Please understand, I did not create this thread to start any kind of conflicts.  I am genuinely curious as to your thoughts and educated opinions on the following:

I was reading some articles discussing the passage(s) in the Bible that command that women be silent in church and defer to their husbands with all religious inquiries.  I was SHOCKED by what I encountered!  Almost every article I read said the same things... that those passages of the Bible had be " understood in the context of their times" and "that since in other parts of the bible, women were called to prophets - that being silent in Church could not possibly mean what it says" and that what being "silent in church" meant just not being disruptive and applied in some sense to everyone in church, not JUST women, etc. etc.  

I was SHOCKED by the linguistic, apologetic gymnastics that were being done to justify and explain away this passage of the bible.  I have heard many of these SAME rationales (in macro, if not in micro) used by liberal theologians and gay Christians to "explain away" the two passages in the Bible that condemn homosexuality. I also then listen to the inevitable chorus of responses of conservative Christians that the bible is THE inerrant word of god, cannot be massaged to embrace your personal point of view, says what is says and means what it means, etc. etc.  There is absolutely NO give or wriggle room when it comes to homosexuality, abortion, or ANYTHING they "hate" but when it comes to anything in the bible that is for example, racist or sexist, it seems it's okay to play TWISTER with the thing!

To everyone, especially to my bible-believing friends on this forum, please explain.

Marc

Plus, why does God go from a raging, punish at the drop of a hat asshole in the Old Testament to a nice, caring being in the New? Half the things he does in the Old are outright evil.

The fact that some of the books were knowingly written 200+ plus years after the events occured does not help its case, either. Because oral tradition = things get changed.

But far more important - and independent of the existence of God - the holy men have long taught the faithful that THEY are only ones who hear God, THEY are the only ones who know the Truth, and THEY MUST BE OBEYED. So the holy men get to spread the rules that favor themselves, and the most important commandment - "Thou shalt not question" - has been enforced often at the cost of human dissidents.

And these idolaters found that they LIKED having power and concubines and ruling the lands.

It's power hungry humans. That's from time immemorial to today (as who could possibly think that the Almighty wants someone to purchase and own a whole country?)

*Or by women... another strong bone of contention from the word of God. As Robin Williams once quipped, "God came back to Earth, and She's black, and She's pissed!"

I'm amazed that people keep on following rules written 2500 years ago as if they were still relevant...

"Thou shall not kill": Ok. But that's not original.

But the way you eat, which clothes you should wear, the way women must deal with their periods...

I am especially interested in their thoughts on why, even among those who believe the Bible is the literal word of God, there are a select few passages that get the "context" "time and place" "God really meant this" treatment and others are black and white, clear as glass, NOT to be questioned.

For example, if there are examples of sexism or racism in the Bible, why do those get "explained" to fit modern sensibilities and standards and examples of hatred of homosexuality, despite our modern understanding of it, remain static.  

This is of particular interest to me, as a gay man, because I ALWAYS hear from hard-line Christians (particularly on the issue of homosexuality) that it's not them saying these awful things about homosexuality, it's GOD.  As if, IF they had their way they would be just happy as a clam to accept it.  

I am beginning to suspect that the modern hatred of some things by religious people has nothing to do with their religious beliefs, but is in fact, plain old hatred and bigotry.

Marc

And I always love to point out dietary rules on all-you-can-eat catfish dinners. 

That one gets to me, too!  The last time I heard anything about the Bible's how to treat your slaves passages, a pastor insisted it was a mistranslation that should have said "servants" and that in modern times, it means "employees".

Marc