Is it me or is being dumb back in fashion?
I read that there have been five failed court cases trying to prove US President Barack Obama is not American - Stupid!
Statistics show that there is no change in the possibility of relationship breakdown with co-habitors or a married couple. Whoever says otherwise - Stupid!
A survey shows that British children believe that Winston Churchill never existed, but Sherlock Holmes did - Stupid!
The Bible should be read literally - Stupid!
That last one will upset some people. I don't want to offend anyone, but we need to be clear about this. What do we do with such scripture as:
If a man commits adultery with another man's wife - with the wife of his neighbour - both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10)
If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity. (Deuteronomy 25:11-12)
Do not allow a sorceress to live. (Exodus 22:18)
If we take this as literal, then we are living in such a way as to exclude everyone from the depths of God's love and power.
I believe that the Bible is inspired from God, and that God spoke to such men and women so for them to share who God is and what it is to be human. However, to treat the Bible as God is plain ridicules.
When we explore the history, the theology expressed, the people God affected, what their actions mean, and what the stranger verses meant in that time scale (think prevailing paganism and purity, for starters), we get down to the unfathomable character of God and the eternal truths that the Bible hints towards.
