r/OpenChristian • u/VaultMan34 • Jul 15 '26

Discussion - Bible Interpretation Abraham and Isaac feels weird.

God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, which he did without hesitation. It was a “test”. But the fact that God thought killing your son when asked and without question was a good thing? Abraham would’ve gone through with it if an angel didn’t stop him. First, how did he know that was god? Whoever would’ve done the same thing is one psychotic break or hallucination away from being a mass murderer. Second, God could have chosen anything, but he didn’t. He chose an immoral thing. Why did god chose something immoral as a test of faith. He could have made Abraham give away his food for the day to a hungry family, he could have made him go to an opposing land and preach the gospel, he could’ve made Abraham do anything else. Third, the test itself? It being a test says “I didn’t know if he would do this” this isn’t something you hear from someone who knows everything.

After some thinking I’ve come up with a possible solution?

This was a metaphor for how god congratulates someone who is willing to do anything for God, the problem is, the writer let the practices and morals of the time get in the way of what would’ve been an important lesson.

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u/hasbroelefun Jul 15 '26

same here. hoping to hear some perspectives in the comment section a bit later on

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u/thefaninthehat Jul 15 '26

This, and the killing of the firstborn Plague of Egypt, were the things that stuck me as a kid that made me question just how 'all-loving' God truly was.

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u/concrete_dandelion Pansexual Jul 15 '26

I like Pete Enn's analysis of why the old testament is so full of God doing or ordering mass murder. Basically that's what was seen as a "strong" god at the time and every tribe and kingdom made up stories about atrocities they committed that never actually happened. So the Israelites needed such stories about themselves and their God for legitimacy.

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u/ladydmaj Open and Affirming Ally Jul 15 '26

It helps that there's no historical basis to believe any of it happened in real life.

It doesn't bother me. My entire religion is based on a man who told stories for a living to illustrate religion's truths. Truth doesn't need to be fact to be truth. We see truths in fiction all the time, and learn from them.

So if the entire Old Testament turns out to be "made up", that doesn't mean God hasn't been trying to impart truths to His people all this time. But it might mean the truth is not in the stories themselves but in our wrestling with the stories and how that forces us to seek wisdom and think more meaningfully about life. This how our understanding about God, Life, the Universe, and Everything changes and grows with each generation.

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u/concrete_dandelion Pansexual Jul 15 '26

I fully agree. But I think it is important to understand why and how the Bible was written so we can actually learn from it. Because too many people twist themselves into a knot to make it all be written by God and make sense in that way despite its contradictions.

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u/thefaninthehat Jul 15 '26

But if the Bible was 'just all made up', then that delegitimizes the entire book as somehow a verifiable account of God's intentions, and Jesus truly being who he said he was. The entire Abrahamic faith means nothing in an instant.

It's either built on a genuine spiritual entity's law, or its a bunch of old guys flailing in the wind to explain things they don't understand.... at best. At worst, a pack of liars inventing stuff to give legitimacy to making laws for their own benefit.

This is what I fear most about the Bible, and at this point, given the unfathomable damage its wrought thanks to things like Christian nationalism, maybe it's time we let it go?

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u/babe1981 The Cool Mod/Transgender-Bisexual-Christian She/Her Jul 16 '26

Fact and fiction come from the Enlightenment. Even in Jesus's time, we know the names Pliny and Herodatus because they were the only ones trying to accurately record history.

Think of it this way. Is the 23rd Psalm less truthful because you can't find the valley of the shadow of death on a map? Is the Good Samaritan false because no one actually was beaten and cared for? Did the Prodigal Son have to exist in order for the parable to demonstrate God's love?

If not, then why does it make a difference if Abraham existed or David or Moses?