Why do christians follow a holy book that contains:
Slavery
child abuse
wife abuse
ethic cleansing
massacres
Because it's God Word.
If the point of the Bible is to illustrate man's sinfulness and God's plan to save sinful men, then wouldn't a description of sin be necessary?
As an atheist, are these things bad? If so, how do you know they're bad? What objective and authoritative standard do you use to determine that they're bad?
So Slavery, child abuse, wife abuse, ethic cleansing,massacres is ok and acceptable because it is gods word?
That's not what you asked. This is a logical fallacy called "moving the goalposts", in which a debater asks a question and then applies the answer to that question to another, unrelated question.
You asked why we follow the Bible when it describes these things, not whether or not these things are OK.
Obvcourse these things are bad, im the one who is saying they are you just said they were not.
When did I say they weren't bad? I never said they weren't bad. Had you asked whether or not they're bad, I would have told you that they're bad and that the Bible calls for very harsh penalties for doing them.
I know what things are bad and what is good because i see and look at my fellow man and see what will benefit me
OK. So then, by your own admission, you don't have an objective or authoritative source for morality, but you derive your morality by what benefits you.
So, with that in mind, what happens if tomorrow, you decide for some reason that genocide would benefit you? Would genocide then be morally acceptable?
This is why slavery, child abuse, wife abuse, ethic cleansing is not accepted because the negatives outweigh the benefits.
For whom? Slavery provided a cheap source of labor. The benefits outweighed the negatives for the slave owner.
And what right do you have to tell someone their actions don't benefit them?
But you say this is ok because it is gods word.
No, I've never said this is OK.
Are you telling me that without a god people would be out raping and pillaging.
No. I'm asking you how someone without a belief in God determines what is moral or immoral.
An example, my society consists of 10 people, am i going to kill the 9 people leaving me on my own or live with these people together so we can survive better together.
OK. Let's say your society is a nomadic tribe that depends on constant movement and hunting for your survival. One of the women in your tribe has a handicapped child. The child cannot travel and cannot hunt, thus slowing the tribe down and creating a need for more effort to feed the tribe.
What do you do? Is it acceptable to kill the baby?
