This gets thrown around a lot so here are my thoughts.
The Bible has contradictions, but that doesn’t mean it contradicts itself. The thing is this: the Bible was written by many people over a long period of time. And although, as Christians believe, the Spirit of God was inspiring those writers, he wasn’t over-ruling them.
They still had agency. There weren’t “possessed” but rather guided as to what to write and how. You can tell by comparing the Gospel accounts, for example, that there are stark differences in the style of Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts.
Matthew was a Jewish tax collector and clearly wrote from a Jewish perspective. His genealogy of Jesus links him to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) AND to King David.
Matthew portrays Jesus as the Messiah which he shows by including his birth narrative and genealogy.
He portrays Jesus as a new Moses because in Matthew Jesus clarifies and even modified the law of Moses to which Jews were to stick to quite religiously.
They weren’t robots; they weren’t taking dictation. And so they bring their interests, their priorities, their concerns and their perspectives to what they write. And those perspectives are often different. It can be argued that this makes the Bible stronger and more valuable than if it were some sort of direct download from heaven.
Condones Genocide and Slavery?
Inclusion does not mean approval. The Bible having slavery does not mean God condones it. The Bible is as much a historical book as it is a religious one because religion IS history.
The Bible was written over centuries within cultures where slave work was a normal part of society. While the Bible does not directly have the words “you shall not have slaves”, a more critical exegesis of it reveals a morale that is different from the cruel slavery practices in other contexts like the Atlantic slave trade. This is why understanding the background of the Bible’s larger message is important to see why a clear condemnation of slavery or any other socially unacceptable practice in today’s world is not found in a clear sentence within the Bible.
Also, at this time “slaves” more closely resembled indentured servants. God instructs elaborately on how to treat such “slaves”:
“If one of your countrymen among you becomes destitute and sells himself to you, you must not force him into slave labor. Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident…” (Lev. 25:39-40). This prohibited harsh and dehumanizing work conditions while workers worked off a debt (the common reason for why “slaves” existed, the Babylonians and Egyptians aside).
Does God Condone Genocide?
The parts that appear the most genocidal are records of God’s divine judgement– His just response to human evil that had become unredeemable (all of this happened before Christ’s atonement). Namely in the conquest of the Canaanites (Joshua 4).
The Bible does not condone violence or genocide. It records specific instances where God commands judgement against people who had reached a peak of moral evil (no different than a judge issuing the death penalty).
1. There is violence initiated by humanity and there is God’s divinely commanded judgement. The Bible condemns randomly murdering someone, oppression, and war driven by greed or hate. The moral law forbids murder (Exodus 20:13) which it differentiates from killing based on motive.
2. Another key reason for perceived genocides have to do with God’s holiness. At the time of said judgements God was establishing his people as the vehicle through which the Messiah would come.
So God had to create radical separation to preserve Israel’s moral purity and prevent them from being corrupted by Canaanite polytheistic and pagan practices. This judgement was necessary to prevent a total collapse of God’s plan of salvation.
3. The commands to conquer were unique, limited and not to be taken as a precedent. That is, rooted in history. The Bible does not approve of future nations or individuals to engage in “holy war” or genocide. These commands given to Israel under the old covenant were part of God’s theocracy. The New Testament standard is one of self-sacrifice and loving others including enemies (Matthew 5:44).
How and for who is this book good?
The Bible is God’s word to all of humanity. It is His timeless wisdom. It is important to note that even though the Bible contains rules it is NOT a rule book of faith.
Taking it as such is the result of uneducated interpretation (or none at all) and can lead to a lot of hurting others.
It is good because in it is God’s love story about us. This may be hard for someone to see through atheist lens because they may be inclined to stop at “God killed people. Therefore God is evil and not loving and so is the Bible because it records Him being so.”
But God is above all shown to be compassionate, gracious and abounding in mercy (Ps. 103:8-10). Not wanting to bring wrath on anyone but instead giving them chance after chance to repent and love Him by their actions. He calls people to be forgiving and to forgive another person up to 490 times for a single offense (ie continuous and boundless forgiveness. See Matt. 18:20-22), and He himself lives up to the standard.
So, the Bible is good for anyone. From the beggar to the rich man. From the atheist to the preacher.
It contains wisdom and guidance for living a righteous life (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes).
It offers guidance on personal development and ethical decisions.
It has timeless truths that speak to our heart for growing spiritually and understanding God’s will for us.
Just read Jesus’ sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 about how to live in a harsh world and you may just get a glimpse of God’s heart for you. He loves you and wants to heal any broken wound on your heart.
