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| Biblical event or activity | Moral in biblical times | Immoral today |
| Genocide: mass murder of innocent civilians. | There are many instances in the bible where God ordered genocides. One is Joshua 6:21: "And they
utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass,
with the edge of the sword." Genocide in the Land of Heshbon is described in Deuteronomy 2:26-35 "...we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain." |
As described in the previous table: The systematic destruction of a race, religion or ethnic group is now considered by most civilized nations as the most serious possible crime. It is the ultimate violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1,2 The U.S. has passed the anti-genocidal Proxmire Act. Other countries have similar legislation in place. The United Nations has laws which forbid genocide and make provision for the trial and imprisonment of those responsible. |
| Slavery: the purchase, ownership, exploitation and selling of another human being as a piece of property. | Human slavery existed before the time of Abraham. The Bible justified it (Genesis 9:25-27). Slave owners could beat their slaves to death, as long as they died a slow death (Exodus 21:20-21). Many biblical passages regulated slavery. No biblical passage condemns slavery. | Slavery is considered profoundly immoral today by almost all countries today. Sudan is an exception. Slavery is forbidden by United Nations conventions, and by the constitutions of the U.S., Canada and other countries . |
| Forcible sex | When a married man died childless, his widow was required to engage in a levirate marriage: she had to engage in sexual intercourse with her brother-in-law until they produced a son who would carry on the name of the deceased. | In most countries, people are allowed to choose whom they will marry. The concept of forced sex or forced marriage is considered profoundly immoral. |
| Religious intolerance | There are many passages in the Bible which demonsrate religious intolerance, including the murder of non-believers entering the temple, and of men entering into inter-faith marriages. One of the worst incidences is described in 1 Kings 18:17-40 when Elijah challenged 450 priests to a contest. The latter worshiped another God. Elijah won; the other priests were executed. | Murder, mass murder, and genocide of people because of their religion is widespread today, as seen in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Crete, Sudan, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, etc. But in other areas of the world, individuals enjoy freedom of religion. Murdering or discriminating against a person on the basis of their religion is considered immoral by today's standards. |
| Torturing civilian prisoners of war | In 2 Samuel 12:26-31, there is a description of an attack by the army of the Israelites against the Ammonites. The city of Rabbah fell. The citizens of the city were then tortured in various ways - perhaps to death. | International agreements and conventions now exist to regulate the conduct of warfare. These attempt to guarantee the safety and freedom from abuse of civilians involved in a war. |
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Related essays on this web site:
 | The Golden Rule and other Ethics of Reciprocity |
| "Hot" religious controversies menu |
| Bible passages that appear immoral by today's standards. |
| What the Bible says about human slavery |
| Genocide menu |
References:
- The English text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is at: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
- The UDHR text is available in other languages at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/1/univdec1.htm
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Site navigation: Home page > Morality > Introduction > here |
Copyright © 2001 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-SEP-9
Latest update: 2001-OCT-18
Author: B.A. Robinson
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