12. Is the Bible a Good Moral Guide?

Is Biblical morality perfect? If it isn't, would you want to know?
Chapters:
00:00-00:35 - Good Christian works
00:36-02:22 - Questioning the Bible's morality, not Christians'
02:23-08:07 - Some problems with the Bible's morality
08:08-10:32 - God's problematic moral decrees
10:33-13:32 - The issue of "might makes right"
13:33-15:36 - Problems with the Conquest of Canaan
15:37-17:04 - Original sin
17:05-18:14 - The perfect "advertising" set up
18:15-19:35 - Conclusion
Series Bibliography:
Barker, Dan - God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction
Barker, Dan - Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America’s Leading Atheists
Buckser, Andrew and Glazier, Stephen D. - The Anthropology of Religious Conversion
Callahan, Tim - Secret Origins of the Bible
Carrier, Richard - “How We Know Daniel Is a Forgery”
Carrier, Richard - “Josephus on Jesus? Why You Can’t Cite Opinions Before 2014”
Carrier, Richard - Not the Impossible Faith
Carrier, Richard - On the Historicity of Jesus
Carrier, Richard - Sense and Goodness Without God
Conway, Flo and Siegelman, Jim - Snapping: America’s Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change
Coogan, Michael D. - The Oxford History of the Biblical World
Copan, Paul - Is God a Moral Monster?
Craig, William Lane - Reasonable Faith
Currid, John D. And Chapman, David W. - The ESV Archaeology Study Bible
Dever, William G. - Did God Have a Wife?
Dever, William G. - Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?
Durkheim, Emile - The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
Ehrman, Bart D. - Forged: Writing in the Name of God
Ehrman, Bart D. - Forgery and Counterforgery
Ehrman, Bart D. - God’s Problem
Ehrman, Bart D. - Heaven and Hell
Ehrman, Bart D. - How Jesus Became God
Ehrman, Bart D. - Jesus Before the Gospels
Ehrman, Bart D. - Jesus Interrupted
Ehrman, Bart D. - Lost Christianities
Ehrman, Bart D. - Misquoting Jesus
Ehrman, Bart D. - The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture
Ehrman, Bart D. - The Triumph of Christianity
Finkelstein, Israel and Silberman, Neil Asher - The Bible Unearthed
Geisler, Norman L. And Howe, Thomas - The Big Book of Bible Difficulties
Geisler, Norman L. And Turek, Frank - I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
Hagglund, Martin - This Life
Ham, Ken, Ed. - Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions: Volume 1
Ham, Ken and Hodge, Bodie and Chaffey, Tim, Eds. - Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions: Volume 2
Harwood, William - Mythology’s Last Gods
Helms, Randel - Gospel Fictions
Helms, Randel - Who Wrote the Gospels?
Holden, Joseph M. and Geisler, Norman - The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible
Kennedy, Titus M. - Unearthing the Bible
Koukl, Gregory - Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions
Lewis, C.S. - A Grief Observed
Loftus, John W. - The Christian Delusion
Loftus, John W. - Christianity Is Not Great
Loftus, John W. - The End of Christianity
Loftus, John W. - Why I Became an Atheist
Loftus, John W. and Rauser, Randal - God or Godless?
MacDonald, Dennis - Does the New Testament Imitate Homer?
MacDonald, Dennis - The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark
MacDonald, Dennis - Mythologizing Jesus
Matthews, Victor H. And Benjamin, Don C. - Old Testament Parallels
Mazar, Amihai - Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000-586 BCE
McDowell, Josh and McDowell, Sean - Evidence That Demands a Verdict
McLaughlin, Rebecca - Confronting Christianity
Newberg, Andrew and Waldman, Mark Robert - Why We Believe What We Believe
Nicolaou, Corinna - A None’s Story
Nongbri, Brent - Before Religion
Shanks, Hershel - Ancient Israel
Stavrakopoulou, Francesca - God: An Anatomy
Strobel, Lee - The Case for Christ
Strobel, Lee - The Case for a Creator
Strobel, Lee - The Case for Faith
Wallace, J. Warner - Cold-Case Christianity
Wolff, Catherine - Beyond: How Humankind Thinks About Heaven
ChristianAnswers.net - “Is the Bible Accurate Concerning the Existence and Destruction of the Walls of Jericho?”

[@signografika]

Bright future, keep it going strong. If you think for yourself, better morals arrive for society

[@join.arethion]

Appreciate the comment. Thanks for watching!

[@blightchip4236]

These are great videos keep them up you’re gonna blow up it doesn’t hate on individual Christians it just criticizes the hypocrisy in the Bible

[@join.arethion]

Thanks for your comment! My hope and aim was to make a video series that walked Christians through the facts but did so in a compassionate way because I've been where they've been. I've been locked in the Christian ecosystem, scared to engage with "dangerous" information even when I had doubts. I've been scared that I was going to be made to feel stupid for my beliefs. This is a tough transition for people (it was for me and for many people I know), and it's one that deserves compassion - but also truth. Obviously a series like this won't resonate with everyone, but it's at least nice to hear feedback like yours. Thanks again!!

[@AJPemberton]

In answer to the question of 'is the Bible is a good base for a moral system?', I would say definitely not. As you said, it does contain some good rules. But any book that can be used to justify everything from murder to slavery to torture is a TERRIBLE book for a moral system to be based on.

[@join.arethion]

That's the nature of "normative" ethical systems, as you duly note. When "might makes right" is the law, it can lead to contradictory moral claims. "Don't kill - unless God tells you to, then you can definitely kill." Thanks for watching!

[@taylorknight3577]

Id say there better things that predate Christianity i mean they always seem to act like rules and morals and order never existed before them😂

[@join.arethion]

Comparative ethics is a fascinating field! We'll have more videos coming out on this topic in the future. Thanks for watching!