Kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man.Only the young girls who are virgins may live,you may keep them for yourselves [Spirituality & Religion]

@iQuit

[quote]Context matters[/quote]

Absolutely.
Unfortunately, context doesn't mitigate this in any way whatsoever.

Even your video here doesn't manage to make that argument.
Kill the little boys because they could grow up to be a problem. Keep the little girls because you can control them.
Beautiful moral statement, yes?
He then attempts to make the claim that they wouldn't have been taking sexual advantage of these girls because they were previously punished for sleeping with enemy women. In this he himself ignores context which is that the women would cause the men to sin by adopting their degenerate practices.

But that falls down because the instruction is not that you may keep young girls or women, it's that you may keep [i]virgins[/i] which places the value on them for [i]sexual[/i] reasons.

Sorry, i've never seen a convincing christian apologetic for this abhorrent practice and this guy was no different.

@Pikachu I wasn't mitigating anything in my sole response in text
I just stated more to your initial post

As a pathway to the historical events that give relevance to why it was put in the bible

The bible like any other book is just scripture done by man to keep record/entertain/educate. It's how man applies whatever they perceive on to their life that makes the biggest difference.

This passage was something written through times of war. Not justifiable but it is the context that helps see with more clarity.

Also why keep a virgin for sexual reasons if they were persecuted for that sin? They probably kept them as slaves/captives of war. The times/society/ways help set the view.

This video in no way apologizes
All it does it just put deeper context into the verse

because anyone can take any text and manipulate it to give a new message and meaning

(Again I will say) I am not defending the bible
just stating there is so much text and historical events that if you align with it you get a glimpse of how times were said to be so... long ago.

@iQuit

I respect your desire to place the verse in the context of the story.
Again, the context (as you agree) in no way mitigates the monstrosity of the action. As i'm sure you agree, the fact there was a war or that their enemies were cruel does not excuse responding just as cruelly.

Perhaps i am too sensitive when i hear the word "context" because it is almost always deployed in an attempt to excuse something in the bible which appears unsavory.

[quote]Also why keep a virgin for sexual reasons if they were persecuted for that sin? [/quote]

Well as we see at a few points in the bible, the reason for not getting it on with the foreign women is because they will cause the men to sin by worshiping false gods and so on.
So they didn't get in trouble for having sex with those women, they got in trouble for disobeying the order not to do so for the above reasons.
But identifying the girls to be taken as virgins denotes that their value was in their virginity, I.E. there eligibility to be taken as wives.

@Pikachu The video explains why. I honestly just re-mentioned it. Because in all honesty I am no biblical scholar and don't look too deeply into the text.

He explains briefly how and why others were killed for partaking in sexual acts with men.

For that reasoning they probably kept the virgins pure and alive.
In their cultural/eyes they/as many cultures -saw sex as evil.

**It's very rare to find a culture and civilization that finds sex as acceptable when you look back in historical terms.

Personally speaking: I'm not a big fan of the bible because it's very misogynistic. Plus, a majority of events depicting women as the root of wrong.

As far as I'm concerned it's a historical window into the past.
So many cultures and societies have had so many ideals that seem somehow archaic in some ways. Plus as society changes it tries to modify. The past keeps getting blurred and who honestly knows the actual truth of anything.

If it weren't for technology now maybe some known facts would be mistaken for fiction or confused with other events and be called :(fake news) or by any other term.

Looking back into ancient times- it's clear that:
God's are plentiful in the world beside Christianity.


**Also, at the end of the day No matter what deity

Humanity is clearly responsible for their actions - no matter what.
(Even if they want to excuse themselves with religion)

I will definitely agree that if people back then and now use any historical text to justify their vile actions -then they are most certainly horrible beings
Which deserve consequences for their severity against humanity or any living creature.

Faith and religion are a messy thing.

When you take into account the barbarities done in the name of "religions".

It's scary to imagine what might happen someday because of individuals following a doctrine imposed or persuaded by any faith/established religion.

@iQuit

I would also consider the bible to be more of a historical document (with varying degrees of accuracy) than anything which should be considered a moral guide.

“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”

― Steven Weinberg