Read the whole Bible
By Letter to the Editor on March 1, 2019.
Re: “Fundamentalists and politics don’t mix,” Feb. 4 Thank you Fred Lewis for reminding us that some of our Conservative politicians take Christian values seriously. It gives me greater confidence in them. Most of society’s woes result from forsaking God’s laws. Mr. Lewis should read the whole Bible and not just focus on the parts which he finds problematic. Love and mercy can be found there, as well as judgment. How about John 3:16, the Bible’s most familiar verse, for a start? Charmaine Wood Irvine, Alta. 8-7
God’s laws? You must first prove that such a thing as a god exists. In spite of millennia of effort this has never been done. Society’s woes result from wilful ignorance of the scientific description of the universe not disobedience to an imaginary and vengeful tyrant.
Religious apologists cherry pick the bible. They vaunt those parts they imagine are acceptable and decry those they imagine are not. This raises an interesting question. If they take the bible as a source of moral instruction and shun parts of it, from where to they find the morality to do so? The overwhelming and compelling scientific evidence is that evolution has equipped human beings with a moral scheme (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_morality). No god or bible is required.
I’d suggest that a lot of societies woes come from the gullible masses who will follow any charismatic cult leader as long as he or she spreads the gospel that most appeals to them. These days that often takes the form of fake news, internet trolls, or divisive politicians, but back in your day it was religion: the original fake news. Anyone who would be willing to trust unprovable myth and legend over reviewable and confirmed scientific evidence should not be trusted with any level of responsibility or power. It’s like putting a 6 year old that still believes in santa in charge of christmas, it’s extremely unlikely to end well.