Discussing alleged biblical contradictions/problems

[MarkT]

Re:

I'm afraid he does, Numbers 31:7-18. They are not allowed to marry the women either, as the one man who does causes the Israelites to be afflicted with a plague until they basically remove his genitalia to do so. They are told to keep the girls as basically sex slaves.

It doesn't say anything about sex slaves.

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 (King James Version)

28If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;

29Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days

Basically, the woman raped is forced to marry her rapist. What mercy.

I guess you disagree with the punishment. The man has to keep her and support her all his days, and he has to pay her father fifty shekels of silver - if she is not betrothed. The custom to betroth - arranged marriage. I'm guessing most young women were betrothed by a certain age, and only the poorest fathers who couldn't afford the dowery had daughters who were not betrothed. So if they were betrothed, it was punishable by death. If not, then the man would have to keep her and support her. Is it not punishment enough?

Deuteronomy 21:10-14 (King James Version)

10When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

11And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

12Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

13And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

14And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

I jut love how they refer to rape, you have humbled her. That makes it sound like a good thing, as humility is good, right?

I heard somewhere where rape is a crime of dominating and control and humiliation. The Bible uses the words 'violated' and 'humiliated' RSV. I don't understand your objection.

and here is the best of the best:

Zechariah 14:1-2 (English Standard Version)

Zechariah 14
The Coming Day of the LORD
1Behold,(A) a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2For(B) I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and(C) the city shall be taken(D) and the houses plundered(E) and the women raped.(F) Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

God condones rape.

The Bible says this will be and it will be. Your statement is illogical. The Bible makes predictions such as men will be lovers of self, greedy, an adulterous generation, and haters of God. Saying the city will be taken and the women ravished RSV is what we call prophecy. How you get God condones rape, I don't know.

God didn't create evil.

Yes he did, and he admits to it.

Isaiah 45:7 (English Standard Version)
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and(A) create calamity,
I am the LORD, who does all these things.

and

Amos 3:6 (English Standard Version)
6(A) Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
(B) Does disaster come to a city,
unless the LORD has done it?

God creates evil.

The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 1 Sa. 2:6 Fear the LORD; the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD.

 

[nmwings]

The idea that God wanted Cain to kill Abel is laughable to say the least. Certainly He takes no pleasure in the death of the righteous. Nor does He take pleasure in the death of the wicked. What He takes pleasure in, is when we decide to accept Him as our God, love Him as our God, and obey Him as our God.
You seem to forget that he endowed us with FREE WILL. He knocks at the door, but He never forces us. He told us up front, if you love Me, you will obey My Commandments. He told us how He would bless us if we obey them, and how He would curse us if we didn't (Lev 26, and Deut 28.) Plain and simple. Black and white. Yes or no. Yet the church as a whole, has decided to create "grey" areas, by saying "Oh, we don't have to do that anymore." That was the "Old Testament," implying that somehow the "God of the Old Testament" was not good enough. Or even that the "God of the Gentiles" is somehow a New-and-Improved "God of the Jews." God tells us exactly what He will do to those "riding the fence" in Rev 3:16, "So then because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I WILL SPEW YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH."

Regardless how you think, God gave us a choice... either obey Him or not. Yes or no. Black or white. Making the wrong choice has consequences. But God loves us enough and thinks of us enough as to let us decide what we want to do. Otherwise, we would be brainless, heartless robots. Who or what would take pleasure in something that is programmed to love us? That is not real love. That is being "hard-wired."