I'm re-reading the Bible

Yet another atheist Bible expert. Look it up.

 

The bible has nothing to do with it.

People collected slaves since the beginning of time.

 

That's what he was asking about, slaves in the Bible.

 

So slaves in the bible were different than all the uncountable slaves in the region.
I doubt that.

 

Doubt all you want, it doesn't change history.

 

Are you inventing your own

 

It seems that some Jews are trying to revise history and distance themselves from being slavers.

 

So when the story says that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400 years what it really means is that they were just indentured servants. All of those biblical movies got it wrong.

 

Would you like to be my slave then?

I can understand that from the point of being an atheist/agnostic studying the Bible purely for the fascination of history and religion, but for believers (of which I am not) it is a serious controversy.

 

Do you have a serious question or are you just here to mouth off like so many of the rest of these people?

The "slaves" of the Hebrews were treated according to Jewish law, they were treated like members of the community and eventually released. I know the word "slave" triggers you but you need to keep reading.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/slavery-in-judaism

Also, it is incredibly narrow minded to judge an ancient civilization by 21st century standards.

 

If you simply state that the Bible is just stating the attitude, culture and standards of the time and that we should NOT consider the Bible as wisdom brought down from a supernatural force, then I'd respect that answer.

What I do not appreciate is believing Christians and Jews (and Muslims with their Qur'an) sugarcoating unacceptable practices from the past. If you are a believer, I ask again; do you want to be my "indentured servant"? You can start with cleaning my toilet without pay.

As a matter of fact, I happen to have a servant at home who does my laundry, sometimes cooks, cleans the house, does the dishes and is a nanny. She is paid acceptable wages, can leave whenever she wants, can associate with whoever she wants and is given vacations and I am NOT entitled to sexual favors.

 

Well, I hate to be the one to break this to you but that's exactly what the Bible often does, it reports the situation surrounding the events. The wisdom parts are elsewhere.

Do you read other books this way? What I mean is, Do you read books looking for something to be outraged over?

 

My outrage is not at the book itself. My outrage is directed at the people who have been telling me since I was a child about the supernatural element involved in the writing of the book somehow giving the book elevated authority over say... The Analects by Confucius (for example).

 

It doesn't take much to set you off, does it? By your own words you don't even believe this stuff and you have no way of knowing if it ever even happened, but you are outraged at the people who do believe it.

The Bible has a lot of great stuff in it, too bad most of you people get stuck on things like whether the world really was created in six days, whether God and Satan really had a bet concerning Job, or whether Noah had a really big boat. You miss the point of the writings.

The Bible is an anthology that contains several kinds of literature, you have to know how to read them all.

 

It's things like that that diminish any authority the book has over how people should run their lives and does nothing to elevate said authority.

 

Suit yourself. It's still wiser than anything I read on this site by a long shot.

 

Who is the worst psychopath in the Bible?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath

 

That's because it has so many, many, many flaws to begin with:
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/cruelty/long.html
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/int/long.html
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/number.html

Apparently their "god" can't get it right - would a well-trained chimp create a book with fewer contradictions, errors, cruel teachings, etc. in it? Probably.

 

So many to choose from.
I'd have to say the hero himself is the worst.

 

The Bible thinks the earth is flat, and the sun revolves around it, and it's just fine to kill gays, and Jesus won't let gays into heaven (1 Cor. 6:9-10, etc.) You call that wise!? I'd think that a typical 10 year-old is more "wise" than the god of said book.

 

Numbers Chapter 7 has to have the most redundant verses in the whole Bible. Why do Christians and Jews want to read/hear the exact same list of offerings repeated 12 times!

Do you honestly feel spiritually uplifted reading the same silly list of offerings 12 times? I thought the tabernacle building instructions were silly but this is something else.

 

What are you reading it for, then?

 

I'm surrounded by believers and was indoctrinated as a child. I want to know what's going on in the head of those believers around me including my devout mother. What is this magic book of spells?

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're not going to get any closer to understanding by injecting your own superstition - "book of spells" - into the text. Atheists are constantly getting tied in knots over Hebrew scriptures, most of which can only be understood in light of what the author is saying to the intended audience, which almost nobody wants to do, nor do they want to listen to the opinion of experts, they would rather assign their own nonsensical interpretation then complain that it makes no sense.

Christianity has clarified these things, at least to me. Christianity is about relationships, with God, with your fellow man, your spouse. No need for small animal sacrifice any longer, elaborate rituals, or dietary restrictions.

If you want to make it more difficult than it has to be, it's your fault, not the Bible's fault.

 

Atheist propaganda. The Bible says none of those things.