Letter | Teach Horry County kids morality? The Bible is definitely the wrong source

Bible full of immoral teachings

Re July 24 letter, “Children need the God of the Bible to know right from wrong,” by Patricia Milley.

It is mind boggling why anyone would recommend that a child follow the principles and teachings in the Bible, especially the twice referenced book of Deuteronomy.

Perhaps Milley has never fully read the Bible. Do you want to teach your child that those who worship another God should be killed (Deut 13:6-10)? Do you want to teach your child that inhabitants of a city who worship differently than you must be destroyed and the entire town burned (Deut 13:12-16)? Do you want a child to learn that it's OK to stone your wife to death if she wasn't a virgin on the wedding day (Deut 22:20-21)? Do you want your child to learn that it's OK to rape a virgin woman as long as he pays her father 50 pieces of silver and marries the woman (Deut 22:28-29)?

The Bible also permits slavery (Leviticus 25:44-46), beating of slaves with a rod (Exodus 21:20-21), killing those who work on the Sabbath day [Exodus 31:14-15] and selling your own daughters as sex slaves (Exodus 21:7-11).

Even the teachings in the New Testament are suspect. According to Paul, women should not be teaching in schools or holding political office where they would have authority over men [1 Timothy 2:11-12]. According to Jesus, if a man divorces a woman - the woman is guilty of adultery [Matthew 5:31-32], which, of course, is punishable by death [Leviticus 20:10].

Jesus also teaches us to not plan for the future [Matthew 6:31-34], not to accumulate any wealth on earth [Matthew 6:19-21], not to resist an evil person [Matthew 5:39], and that drinking poison is safe [Mark 16:18].

Jesus also condones slavery [Luke 12:47]. And amazingly, Jesus also teaches that towns who don't accept the words of the Lord shall be destroyed in a gruesome manner [Matthew 10:11-15].

I could fill up a small book with all the questionable teachings in the Bible; however, the point is clear. Children (and adults) need not acquire their morality from a 2000-year-old document written by anonymous scribes who had no clue about how the world works.

This story was originally published August 10, 2015 at 7:52 AM with the headline "Letter | Teach Horry County kids morality? The Bible is definitely the wrong source."