Hi Robert (and those reading your comments),

If you’re interested in better understanding the Bible, especially the passages that cover “genocide,” “slavery,” and so forth, I highly recommend the following:

Is God a Moral Monster? Making Sense of the Old Testament God by Paul Copan

How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture by Dan Kimball

If you’ve already made your mind up about the Bible (and it seems you have), that is your prerogative. I believe in religious freedom and freedom of conscience, and thus I am not trying to force anything on you (or anyone).

I would simply offer that there’s wisdom in what Stephen Covey says in his great book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which is: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Have a great rest of the day!

-BT