With this in mind, had England’s William Wilberforce and other abolitionists living in the “non-theocracies” of England and America taken Stephen’s advice about not caring what the Bible says, the slave trade would still exist throughout the world. It also has inspired the greatest art, literature and music of Western civilization as well as influenced its systems of government, jurisprudence and healthcare while greatly benefitting the societies that have honored its moral tenets. While one may deny the divine origins of the Bible, it explains the source of life as well as its purpose and meaning. Nor did he allow for the possibility that his assumption of contradiction could be wrong because it was based upon an inadequate understanding of what is known as “salvation history.” (More about that in another letter.) In doing so, Stephen ignored the fact that it was the Judeo-Christian and not merely the Judaic Biblical view I was promoting. Instead, he pointed to Numbers 5:16-22 – in an effort to undermine the Genesis quote – because he thought they contradicted each other regarding the value of human life. It should be noted that Stephen did not include the “because man is made in the image of God” part of my quote when citing the verse or my explanation of its significance. 9:6: “If anyone takes a human life that person’s life will be taken by human hands, because man is made in the image of God.” My letter explained the significance of humans being created in God’s image and how, because of this, through the influence of Christianity, human life was viewed as uniquely sacred and worthy of protection – even in the womb – by the civilization it helped to form.

The reason for Stephen’s question was my use of Gen. This letter responds to the question: “Should Americans care what the Bible says, since we don’t live in a theocracy…yet?” gleaned from Stephen’s letter. With this in view, since it is easier to ask a question than to answer one, the following is the first of what might be a few responses to Stephen Massardo’s letter “More complicated than that,” in which he challenged both me and John Butz on our view that abortion was murder because it involved the deliberate killing of human life in the womb. However, if one is speaking against sexual immorality or abortion, the Bible becomes irrelevant to many of these same folks. You can submit a letter to the editor here.įunny thing about caring about what the Bible says: When one is combatting slavery or fighting for civil rights and social justice, the Bible is viewed as a source of higher truth by most people. The views and opinions expressed in our letters section are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hudson Valley One.

Civilization 6 apostles