Quote:
Originally Posted by redwitch
People will never be equal. The best we can hope for is that people will be treated equally under the law. This ruling is another move in this direction.
A lot of the "laws" of the Old Testament made sense at the time -- don't eat pork or shellfish (no refrigeration); don't mix dairy and meat (at least one might be edible); marry your brother's wife should your brother die (not enough men back then); no homosexuality (need people to populate the world). Many of these same laws/rules make no sense today.
The Old Testament advocates an eye for an eye and removing those parts of the body that offend you. God saw nothing wrong with tormenting Job to win a bet. The New Testament advocates forgiveness and love of all.
Whether many want to accept it or not, the Bible is the word of man (and even one woman) with messages from God. Not all things in the Bible are the word of God. To interpret it literally and try to live the literal interpretation would be very, very difficult for most in today's society. Ask an Orthodox Jew how difficult it is to follow the rules of the Torah today.
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Whoo-boy! I agree with you, redwitch. There was a consortium of people who wrote the Bible, and it was written over a span of time--100 years, I believe. We were taught as kids that the stories in it were true, and I always wondered about Jonah and Methuselah and some of the other fantastic stories. As an adult I came to recognize them as parables meant to teach lessons.
But many others believe wholeheartedly that the Bible is inerrant and is the direct word of God. These are often persons from evangelical faiths who have a very conservative worldview. Many have come up with list upon list of chapter and verse against homosexuality, for slavery... actually, anything you can think of that fits their worldview. And the other side has come up with as many chapter and verses to substantiate their opposite view.
This disagreement will never end. I believe what I believe and will not change my mind, because I believe in equality for all under the law and hope for people to be treated equally in all facets of life.