list of cruel things in the bible

I'm not attacking Christianity, I want to believe in it actually. Jesus's teachings are really inspiring, but his kindness seems like its in stark contrast to much of the Bible. I'd like to hear Christian responses...how could a kind God do these things? Some are worse than others.

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/cruelty/long.html

 

In a garden, do you pull up weeds? Did you ever trim a plant so that it would become healthier?

What if the threat of certain actions molds the decisions God's creatures make?

If God hadn't followed through with certain threats, would the threats mold your decision making process?

A child does not know that it can hurt it's parents by pulling there hair. Do you every discipline the child or do you let it grow up pulling you hair (you are gonna be bald if you do the latter)?

What if the child cannot help developing certain bad habits that will harm itself (or the parent) unless you inflict a certain amount of disciplinary pain on it? Do you inflict the pain or do you let the child go to hell?

 

In the early part of the christian era, until they were supressed by the official church, there were numerous gnostic sects who believed that they were the recipients of the true message of Christ. They believed that the God depicted in the OT is not the true God, but a lesser being, who they called the demiurge.
In other words, the devil.
Jesus, they believed, came to reveal the true God, whose attributes as you rightly say are very different from those of Yahweh. Love instead of condemnation, forgivness instead of punishment etc.
This view was also held by the Cathars, an 'heretical' sect who flourished in southern France during the middle ages. They were systematically persecuted and killed during the Albigensian Crusade.
Later it found poetic expression in the works of 18th cent, English poet William Blake.

 

I'll explain the first five:

That's about as incorrect as it gets. Only after the fall there was pain and suffering. Before Adam's betrayal everything was vegetarian, painless, and perfect. It was the Paradise righteous Jews (or 'Israelites' ) returned to after they died, this was before Jesus died.

Wrong, it wasn't the Gore or Pain, but the fact that Abel wanted to please God wiith his own works, while Cain seperated himself from ONE young animal (not animals, drop the 's'), which was God's work, therefore it was the Lord's Glory that paid the man's sins, not his own works.

That wasn't God. So what's the point here?
Murder his a sin, and things like these happen (get into the real world, people).

Yup, (this explains the dinosaur's 'mysterious' extinction )


The world was full of sin, almost everybody murdered, destroyed, commited adultery, etc. etc.


People back then lived up to 900 years ( it's scientifically proven that the brain cells have the ability to work for 900 years, BTW, conscidering that the body's still alive. )


Imagine the people who were righteous? It must have been torture.


Most of the world was on it's way to hell, not having enough people to minister to them (and have them go to heaven), what's the point of continuing?


He loved his creations, he wanted them to go to paradise, but it was better to whipe out all creations (except Noah and his family, and the pairs of animals), and start out new again (so there was more of a chance for them to get saved). Make sense now?

The ark (which has been found) wouldn't be able to hold all the animals of the world, that's why.

That's the reason it was only a pair of every type of animal, so that they'd continue to roam the earh.


That list was written with hate...

 

The worst part about the entire Skeptic's Annotated Bible is that it basically just rips verses from their context, both literary and historical. Any particular ones that trouble you?

 

hosea 13:16, psalms 137:9, 2 kings 2:23,24