Great article - can we have more from Dr Barraclough please?

While I agree with the thrust of this piece, I think it does downplay a little the role of Christian thinking in the abolition of slavery and recognition of women’s rights. The early abolitionists were mostly (though not all) motivated by religion, though they drew on the thinking of Enlightenment philosophers who criticised slavery. Bible passages such as Galatians 3:28 – “there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” – were very influential in shaping the thinking of the abolitionists in Britain and elsewhere, and in the early women’s movement. And the letter to Philemon, while not questioning the institution of slavery, appeals to Philemon to treat his runaway slave Onesimus as a “beloved brother”. Recognising the full humanity of the “other” is the starting point for human liberation, whether it be the abolition of slavery, respecting of women’s rights or ending prejudice and discrimination against LGBQTI+ folk.

Dr Barraclough’s point that it took 1800 years for Christians to come around to this view is telling though. I think it reinforces his point – we interpret the Bible through the lens of our own times and cultures. At it best, this process can be a considerable force for good, as the Christian abolitionists demonstrated. At its worst, unfortunately, it is the opposite.

I don't believe the bible is the written word of God. but the written word of men, some of who heard voices coming from thin air. And over 2,000 years ago and nothing since?

Today we medicate those or incarcerate them in homes for the insane.

If you would know the truth and wisdom as old as time, learn to meditate minus any religious dogma. And consists of completely stilling the conscious mind. Not concentrating on a particular passage from a book over and over. that's not meditation, but it is brainwashing.

So, find your self a comfortable sitting position, close your eyes, put on some calm soft deeply relaxing music. Then create a picture in your mind's eye where you are walking on a deserted beach where your footsteps are the only ones to have touched this virgin sand.

Walk slowly along this beach noting the gentle waves lapping the beach keep time with your breathing. Keep walking until your conscious mind is still and only your subconscious is self aware.

Stay there and just observe and listen. Use it if you have a problem you can't solve and come out of meditation with a, why didn't I think of that, solution.

When you've completed what you need, 10 minutes to an hour, you'll simply open your eyes feeling completely relaxed and calm. [NB. People have put their cancer into remission solely with meditation?]

Remember everything you observed with your mind's eye or heard. Pick a time and place where you will not be disturbed and when you are fully refreshed.
Alan B.

"Slavery is no longer an issue in Australia."

OK, so slavery is no longer being discussed, but does it mean that it no longer exists?

Of course it does. Slavery continues to be alive and kicking even in Australia, only it became more subtle, less obvious and is called by other names which give it some legal justification.

In a couple of centuries people will be astounded to read about the cruelty and injustices of our present "modern" times.

And surely then, theologians will be able to find passages in the Bible that clearly show how our present lifestyle is unbiblical, sinful even. How come nobody finds these passages now?

One can only assume from this Ray has too much time on his hands, & spends a great deal of it meditating on his navel.

Perhaps we should start a fund me to pay to have his navel surgically removed, then perhaps he could find something more useful to do with his time.

Biblical justification for "... religious colonists in Australia to justify the killing and dispossession of the land's Indigenous owners". Piffle! I don't know what this person knows about the Bible, but his history is off.

Apartheid, slavery, empire expansion - all justified by the Bible. Christians thinking that they are infallible. He's got the wrong religion.

I agree with Hasbeen. This bloke has too much time on his hands; and why he is still a theologian with his attitude is a mystery.

He removed himself from " … the evangelical circles in which (he) once moved …", or was removed, and has been sucking lemons ever since.

Yes, an excellent article, a breath of fresh air compared to most of the usual stuff re Christian-ism that has been featured on this site.
This long essay describes the cultural and historical (including now-time) contexts and interpretations of the Bible, which quite obviously has hardly anything to do with either Truth, Reality and The Beautiful Itself. http://www.dabase.org/up-1-1.htm

Perhaps 'Has been' and 'ttbns' may care to access a Website that I have initiated along with my colleague, noted Wiradjuri artist Glenn Loughrey. That has occupied my time over the last few years. The Website, entitled "So That We Remember" can be accessed at sothatweremember.com.au. Over a course of 365 days, it provides excerpts from primary sources, and the writings of contemporary Australian historians, on the violent dispossession experienced by Australia's Indigenous people entailed in the imperial acquisition of their land. A number of entries refer to the religious justifications given for that dispossession. Dr Ray Barraclough

"Slavery is no longer an issue in Australia."

What’s the difference between a slave and a reject?

A defaulting debt slave.

Australians are enslaved by debt on a massive scale. That’ll do me for “ slave”.

Dan

DD

Was Noah a carpenter or a basket weaver?

New theory suggests the arc was a three story circular basket with an area of a one acre.

Makes sense!

I’ve noticed your own theories on everything are a similar match, so what is truth?

Dan

People find the views they want in the Bible. The Bible condones slavery and regards women as property, if read clearly. But if people decide otherwise, they can find bible verses to support their views

A good article. The task now is for the church to explain what it means when, after the bible is read, proclaims "For the Word of the Lord!"

Hi Sells
Maybe your next article?
I suspect your take on that question may be a bit different to Dr Barraclough's

It looks like Ray Barraclough was once some kind of cleric, who like Saul, rode a donkey to Damascus, fell of it and hit his head, and had a revelation. Ray's revelation is that religious morality can never be timeless. And that those who think that their own particular God's instructions are timeless and infallible, are kidding themselves.

So far, so good.

Ray then gives examples as to why religious morality is unreliable. The fact that most scriptures can be so open to interpretation, that they can go either way on modern moral quandaries. So too, religious moral instruction can be completely silent upon those moral issues that are so important today.

Okay, Ray. All well and good.

The issue that I have with Ray is his own religiously inspired moral beliefs. He seems to oppose Apartheid, while I don't see much wrong with it. Especially since many aboriginal people today are living in self imposed apartheid areas of their own making, living under their own racist flag, and mostly under their own laws and customs. Does Ray see anything wrong with that?

Ray even seems to be opposed to racism? I think it is because as a former Christian, he still believes in the Christian ideal that all men are created equal? Could I propose, Ray, that this is another religiously ordained principle that is out of date because it is just not true?

How about "Truth" ray? As a former Christian you must be concerned about truth? Well Ray, I think that the reason why certain ethnicities are dysfunctional in every western society is mainly because there is generally a 15 IQ points of difference between these ethnicities and Caucasians, and that is a provable premise. But like some Christians who believed in slavery, and others believed in the inferiority of women, you too are stuck in the rut of a religious ideal, and no amount of rational thinking will change your mind.

I agree with much of the thrust of the article. The real issue is not the authority of the Bible, but rather how we interpret this into a modern context.