Disturbing Passages in Holy Books

Post Reply New Topic

10 Plagues of Egypt

1. Turning water into blood
2. Frogs - I can't believe that didn't work.
3. Lice or gnats
4. Flies
5. Death of all livestock
6. Festering boils on people and animals
7. Hail
8. Locusts
9. Darkness
10. Death of all firstborn

I already mentioned the death of babies in Egypt. In Exodus 9:1-7, God kills ALL the livestock of the Egyptians:

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath

--William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

^ It’s hard to ignore God-endorsed evilness when it takes up such a significant portion of the Bible. It’s not even like people twist scripture for it to say something it doesn’t.

I grew up with this scripture. It was used to justify even the most grotesque portions of the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16, 17: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."

They’d always emphasize the word “all," claiming that it applied to both the Old and New Testament - even the portions that are extremely problematic in both. Admittedly, it’s hard to know what sacred texts the writer had access to and, thus, had in mind when he stated this. He was a fan of Jesus though, and Jesus upheld the OT.

They’d also use this scripture to promote circular reason: The Bible is inspired by God. How do we know that it’s inspired by God? Because look at what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16…

(It was probably written by an anonymous writer who wasn’t Paul but that’s a different topic.)

John 3:18
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

That might not seem like much, but it disturbed me from my early childhood until I later lost all significant suspicion that it could possibly be correct. I think it was just a cruel trick.

^^ Thanks. I’ve bookmarked it too. It’s very useful having all this stuff in a designated spot. It helps seeing it too rather than just having scriptures swirling around in my head at times, especially when my family incessantly talks about how the Bible is the bestest book ever!

Even nice scriptures are problematic. I remember Psalms 18:2 coming into my head in an ironic sense during an especially tough time in my life.

2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

God was not a refuge. He was conspicuous by his absence, just as he is for any number of people at this very moment.

These scriptures make sex something a person is obligated to give their spouse rather than something people do because they genuinely want to. Instead of mutual consent regarding sex, there has to be mutual agreement to say “no” which has probably contributed to a fair amount of domestic violence among religious married couples over the centuries.

1 Corinthians 7:1-5:

Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Genesis 34:1-4

Actually reading the bible, was the best thing I did towards moving away from Christianity. LIke it is an intersting book of mythology but no one should be taking it as guidence.

With various child sacrifice, rape, incest ect...like err yeah maybe best not to take an ancient book as advice for current times.

Just about any more recent book with a philosophical subtext will probably contain more useful guidance IMO. I struggled with that when I was a believer. Even then, a part of me recognized that I was receiving greater benefit from secular books than I was from the Bible.

While I am a Christian, I follow liberation theology, and the works of Mordecai Kaplan.

I am also sex-positive, so I am at odds with verses that promote purity culture.

I've dabbled with using the Book of Psalms for cursing, protection, and healing. That's my extent of finding any use for the old KJV bible I purchased at the thrift store for just this purpose.

With all the horrible things that happen in The Bible, it's not something you'd want to use to teach how to live a moral lifestyle.

It's more likely to make you mad at other people who don't live a moral lifestyle and give you a desire to ruin them while you use The Bible to morally justify your actions.

I think The Bible says something like Hate the sin, but love the sinner. But come on, no one's going to follow that.

With or without the bible what do humans really know about morals anyways? It seems to me that humans like to reinvent what's right and wrong every few decades or so in order to suit their own short-sighted desires without seeing the bigger picture in the grand scheme of things.

Humans are nothing more than a terminally cancerous disease on the earth.