When I talk about The Bible, I’m talking about it not as an ordinary book, but as the foundational document for Christianity. When a document is used like that, as a sort of constitution, it should be held to a higher standard, and should be viewed differently than if it’s just a book that people read or study in school. So far, however, even when Christians acknowledge that The Bible has problems, they simply revise their interpretation of the offending material, rather than hold The Bible accountable for what it actually says.
A better Bible would be one that no longer promoted genocide, rape, slavery, bigotry, wars of aggression, the subjugation of women, might-makes-right, legalism, and a fearful view of a monstrous God. A better Bible would instead focus on the Two Commandments of Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, while eliminating anything that overtly contradicted those commandments.
Step one in creating such a better Bible would be to remove the Old Testament in its entirety. The book of Revelation is another good candidate for the cutting room floor. Not only would Christianity be better for it, surely the world as a whole would be a kinder, gentler, less violent place if one of the world’s major religions formally renounced its association with scriptures like, “And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them” (Deut 7:2).
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