I know I am probably going to get a lot of crap for this page if this site ever receives many visitors, but I really don't care. Letting fear of flaming and hate-mail detour me from seeking the truth would be cowardice and faith motivated by cowardice is no virtue. Technically, this isn't a top ten list, per se, as many of the sentiments expressed in any one verse are sometimes repeated in similar ones (i.e. there are multiple verses outlawing homosexuality or ordering genocide). As such, it is more of a list of ten particularly noteworthy verses in order from least offensive to most revolting.

For the most part, I consider myself fairly neutral on the question of God or gods, neither advocating or holding any particular religion but not claiming that God does not or cannot exist. Nonetheless, I've found that the most obnoxious and belligerent opposition, even to noble goals like social justice, has come from Christians, primarily of the conservative variety.

10 "For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses." — Ezekiel 23:20

Whoa, they put that in the Bible? Naturally, I don't object to sexual content in itself, but I know how many Christians do, which is why I included it on the list. Yes, I know the passage makes sense in the context of the book, but it seems suspicious that this slides by so easily while any sexual references in secular works, even those not intended to be arousing in the least, frequently spark such outrage.

9 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." — Luke 14:26

Wait, wait, wait, did Jesus just say what it looks like he said? It looks as though Jesus has a decidedly strange approach to family values. To be fair, though, it is addressed to his disciples, so perhaps he didn't mean to extend this command to all Christians. Nonetheless, I have to wonder if he saw fit to issue it in the first place.

8 "For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands." — Ezra 9:2

Part of a rant against interracial marriage and the subsequent "mingling of the holy seed". If Jewish and Christian reactionaries can agree on one thing, it's that God clearly despises the nefarious act of race-mixing. Come to think of it, though, I am in the mood to mingle with some holy, well I better not say it.

7 "Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes." — Genesis 19:8

This comes from the popular "Sodom and Gomorrah" story (which could use a page of its own) and describes how Lot (called "just" and "righteous" in 2 Peter 2:7-8) attempts to placate a sex-crazed mob by offering his virgin daughters. Again, the Bible appears to take a rather dim view of family values and women as well.

6 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord." — Colossians 3:18

Now that's nice, divine endorsement of patriarchy. I guess Muhammed wasn't the first to look to religion to justify sexism after all.

5 "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward." — 1 Peter 2:18

As far as I can tell, "servants" is a euphemism for slaves here, in which case, so much for abolition (in fact, this and other verses were used to justify slavery for decades in the South). It seems strange that the Bible would come down so hard on slaves when the Jews themselves were supposed to have been enslaved and the notorious philosopher Nietzsche accused Christianity of having a slave morality.

4 "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die." — Proverbs 23:13

When I hear the word "rod", I tend to picture a long shaft of solid metal. Of course, they surely don't mean that or the passage would probably be an outright lie in addition to abuse.

3 "He that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death." — Exodus 21:17

Talk about extreme, it seems like real overkill. If parents want honor and respect, they should take the first step and avoid this sort of rule by fear. Is it really so bad for a child to curse a harsh or abusive parent who uses the child for their own gain and pleasure (especially if they use rods)? A cruel and oppressive parent has no right to demand what they are not willing to give.

2 "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword." — Joshua 6:21

I don't know what is more disgusting, this flagrant act of genocide or the grotesquely heroic spin it receives in the Bible. Foreshadowing everything from the conquest of the Americas to Inquisition, this verse reveals a disturbing level of savagery. If Joshua were alive today, he would be put on trial for crimes against humanity.

1 "Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." — Numbers 31:18

Please tell me the phrase "women children" does not mean what I think it does. A Jewish friend of mine insists that "children" is only one possible translation, though I haven't conformed this. In any case, if this is what passes for ethics in the Bible, it truly is pathetic. Apologists have defended this and other verses with appeals to cultural context, an argument I deal with at the end of the page.

Other notable, if not outright appalling verses

Some verses do have redeeming value

"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." — Ezekiel 16:49

In contrast to the commonly held view pinning Sodom's destruction chiefly on homosexuality, Ezekiel seems to argue against such a simplistic interpretation. Now, what nations are there where arrogance is rampant, obesity is on the rise, and social welfare programs are aggressively rejected? I wonder...

Of course, it is not as though believers don't necessarily know about these Bible verses; obviously, many do since they study it and hear them cited by critics. Naturally, they need some kind of answer or they wouldn't be able to believe. Frequently, the stock answer to this is the importance of cultural context and in particular, the argument that the brutality of the Bible is typical of ancient civilizations. As far as I know, this is actually more or less true; the ancient Israelites were not simply sociopaths in an otherwise peaceful world, but shared attitudes held by their neighbors.

What, then, is the problem with this? Well, the problem is that God is necessarily above such human and imperfect forces like cultural influence. Being omniscient and perfect, he cannot fall victim to cultural prejudices, nor can he make mistakes in regards of what is ethical. His law would be unchanging, since it has no need to be updated or modified, and it would be quite independent of cultural context. If God truly issued the laws of the Bible, they must still be in force as they were decreed and certainly not limited by human fallibility.

Additionally, letting Moses, Joshua, et al. off the hook because of cultural context does not do the case for moral absolutism any favors, since it seriously undermines the kind of personal responsibility it needs to be a viable theory of ethics. And finally, one thing that would have really strengthened the case for God would have been for his commandments to be remarkably progressive in a way that runs counter to the forces of cultural influence.

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