Is the bible used to justify prejudice?

[marco]

People have their prejudices but what a blessing it must be if the bible encourages them. Jews killed Christ - let us hate Jews. Suffer not a witch to live - let us kill witches. If man lies down with another man, let them both perish - let us kill gays!

If we read enough into what is written biblically I suppose we can find a justification of any prejudice. There's a good passage that justifies hurting people, even family members, by shunning them. Matthew 10:14 tells us: "And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet." So if you have your own religious views and somebody doesn't agree, then God tells you to shun them. What a bonus!

Does the bible pander to prejudice?
How can we tell that biblical interpretation is not just a reflection of our own hates and prejudices?

[JehovahsWitness]

LAW

The law referred to....

Well the law *I* was referring to was church law. And church authorities define church law.

...the law that defines crimes, ....

There is no universal law that defines crimes. There is State law, Federal law, common law, British law... Ugandan law...and yes, ecclesiastical law ..etc there is no "The law that defines crimes"


JW

[JehovahsWitness]

Let's return to the question I set ...

Is the bible used to justify prejudice?

I have already answered that question. Twice.

Here
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 691#995691
And again here
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 763#995763

[Divine Insight]

So, are you for or against tolerating child abuse? If against, why?

Why are you avoiding the theistic questions being raised about the theology that you support? Where did I bring up any question about child abuse? I didn't.

I pointed out that the religion you support has its God commanding people to be religious bigots and to kill anyone who preaches of other Gods.

What does that have to do with child abuse?

You're clearly evading the real issue in an attempt to distract from the fact that your religious doctrines teach religious bigotry. The question has nothing at all to do with child abuse.

Apparently you are fully aware that there is no defense for your theology.

[marco]

I pointed out that the religion you support has its God commanding people to be religious bigots and to kill anyone who preaches of other Gods.

When people defend passages where God commands that babies be murdered I do not think that reason is a good weapon. Judges in the not too distant past here in Britain happily condemned homosexuals to death because the Holy Book condemned them. In those happy lands where Sharia Law holds sway Allah still condemns gays and errant girls. Stoning, even today is still prescribed. We have visited the moon but not with God's assistance.

[SallyF]

How can we tell that biblical interpretation is not just a reflection of our own hates and prejudices?

By the complete, total and utter absence of the beginnings of a whiff of evidence that any version of "God" had anything whatsoever with so much as a verse of it.

And us picking out the juiciest bits that serve our hates and prejudices.

Or - to give balance here - we may winnow the great haystack of biblical cursings, genocides, betrayals, floggings, executions and general misanthropic nastinesses, to uncover the occasional needle of soul-warning positivity.