cravl

Of course C&H would describe demand avoidance perfectly.

Ya know, that Alexa was probably more helpful than today's too. 😅

You can disagree with me as strongly as you want, and I'm still happy to discuss all day long. But, the impression I'm getting from your hostility is that you don't want to have a discussion—you do not want to earn my respect and change my mind, you just want to be right. Am I correct in that or am I misinterpreting you? I mean that genuinely, no sarcasm or aggression. I did already read all that you've referenced, I've done some further research, and I have more thoughts that I'd love to share, but only if you're interested.

Also for what it's worth, I'll be praying for you friend regardless of how our interaction here goes. 🙂

You make good points, you definitely know some historical context that I do not. And, I agree with you that the Bible is not nice. I wholeheartedly believe that trying to paint it as such completely undermines its core message. Yet I admit that, as is human nature, my tendancy is to shy away from sections that I don't have an adequate underatanding to discuss. I apologize if it seemed like I was trying to whitewash anything, it wasn't my intent.

I know that biblical scholars use lots of extrabiblical sources to gain historical context, but I'm just your average burnt-out former gifted kid. History was one of my least favorite subjects growing up. What I know is mostly from impulsive internet searches and the few sermons that my ADHD brain found engaging enough to retain.

I tried to give as much context as I could without creating an absolute wall of text, which is why I didn't quote the entire chapter. If you're not earnest about continually trying to learn more and identify your own biases, that makes me really sad, but I'm not dumb enough to think I can change your mind. I'll try to provide some context anyway, for anyone else reading your comment.

1. Nowhere does the Bible condone rape. Period. Such behavior is always very clearly defined to be sin that must be atoned for, including by stoning when called for. (See the latter half of Deuteronomy 22 for a good overview.) Arranged marriage was a thing in the Old Testament, but the framework was very strict to avoid abuse.

2. Yes, rules for non-Hebrew slaves were different from Hebrew slaves, but the standards for how they were to be treated were still higher than elsewhere.

3. Any competant philosopher, historian, or sociologist will tell you that you can't judge past cultures by the morals of today. Yeah, picking up slaves from conquered lands today would be considered barbaric, but that's not the culture they lived in. Lots more I want to say about how that changed in the New Testament (Galatians 3:28, etc). But again, I don't like walls of text in comments. I'm happy to answer DMs all day long.

4. Where did I call you uneducated? If that's what you got, I can assure you it didn't come from me. You are free to believe what you wish, I can't nor would I ever wish to force you.

That's because slavery in that culture was not what we think of when we think of slavery today. There are numerous passages throughout the Old and New Testaments detailing how slaves were to be treated with the utmost respect, which was otherwise unheard of in antiquity. To give just one example:

If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold[a] to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. But if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave[b] forever. And to your female slave[c] you shall do the same. It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.

– Deuteronomy 15:12-18

[a]: Or sells himself

[b,c]: Or servent. The Hebrew term ébed is used to describe a wide range of socioeconomic roles. (The Greek word doulos in the New Testament is similar, as in Colossians 4:1.)

God wanted them to be treated as family. It was basically a structured mutual aid partnership.

Criticism without research doesn't mean much.

My guess? They're not sensitive enough for small bits, but could still lead to staff complacency.

Exactly, the image is wrong. The internet does not provide unlimited access to knowledge, it provides (easily manipulable) access to information which may or may not be true.

I mean, not smoking is also pretty simple. Or not using social media.

Huh, nifty.

A few times at events where it was offered. Pretty fun, despite having zero upper body strength. 😅

Sadly, climbing even the tallest tree doesn't get me very far from my anxiety…