martinguerre

Thank God the story doesn't end there. That's really the first thing that i think when i read those stories.

The bible is vastly influenced by our perception of God...and in many of the instances you mentioned, i read more in to the white spaces than the text itself. one text condones slavery...but the whole exodus story, THE story of the Torah, condemns slavery for what it does to both master and slave. again and again, the people are reminded of their servitude in egypt...and what that might mean for them now. and eventually...they get it.

the death penalty is similar...long endorsed in scripture, and confronted later on in scripture. When God chose what kind of violence God would confront in the incarnation...i think it is very telling that it was the death penalty. if God's Christ was killed and raised from battle...i don't think we'd have gotten the message. but God looks at the violence we keep very close to home. we might try to dress it up, cover it over, and push it to the ghettos and margins. but in the end, it's right next door...its the violence we try to keep as a pet, to make our lives easier. there can be no mistake in that God subjects God's self to the shame, pain and destruction that we called justice. how we would ever think to kill someone in cold blood in the name of "justice" every again...it's beyond me.

none of this is simple...that much is true. but since the beginning, we've known we don't have the whole story. but we can thank God that the story will never end with what we know.