Morality is in our nature as human beings. It s in the nature of other animals too, albeit often in a less refined form. We are, through the evolution of our species and our ancestors, predisposed to value one another, and treat "in" groups more favourably than "out" groups.
Some people cite holy scripture as a source of morality. Be it the Bible, or the Koran/Qu'ran or the Torah or another.
The Christian Holy Bible especially- in addition to affirming believers belief in "the Big Man"- is often held aloft as a standard or morality. In many courthouses across the world, the oath of honesty is often recited with a hand on the big black book.
"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?"
In a scottish court however, promising to tell the truth does not always involve swearing on a religious text. Just as well I suppose, that's like me swearing on my non existent pet goldfish. Actually, when you think about it, that is a very strange concept. By swearing on a bible you are swearing on something that is uncertain- does that mean any testimony given can also be regarded as uncertain? I'm just sayin'!
True enough, there are some truly great stories and lessons one can learn from the bible. To provide some examples:-
- Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill
- Thou Shalt honour thy father and mother } (Exodus)
- Thou shalt not steal
- Thou shalt not bear false witness (Lie)
- Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (in fact most of Proverbs is pretty good)
But by far the best bible story to promote doing good is the Story of the Good Samaritan. I will include it here in full
Luke 10:30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
You cant really deny that is a great lesson. to "love thy neighbour", or "treat others as you would have them treat you" Even taken out of context this is a good story with a good moral. If I have any kids, i have no doubt that at some point I will probably tell them this one in some shape or form.
Now however I am going to make the case that largely, the bible should NOT be taken as a "law book" or any source of complete moral lifestyle. Why? I will again highlight a few choice passages and excerpts as I go along.
Firstly, lets talk about "Hellfire and Brimstone" at Sodom and Gomorrah. In this passage in Genesis, a man called Lot has a mob outside his house, because two angels are taking refuge within. The men in the mob say:-
Genesis 19:5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
yes, to know someone in this lingo means to have sex with them. But Lot's reply to this is astonishing.
19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.19:8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
The angels then strike blind the mob, before they can do such a deplorable thing. God then warns Lot, a so-called "righteous man" that the city is about to be destroyed. He and his family escape, with the exception of his wife.
19:25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
19:26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Just for looking back at the city. That is all she supposedly did. she is not even given a name in the book. she is referred to only as "Lot's wife"
The Bible is intolerant to anyone different than to Yahweh's (that's God's) followers, and also to women and homosexuals. Here are some other truly lurid excerpts that made me laugh. but i did so with an unsettled air, that people in the world hold this up as a moral perfection. Clearly they havent read all of it yet!
- Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
- Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (Yeah, and thats Jesus, he's supposed to be the nice one!)
- Acts3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. (Unbelievers should be killed!)
- Leviticus 15:19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
15:20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.15:21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.15:22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
That last passage there about "an issue from her flesh being blood" refers to menstruation. Read that and tell me that is a just, fair an honest way to treat someone? It also goes on in great detail about any bed being unclean, anyone who "lies with her" also being unclean. That is of course until after 7 days have passed after it's over, and on day 8 she is to bring either two pigeons or two turtles to be sacrificed, one is for a burnt offering. I'm not making this up, that is what it says!
But by far the worst has to be this.
20:10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
20:11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
20:12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
20:13 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
20:14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
20:15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
20:16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee
So, Quick Recap. God says "In war, come in peace, if they accept- enslave them. If they refuse, kill every man, and carry the women and children off for breeding. Also, keep all their livestock and treasure, wouldnt want that to go to waste would we? On ye go, take what you like! But there are cities that god has promised you. They are yours. KILL ANYTHING THAT BREATHES! And to cap it all, here are the names of all the peoples you have to destroy- just in case you forget. And you have to do all this, cause I say so!"
This ladies and Gentlemen, has a name. it's called GENOCIDE.
Yes, that's right, God advocates genocide. It's okay as long as god says so. Well no, quite frankly. Sorry God. Killing an entire race of people just because they are different to you and are in a certain place? To me, that makes me think of Hitler. It makes me think of his Foreign policy Lebensraum. Which had the Nazis were commanded to deport, kill or enslave any peoples in the neighbouring lands to Germany, and repopulate these countries with German people. It also Makes me think of the Holocaust and the he whole "Aryan Race" bit, wiping people out because they are different. Hitler is regarded as one of the most evil men in history. When god does it though, it's okay. On a side note, Hitler was a Roman Catholic.
(HAD to use this pic, lighten this shit up again! LOL)
But like I said before. The Bible is not all bad, there are some worthwhile lessons, there are stories of kindness and compassion. Many moderate Christians will argue that much of the bible is symbolic, and that what really matters are the life lessons it teaches and the new testament outlook of loving both neighbour and doing good even to your enemies.
But Here's the rub.
Much of the Bible is contradictory in that very sense. and theere by how does one decide which bible teachings to follow, and which to ignore? After all, it is ALL god's word, isn't it? and god's word is "incontrovertible truth" is it not, my moderate friends?
The answer is that we decide based on our own morality. we pick and choose based upon what we perceive is right and wrong. Morality does not come from the Bible, or any other holy book. It is much older than that. It is animalistic, woven into our consciousness. So, sorry God! It appears the vast majority of us are more moral than you!
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