The Bible As Justification for Evil

The Bible has been used to justify all kinds of horrors and brutality over the centuries, typically by those who claim the the Bible is the "inerrant word of God" when Bible passages conveniently support their existing hatred and prejudice. The problem is, if the Bible is the inerrant word of God, then one doesn't get to selectively pick and choose the passages one likes and the ones that are to be ignored. To make this point and to respond to the Pennsylvania House's adoption of a "year of the Bible" resolution, PA Nonbelievers erected a bill board which depicted the image set out above. Just one day after the billboard went up it was vandalized and the lower half of the image was obliterated. Here are some highlights from Friendly Atheist:

The billboard was a response to the “Year of the Bible” Resolution passed by the state’s House in January. The atheists quoted a particularly controversial Bible verse in the hopes that they would encourage viewers to take another look at the Holy Book.

The point of our billboard was:

1.The bible is NOT holy or moral as promoted by the PA House of Representatives in the “Year of the Bible”.
2.The bible was used as an excuse for many very bad things — Including American slavery.

We would have hoped this message was clearer to observers.

Sadly, the selective application of the Bible by Christianists continues to be the wellspring for hate and violence against LGBT individuals. The passages about divorce, bearing false witness, and some of the lunatic passages in Leviticus are conveniently ignored by the sanctimonious and self-congratulatory godly folk.