Why should I accept excuses for errors in the Bible?

We have parts of the Bible where we're told homosexuals are abomination and deserve death -- including in the New Testament.

We also have parts of the Bible where we're told that all sinners deserve death, and where everyone is included in that. And we have parts of the Bible where people who "deserve death" are explicitly not given the death penalty by someone who we have other parts of the Bible saying is the supreme judge of everyone.

If you don't skip those parts then there's not an ambiguous message there. The only way to take an injurious message from the Bible, is to ignore those parts.

We have parts of the Bible that endorse slavery.

We have parts of the Bible that comment on other parts of the Bible, including parts that say that certain parts have been superceded. Again, if we don't selectively ignore those parts, then we cannot be "confused" into considering slavery to be permitted (and I would say there aren't places in the Bible that "endorse" slavery, only that "permit" it. It's a minor difference but I feel more faithful to the actual text.)

You've said before that it's unfair to ignore the parts you see as negative. My question is: is it fair to ignore the parts that I see as unambiguously contextualizing those parts you don't want to ignore (or apparently, even contextualize)? Because that's what I feel you're doing when you claim it's inappropriate to insist on looking at context. If you believe it's inappropriate to insist on context or even reading comprehension when looking at the entire message of the Bible, then you, not I, are the one who is selectively ignoring parts.

I don't believe in any gods, and I see god belief is creating incalculable damage to the world.

This is a little bit of a side-track of thought here, but can you draw a logical line between "god-belief" and "incalculable damage?" Do you believe that other empirically unverifiable things, like human rights, karma, or the belief that life has a meaning that is greater than the sum of its experiences, are also doing "incalculable" damage?

The Bible says very clearly:

The Bible doesn't say very clearly precisely which of "those who believe" or how long these things are supposed to last. That is, it doesn't say "these signs will accompany all those who believe, and always will." It also contains examples of believers who appear to have done those signs, like Peter casting out demons in Acts 3-4, Paul getting bit by a serpent and disciples speaking in unstudied languages in Acts 2 and 10. They are "those who believe" and they are doing those things... sounds true to me. There's also additional passages about the fact that not everybody has every gift (1 Cor 12-15 talk at length about this, also Rom 12) and some being better than others, and some going away. (1 Cor 13:8-13 has some language to the effect that some things will cease, but faith, hope, and love will "abide" or "remain".)

/r/DebateAChristian Thread