Is the death penalty morally wrong?

[jimmy eat jazz]

I certainly agree that as a world most of the societies have freedoms and opportunities way beyond what was allowed in all/most cultures and societies back then. Still many of the issues were the same and we should use the Bible as well as any other knowledge of histories and societies to guide our laws/governments/choices today. Am I saying use the Old Testament as a walkthrough? No, but I am saying your tone of complete disregard is not a good idea either. Learn what we can and adapt that learning and knowledge to our own situations.

There is no good, decent moral principle in the Bible, which cannot be found elsewhere, but without all the baggage found in the Bible.

Too many people are incapable of sifting through the Bible and weeding out the bad to find the good. In my opinion, society would be much better off if we tossed it in the trash and found our moral principles from some other source that doesn't advocate, among other things, slavery and genocide, and which does not represent the moral sensibilities of a backwards, intolerant, misogynist and superstitious culture and the ravings of its murderous tribal deity.

 

[gandalfe]

We could simply junk the Bible by adopting the Golden Rule, which I believe was taught by Jesus in some form: treat others as we would have them treat us. To me, this is the simplest, and most sublime moral principle, and is as powerful today as it has ever been. The problem with Bible is that it is weighed down with so much other baggage and really horrible stuff that mitigate against the golden rule, and, unfortunately, it is the latter that Christianity (and certainly socially conservative Evangelicals today) tend to focus on.

How would you like a masochist to treat you?

 

[Jazz Spazz]

There is no good, decent moral principle in the Bible, which cannot be found elsewhere, but without all the baggage found in the Bible.

Too many people are incapable of sifting through the Bible and weeding out the bad to find the good. In my opinion, society would be much better off if we tossed it in the trash and found our moral principles from some other source that doesn't advocate, among other things, slavery and genocide, and which does not represent the moral sensibilities of a backwards, intolerant, misogynist and superstitious culture and the ravings of its murderous tribal deity.

And so this is where we differ. Some people have a hard time finding the good and understanding the purposes in the New Testament, let alone the Old Testament. There is no basis to follow the Bible if you do not believe it came from God. I do believe it so I try to understand it/ find the good in it. You do not believe it, so you try to find fault with it. Pretty natural really.

 

[Gameface]

And so this is where we differ. Some people have a hard time finding the good and understanding the purposes in the New Testament, let alone the Old Testament. There is no basis to follow the Bible if you do not believe it came from God. I do believe it so I try to understand it/ find the good in it. You do not believe it, so you try to find fault with it. Pretty natural really.

If the Bible is the word of God shouldn't every last syllable be pretty dang amazing? Like irrefutable truth after irrefutable truth?

Unfortunately the Bible doesn't contain any special knowledge. Nothing that couldn't have possibly come from the mind of man. Nothing.... Like not anything at all that is clearly divinely inspired. Nothing.