When the Church grandly proclaims the Bible to be the Word of God, it gives the impression that the words of Scripture are above critique and beyond reproach. We are taught to read, revere, and embrace the Bible. We are not taught to challenge its values, ethics, or portrayals of God.
But this way of reading the Bible is problematic, to say the least. At times the Bible endorses values we should reject, praises acts we must condemn, and portrays God in ways we cannot accept. Rather than seeing this as a sign of disrespect, we should regard engaging in an ethical and theological critique of what we read in the Bible as an act of profound faithfulness. [emphasis in original]
via When the “Good Book” is Bad: Challenging the Bible’s Violent Portrayals of God.
Yes, there are certainly troubling passages in the Bible. And they become more troubling when we reject God’s sovereignty. See the ‘resources’ post here that deals with some of them like OT battles, etc.
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