Getting all we can from Scripture Session 8 Biblical instructions seem sub-par? Men’s Bible Study at Park View May 26, 2015

Some biblical descriptions seem like errors

Some biblical descriptions seem like errors Some biblical instructions seem sub-par

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” —Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Exodus 21: Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.

Exodus 21: Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property. vv26-27

Exodus 21: Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property. vv26-27 Deut. 23:15-16

Eph. 5:22-24

Eph. 5: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands... As the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Eph. 5: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands... As the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. v25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...

Joshua 10:40 - Joshua... left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded

Joshua 10:40 - Joshua... left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded Matt. 26:52, John 18:11 - “Put your sword away!”

Joshua 10:40 - Joshua... left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded Matt. 26:52, John 18:11 - “Put your sword away!” Luke 23:34 - “Father, forgive them”

Joshua 10:40 - Joshua... left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded Matt. 26:52, John 18:11 - “Put your sword away!” Luke 23:34 - “Father, forgive them” Matt. 5:38-48, Luke 6: “Love your enemies”

We see much good in the Bible—and much that seems clearly wrong.

We see much good in the Bible—and much that seems clearly wrong. Should we stop affirming that “We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God” (Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, Article 4)?

How horrific was biblical slavery?

How horrific was biblical slavery? How evil was the conquest of Canaan?

As God is moving history toward the new heavens and new earth (Rev 21-22), human partners limit God’s options

As God is moving history toward the new heavens and new earth (Rev 21-22), human partners limit God’s options God went with the best doable course of action (i.e., the highest the People of God of that day could reach)—even when it was far below the ultimate, new-heavens- and-new-earth ideal

God adopted—and even ordained— “compromise-institutions”

God adopted—and even ordained— “compromise-institutions” eg. Old Covenant

God adopted—and even ordained— “compromise-institutions” eg. Old Covenant eg. divorce (Matt. 19:8)

God adopted—and even ordained— “compromise-institutions” eg. Old Covenant eg. divorce (Matt. 19:8) eg. civil magistrate (Rom. 13:1-5)

Read Scripture as a search for those passages where God injects something new into human history, patiently and graciously nudging us toward the ideal!

Then as now, God works with what God has. The cutthroat world of the ancient Near East wasn’t ready for the Sermon on the Mount carved in stone. So God made a covenant that limited the violence. God gradually disclosed his purposes. God patiently prepared to reveal himself through Christ, in the fullness of time. — Paul Schrag thinking-biblically/