Only the loving and compassionate scriptures have any religious value.
Every organized religion is like the cartoon above - Christian Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Hindu, etc., etc., to infinity . . . all figure a way for some, the chaplains, popes, priests, to use their power, and magic tricks, to control others, the followers, true believers, servants, in their particular religion.
Even slavery is OK in scriptures. The FACTs are the scriptures TEACH and JUSTIFY toxic masculinity!
"Yes, the Bible Does Say to Kill Infidels"
January 22, 2015 by Ed Brayton
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dispatches/2015/01/22/yes-the-bible-does-say-to-kill-infidels/
"Conservative Christians love to rail against the many verses in the Quran that command Muslims to kill non-Muslims, but they also ignore the verses in the Bible commanding the same thing and things that are every bit as barbaric. Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association flat out denies that such verses exist at all . . ."
Sad that not only is scripture ugly in places, religious leaders will not admit it, and they are willing to sin to cover it up by lying about it.
There can be spirituality and "Christian" compassion without believing there is a God, or any deity. The deities posed by the big, organized religions demand compliance at any cost to various cruel scriptures written by men in a time long, long ago These scriptures are out of touch with current times, and it is suspicious when old scriptures are applied to current times.
Context for religion is important and any organized religions that refuse to update their guidance for current times is doing a disservice at best for its followers, abuse at its worst. That makes these big, organized religions suspiciously like power hunger and corrupt government.
What purpose can we define for religions whose scriptures ask and require cruelty?
The 10 Commandments in Christianity seem good, and are current since they are based on love and caring.
BUT these "commandments" are always based on some sort of "magic" in prayer, or speaking in tongues, or even carrying an AR-15 organized religions use to symbolize "faith" and obedience
"The 14 Most Abominable Bible Verses"
24 December 2012,
https://www.news24.com/MyNews24/The-14-Most-Abominable-Bible-Verses-20121224
"I recall as a child thinking it was a tad unfair that God struck down someone who was carrying his Ark with a bolt of lightning (2 Samuel 6:1-7 and 1 Chronicles 13:9-12). Surely his tripping and falling was an accident not punishable by death? "
The list is long, but here's one for #METOO in 2018:
"2. You can kill a woman if she seizes a man's private parts without his permission: Deuteronomy 25:11-1: If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity."
"Top 10 worst Bible passages"
A list of the top 10 worst Biblical verse has been drawn up, which includes approval for sexism, genocide and slavery.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/6120373/Top-10-worst-Bible-passages.html
Read it yourself, but here's another for #METOO:
"Topping it was St Paul's advice in 1 Timothy 2:12, in which the saint says: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent." "
Two sides to the story about Bible scriptures? Nope. I can only accept a Bible that is about love and kindness and compassion, not killing, cruelty, beatings, slavery, and dominating people of any sort.
Yes, there are MANY versus about compassion and love and kindness, but I am telling you about these terrible scriptures because THOSE SCRIPTURES ENABLE CRUELTY. I have not problem with any scripture enabling love! Of course!
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