Historical context isn’t commonly taught alongside the bible, it makes it very hard to blindly apply ancient moral lessons to modern society. My favorite example is the story of Onan, often preached as anti-masturbation. Within the legal setting of the time it’s actually about greed: Onan would inherit his brother’s property since he had no heir. Commanded to produce a son with his brother’s widow, he opted to “spill his seed on the ground” rather than forfeit the inheritance.
But preaching against greed is often unpopular, especially with the Prosperity Gospel, and it was a “close enough” cherry to pick for the Puritan movement.
All that to say: yes, most people have no idea about the background behind anything in the bible.
Historical context isn’t commonly taught alongside the bible, it makes it very hard to blindly apply ancient moral lessons to modern society. My favorite example is the story of Onan, often preached as anti-masturbation. Within the legal setting of the time it’s actually about greed: Onan would inherit his brother’s property since he had no heir. Commanded to produce a son with his brother’s widow, he opted to “spill his seed on the ground” rather than forfeit the inheritance.
But preaching against greed is often unpopular, especially with the Prosperity Gospel, and it was a “close enough” cherry to pick for the Puritan movement.
All that to say: yes, most people have no idea about the background behind anything in the bible.
What cracks me up about that whole story is that it wouldn’t have been a problem if god didn’t off Err for being a total asshole.
Which. How big of an asshole do you have to be to get god to personally spite you, in particular?