Disturbing Passages in Holy Books

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I don't think I've ever heard that interpretation or, at least, my church didn't push it that I can remember. I think I just heard that it demonstrated Solomon's wisdom. It sounds like something people would say, though, so it wouldn't surprise me at all.

All I know is the version that Edith Bunker told in one episode of "All In the Family". Cant remember how it figured in the story of the TV episode, but she told a bare bones version of the version Twilight did. Two women fighting over a baby, and Solomon says "ok..ill cut the baby in two". Lady one is okay with it. And lady two gets distraught and says "just give the live baby to her...and dont kill the baby". And Solomon says Lady two demonstrated devotion to baby's life so she gets the baby not despite, but because she was willing to give it up.

Works for me...sounds like wisdom to me.

I think it was about Jeroboam and Rehoboam.

This song seems apt for this thread:

Jesus seems to give mixed messages. Yes, he said to "love your neighbor as yourself," but he also said:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household" (Matthew 10:34-36).

He also said that people should uphold the law in Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Maybe they could just cut out most of the Bible and just leave the nice bits.

I'm pretty sure it was all a way of scaring people from random sex, to cut back on STDs and save the planet.

Remarkable how antibiotics changed religion.

I think it was more about controlling people in general. It still is in a lot of places and in a lot of religions/denominations. A lot more change needs to happen in my opinion.

It was less about saving the planet and more about saving and promoting Judaism, often at the expense of other religions and tribes, and then Christianity.

Jesus promoted all or nothing/black and white thinking which I think is a big problem in society.

At Matthew 12:30 Jesus says: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Obviously, there are a lot of grey areas. People can be with Jesus in some ways and against him in others. Also, just because someone is NOT with Jesus doesn’t mean they are against him. They could be indifferent, view him as a fictional character, etc. There are a lot of possibilities.

People seem to struggle with having moderate views, not just in religion but in general.

When Peter expresses concerns about Jesus’s welfare and says that he doesn’t want Jesus’s prediction regarding his death to come true, Jesus likens Peter to Satan at Matthew 16:20-23: From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

That seems a bit extreme (and insensitive).

If Solomon was so great why did he raise taxes? Sure he built his fine palace and he built the temple. But he paid for it all by severely overtaxing his people. For from a wise king, he was a greedy tyrant who impoverished his people to build his golden house.

He also had quite the harem.

I’d hate to see what he was like before God blessed him with wisdom.

The trouble with writing a wise character is that the character can never be wiser than the author.

Yeah, that was most likely the problem.

As a mom, I found the passage in 1 Samuel upsetting. (It even bothered me when I was a kid!) Hannah is barren but really wants a child. In chapter 1:11, “she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.”

God blesses her with a son and as soon as he is weaned: “she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there (1:24-28). In chapter 2, it’s clear that she only sees him once a year. “Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. 20 Eli would bless Elkanah [the father] and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home. 21 And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord” (2:19-21).

I find the idea of this really heartbreaking for the parents and son. I can imagine the love and care that went into making the “little robe” even though it probably is just a story. Attachment is crucial for healthy child development. Also, another child won’t take the place of one you love and miss. At least no babies die, though, so it’s better than a lot of Bible stories involving babies/children but still.

Apparently. Maybe they keep it in a special place along with her baby teeth and first shoes.

Gee, I wonder who devirginates most girls and young women, historically and statistically speaking?
Makes sense they would stone them to death to hide the testimony.

Sounds like a fun book. / s