they both may be true.

The mistakes in my life happened, they also exist as allegorical lessons for me, my friends and my children to learn from.
 
Obadiah Abdullah said:
I'm not so sure complete allegorical reading is the answer.I know I could never get my head around Jihad until I read the Bhagavad Gita... which is ironic. All great religious scripture involves war for some reason. From the Divine Homer to the Mahabharata.
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Note I did say :
Many of the things written as history are not likely to have actually happened.
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It is likely that the stories are based on fact, like so many movies and books of our time which are based on actual events, the authors then take artistic license in order to make their point with the story.

About war as a theme, we have so very many conflicts in this thing we call life.
In any drama if there is not an antagonist, what is there to struggle against?
The struggle is the defining element.
It brings out the best and the worst in people.
A person is born, lives for as long as they are able and ultimately looses against death at their end.
This is a conflict we all are involved in.
For some, just the struggle to make it through another day alive, is a battle.


The only bad bits there may be in the bible are those which have been inserted by later scribes in order to establish their doctrines as dominant.
Not only is this little drama possible, it is the most likely scenario.
(Not to mention the bits which have been edited out).
 
There is nothing good or bad about the Bible. It is simply a "library" (biblia), put together by a group of clergy who had the power and gumption to do so, about 1700 years ago. And in creating their "library", they decided what went in and what stayed out. God did not create the Bible...man did.

The books have been edited, and transcribed over time and languages, and still are today.

The one wonderful thing about the Bible is that through out time, it has never lost its moral story, nor its encouragement for man to strive to be the best he can be.

What is so bad about that?
 
When put that way Q, not a lot. But we both know its more than only that.;)
 
Tao, we are Americans over this side of the pond. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Just because someone misuses the bible doesn't mean you blame the bible for it.
 
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