Yes, there are contradictory Bible passages. But some of the words must be beyond dispute. How else could the book be considered holy?
The Ten Commandments are revered by many believers. From the get-go they were set in stone, literally (so the story goes). There shouldn't be other passages that clash with these. Right? Well.... Discounting the creative rationalizations of those who wish otherwise, Gawd* definitely flip-flops on his own commandments.
1. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.
John 10:30 (New International Version) reads, No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus says these words, in essence, putting himself before "the Father." To Christians, there is nothing wrong with this, for Jesus is their god. (Which means Jesus said the equivalent of, "No one comes to me except through me."...Alrighty then.) But the Old Testament was written by Israelites for Israelites, and they didn't and don't recognize the divinity of Jesus.
Can you see the problem? In a profound way the deity of the New Testament revises the alleged flawless words (Proverbs 10:30) of the Old Testament Gawd.
2. Thou shalt not make idols in the form of anything above or below, nor bow down to them.
The ancient Israelites' gold-plated "mercy seat" -- built to their god's specifications (Exodus 25) as an integral part of the Ark of the Covenant -- is supported by two cherubs. Fat, winged babies. Also plated in gold. Gawd first instructed his people not to make idols, then tells them that he'd like a couple for his seat. Okay, so you could argue that the wings fly these cherubim out of the realm of "anything above or below." Or how's this rationalization: hybrids can't be idols.
3. Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain.
As far as I know, this commandment passes the consistency test. But I could be wrong.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
In several places Jesus himself violates this one (Matthew 12:1; Luke 6:7; John 9:14). In fact, he just about outright pulls the plug on it by preaching, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
5. Honor your father and mother.
Here's more of what Jesus taught: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).
Ouch.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
Following on the heels of the ten commandments, we find this law: Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death (Exodus 21:17).
In much of the Old Testament, Gawd is a zealous army general, leading his troops to bloody victory after bloody victory. Which involved killing.
Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.'"(Exodus 32:27)
So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. . . . We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city-men, women and children. But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves. (Deuteronomy 3:3-7)
Ad infinitum (nearly).
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
King David is one of the great heroes of the Bible--an exemplar of Gawd's chosen folk. Here's a little story about his exploits from 2 Samuel 11: 2-4 . . .
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.
Nowhere in the Bible does God advise ordinary folk (peasants) to "hook up" with the spouses of other Israelites. But in a number of places he does give the green light to his troops to take on more wives as part of the spoils of war. (E.g. Numbers 31:17-18, Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.)
8. Thou shall not steal.
Exodus 3:22 reads, And so you will plunder the Egyptians. In well over a dozen other places in the Bible, Gawd encourages the plundering of thine enemies.
Here's part of the Encarta Dictionary definition of plunder: "to rob a place or the people living there or steal goods."
9.You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Hmm. I can't recall any verses that contradict this one. The Bible is now batting 2 for 9. In terms of baseball statistics, that's not horrible. But we're not talking baseball.
And finally, 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, or thy neighbor's wife.
What did King David do in the above passage but covet a neighbor's wife?
David's story ends on a happy note, however. The Israelite King arranges for the husband of his infatuation to be killed in battle. So the good guy gets the girl in the end, minus her ball-and-chain.
The great David, a polygamist, also enjoyed the "services" of his concubines. But that was David. As for you, you shalt keep thy mind and body pure.
Why? Because "God" says so. Look it up. It's in the Bible. Kind of.
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*I use "Gawd" rather "God" because I think the latter is a bogus term and do not want to reinforce to it's legitimacy, even by arguing against it.
Tags: Bible, religion, Sunday Un-Sermon
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