The fact that the Bible contains messy stories is, in my view, proof that God doesn't try to shield us from reality. On the other hand -- contrary to the absurd view of some -- the presence of these stories (those, for example, involving rape and murder) doesn't mean that God condones such behavior. News outlets contain such stories daily, but I'm sure they disapprove of such behavior.

 

I recently read an article by a devout nonbeliever who says that if the Bible is a love letter, it's the bloodiest and most horrifying he's ever read. Well of course it is, and good of him to notice. If the Bible is indeed a love letter from God to us (and I believe it is) -- or, to put it another way, an effort by God to communicate that He loves us in spite of our dark, bloody, unloving, inhumane, disobedient, messy history -- then of course such stories will be in the Bible -- to remind us of our rebellious nature and history, and to also say that there's hope for us all in spite of that history.

 

Yes, hope. The aforementioned nonbeliever, in the great tradition of Christopher Hitchens, goes beyond mere disbelief to say that the sacrifice of Jesus, and Christians' acceptance of it, are immoral. Besides being curious as to where else they could possibly get the concept of morality if not from God (and don't tell me it's evolution), their idea of morality is flawed: If God is really God, He can do whatever He wants -- He isn't required to ask any of us our opinion before He acts -- and furthermore, God, by definition, would be the definer of morality. ... So if He decides to give Himself up for us, then it must be okay for Him to do it, and for us to accept it.