But Humans weren't Ready!

Today, I'm exploring some issues with taking the Bible as a divinely inspired text. Earlier, I talked about the problem with saying it is a perfect text or wanting to claim that humans were imperfect. In this post, I want to explore the third statement Christians often argue. 

            When confronted with some of the Old Testament harshness or dubious morality (like slavery), the response is often that humans weren't ready for the kind of enlightenment we enjoy today. The same response can be heard when asked why Yahweh didn't provide a better revelation of scientific facts. On numerous occasions, I have heard or read the question why didn't Yahweh at least tell humans about germs? Why isn't there simple advice about washing your hands and food? The response is that humans weren't ready to understand, that germs would have appeared to be monsters.

            I find this answer incredible on a number of counts. First, just go read Leviticus to see the amount of micro-managing Yahweh had in mind. There are detailed instructions for sacrifices and dietary laws. And in terms of worry about monsters, the story of humanity starts with a talking snake who entices Eve into disobedience. And there is the tale of Yahweh straight up drowning every plant and animal except for the contents of one boat because he was upset about evil in the world. I think humans could handle hearing that there were microscopic organisms that could be washed off to prevent illness.

            Even if it were true that humans weren't ready to hear about about science and better approaches to moral behavior, why did Yahweh make them this way? If the point was to get to where we are today, why were these facts hidden for millennia?

            This is more than simply claiming that some deity wanted humans to develop and learn. The order of creation in Genesis is plain wrong, and today humans generally believe slavery is wrong. But there are other issues too: Christians don't generally heed the dietary laws or rules about keeping the sabbath holy. Sure, Christians will usually say that Jesus meant that there was a new covenant and that a great number of the old laws no longer held, but this sidesteps the issue. God is supposed to be all-knowing. What was the purpose of those old laws? Why could you not pick up sticks on the sabbath? Why did it matter if a fish had scales or not? Why was sacrifice practiced at all? Basically, why did Yahweh change his mind?

            There is something a little arrogant and self-serving in claiming that the Old Testament was "training" humans and eventually the world would develop to the point where here we are, the beneficiaries of millennia of trial and error. You have to overlook that there was a great deal of human suffering, either through slavery or disease, and you have to wonder what purpose the various dietary and sabbath-related laws served. Why couldn't Yahweh just create everything ready to handle the realities of the world?

In my next post, I'll consider some issues around a changing Bible.

I haven't posted any random little pleasures in life, so here are a couple for today:

-a glass of wine after a long day in meetings

-sitting on the deck listening to cicadas with a glass of wine after a long day of meetings

-anticipating dinner with friends with whom you can really be yourself