Quote:
Originally posted by Chewbacca:
Which is ultimatly my point in exploring the contradictions of the bible and any other literature I study for a moral compass while on the earth. If taken at face value and with-out question the bible or the koran will not neccessarily lead us down a path of peacefulness and wholesomness, but both have the potential if one uses the gift of discernment to decide for themselves what really is wrong and right, good and bad and of course whether or not these contradictions actually exist.
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Excellent point!
I too use the Bible for moral advice but as an agnostic I find it easy not to get into it to literally and to put the things in context. Most religious texts may it be the Bible, the Koran, the Veda, ... contain very pure and distilled wisdom of ages in the most basic things of life. It is your own task to interpret this into your own surroundings.
back to the contradictions:
In many of the passages you quoted/linked I fail to see the obvious contradiction. After all peace and war have not been commonly agreed to be contradictory up to nowadays. War - in an ancient viewpoint that some carry up unto today - is a tool to achieve peace. If you wanted peace (=not be bothered by invading tribes on a raid) back then you had to go to war with them and defeat them so they won't be able to come back and raid your home.
I know and love the saying: "Fighting for peace is like f***ing for virginity" but most people believed and many still do (cf. Iraq war) that peace can be achieved through war. The Romans even referred to a newly captured territory as "pacified".