@lapis i also grew up Christian but it was weird american evangelicalism where biblicial study wasn't a high priority so i wasn't encouraged to think very critically about these things

@wallhackio I was catholic and was not encouraged to think critically about it even though I went to catholic school. I guess critical thought isn't necessary to save souls.

anyway I'm glad I didn't get confirmed.

Like if I were actually a christian of my own choosing I'd be some flavor of adult baptism (I think that's anabaptism but I'm not sure)

Anyway I mostly just use my knowledge to go "Dude the Pharaoh was ready to let them go and then God Hardened his heart just to release this plague isn't that fucked up?"

(I have heard one interpretation, though not a comforting one, is that the point for God was to demonstrate his supremacy so he HAS to harden the Pharaoh's heart to thoroughly fuck up Egypt)

@lapis the old testament has lots of weird things that always troubled me

like Lot offered his daughters to the crowd of people who wanted to fuck his angel visitors, but his wife was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back once? why she was she punished for something like that when Lot was not?

why is God characterized as a "jealous" God? why does he care so much about blood sacrifice? are we supposed to be okay with the various genocide(s) described in the book of Joshua?

@wallhackio there is so much fucked up shit.

I asked my brother about the salt thing and while my thought had been she got turned to salt for being unable to like, comprehend the divine shit going on, apparently a popular interpretation is that Sodom and Gomorrah turned to salt and she just.... idk got exposed?

the jealous god thing my understanding is, if you take the "you shall have no other gods before me" as acknowledging the existence of other gods (possibly?) existing and that you can't worship them.

I sort of think of it like if you were into Greek Mythology but only worshiped Dionysus because otherwise he might sic his maenads on you