Vox Veritatis: The Impossibility of God Part 1

Here is a great post written on the Vox Veritatis blog that refutes the stupid argument against God by trying to prove that the Bible gives contradictory descriptions of God's nature. The article does a good job of showing how silly that really is. Take a look!

Vox Veritatis: The Impossibility of God Part 1 - Prolegomena

Rhoblogy: The EvilBible.com Project, Part 1 - Murder in the Bible

Today on the blog Rhoblogy, in contributing to Mariano's idea of we cohesively tackle the same subjects, a post has appeared discussing how Murder is discussed in the Bible. The author did a great job knocking down the ideas about murder given to evilbible.com and I think the response is well-written and a must-read. The only thing I would add, and it may be covered in a future part of his series is the question of does the Bible say "You will not kill." or does it say "You will not murder." in Exodus 20:13. We see in Ecclesiastes 3:3 says:

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

The King James Version uses "kill" in both Exodus 20:13 and Ecclesiastes 3:3, but more modern translations like the NIV use "murder" in Exodus 20:13 and "kill" in Ecclesiastes 3:3. They are not the same words, this is why this is important the word in Exodus 20:13 is "Ratsach" which means "murder" but in Ecclesiastes 3:3 the word is "harag" which is a different word. It makes sense given that "murder" and "killing" are not equivalent. For example, killing someone who breaks into your hows to kill your family is not murder but it is killing. However if you planned to find an opportunity to stab someone when no one is looking to kill him or her - that's murder. Killing enemy soldiers who are trying to kill you in a war is not murder. The difference is intent - the reason behind the action.

Here is the link to the article:
Rhoblogy: The EvilBible.com Project, Part 1 - Murder in the Bible

The Bible & Rape

Today on his blog at Atheism Is Dead Mariano is going to cover the faulty assertion that the Bible condones and advocates rape. Whenever I hear some stupid idea such as that I wonder what orifice the writer pulled such an idea out of. In keeping with Mariano's theme I will be looking at one particular case concerning rape from the Bible found in Judges chapters 19-21. The story is very horrific a man allows a group of men to rape and murder his concubine to save his own life. The Bible only reports that this happened...in no way does God or anyone condone the act. As a matter-of-fact it leads to a civil war among the Israelites. I challenge anyone to find a verse that prescribes that this is what we should do. I'm even referring to the Levite announcing the crime by cutting his dead concubine up into 12 pieces and sending one to each of the tribes of Israel's territory. God did not tell him to do that. Based on what the rest of the Bible says I can't find anything that tells us it's good, God glorifying behavior. I'm also referring to the way the rest of Israel allowed surviving Benjamites to take wives. God did not tell them to do that! All the nation was outraged by the crime and the aftermath. Why report the story? The story underscores the cultural reality of the time summed up in Judges 21:25 which says:

In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

This is scary and sums up the state of our own country. When a society is left to itself and does not respect God, this is what you get.