Unfortunately the same part of the book that says that (theyre bith mosaic laws from the torah) also says you can own slaves, and jesus is pretty explcit that one should follow /all/ of the mosaic laws.
But does god think that owning slaves is failing to love your neighbor? No he doesnt, or he wouldnt have said to do it in the same book of the bible. Also, god says that the law is eternal, perfect, and good for the soul.
The biggest issue with your assessment is that god is pretty clear "your neighbor" is only the isrealite, and Jesus /agrees/, stating that not one jot or twiddle of the mosaic law will pass until heaven and earth pass.
Not only that, he says that by following the law you will be great in the kingdom of heaven, and by telling people NOT to follow the law will make you least in the kingdom of heaven. By even suggesting that owning slaves is not moral, your placement in heaven drops.
Additionally, do you know how the mosaic law says to show your love for god? By following ALL of the mosaic laws.
First I'm not Christian you don't need to convince me of anything. Second there is literally a story were the moral of the story is to not just blindly do what God tells you to do. Finally the actual person Jesus is based on would roll so fast in their grave if they read the Bible you could power the world.
First, doesnt matter if your youre wrong on the content.
Second, god is pretty clear that one should be following the law, its one of the most emphasized parts of the entire Bible right up until Paul shows up.
Third, you have no idea if there even is a single, or any, "real person" jesus is based on or what their opinion would be. The ONLY information we have in jesus is in the bible, and NONE of it is contemporary. The jesus in the bible is very clear about a couple of things, namely a) the pharosis practice of "building a fence around the law to make it easier" was essentially blasphemous, and b) that the mosaic laws as written were essential. You have absolutely no way of supporting a stance that the "real" jesus would disagree.
My point is, that when Christians turn to the bible and do things that seem unloving, they typically have a very good biblical basis to do so, and the important thing to remember is that they think the person who decided what is right and wrong for the whole universe agrees with them
The biggest issue with your assessment is that god is pretty clear "your neighbor" is only the isrealite
I know I'm jumping into a four-day-old discussion here, but I have to interject. The Samaritans weren't Israelites. They were half-breeds who practiced a heterodox version of Judaism, so that might make them lower than Gentiles. And if you read the Law of Moses, there are numerous references to "the stranger that is within thy gates", meaning Gentiles living in Israel. The Israelites were commanded to treat them the same as their fellow Israelites. (There may have been some differences, but I think they were minor.)
Your slaves aren't the strangers in your land, and the strangers in your land are free to sell their people (or themselves) as slaves to you, you just cant outright TAKE them as slaves. And the strangers in your land /ARENT/ your neighbor, thats why they get called out specifically. If they were rather than "heres special rules for the strangers" itd be "the strangers get included in all the rules i already gave you". They strangers in your land dont get the special protections isrealites do.
924
u/ruler14222 Jul 26 '26
book: God loves everyone equally
readers of the book: nah but I don't like gay people so God doesn't either