Thankfully, the old law is now accomplished!
It's an interesting list for sure. I found your commentary entertaining as well as pointed! A curious observation: why is same-sex relations (for men only!) "defended" with words like "clobber text" and "relationship" and "prejudice", while sex with mom (presumably also for men only?) is reviled with words like "awkward", "good rule" and "Bible's best".
Interesting given that God is pretty clear on what form good sex and relationship takes!
Otherwise, yeah, we largely agree. (Surprise!) I see that so many Christians take the Bible to be some kind of instruction manual for faith and daily life. Applying it verbatim, I think, is almost an insult to the Bible itself and the Church that compiled it. There's so much more to the Bible than the mere words printed on the paper, so much more moral breadth and spiritual depth!
I wouldn't go so far as to "cut the Bible to pieces", but perhaps we should "cut the way we understand the Bible to pieces".
I mean, take that one from Exodus 21. Not many of us have bulls in our paddocks, and one might be tempted to cut that out as being irrelevant to the 21st century experience. But is it truly irrelevant? Might it not be wiser to look deeper?
Obviously, on the surface of things, farmers should keep dangerous animals secure. Bulls can be pretty violent creatures. But can this verse not apply to city dwellers who own dangerous dogs? Can we not apply it to other dangers, like cars? In a sense, this verse is teaching us not only keep a mad bull in his own pasture, but also keep control of your dog and your car and your boat? Basically, the moral lesson is "be your neighbour's keeper --- watch out for her wellbeing!"
And isn't there a deeper spiritual insight that might be gleaned as well? The basic assumption the Church makes is that scripture always points towards Jesus. Some are obvious, like the incorrect choice of Adam being turned on its head by the correct choice of Jesus (in his humanity). Might the bull not be seen as a metaphor for our own soul? If we commit some act of evil, we'll be punished. Perhaps not capitally, but fines and prison terms are no better! Should we not tend to our own souls and train ourselves away from evil the way a farmer keeps the bull away from temptation? Like the bull who's in the habit of harming people without repentance and is destroyed, do we not lead ourselves to destruction when we sin without repentance?
