Tim Gracyk

If I get a chance to talk to the pope, I’ll tell him about how I’m revising the Bible so "bad" passages are removed--that is, passages which influence humans to do evil deeds. 
 
I refer to pro-slavery passages and others that urge humans to behave in wicked ways. 
 
I’m certain that such passages do not come from God. 
 
Oh, I also don't think witches should be killed since this is just an excuse to kill women you don't like (witches don't exist). 
 
Here is Exodus 21:20-21: If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he or she dies at his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken; for the slave is his property. 
 
Exodus 21:1-6 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free. But if the servant declares, “I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,” then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life. If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. 
 
Leviticus 25:44 Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. 
 
Exodus 21:20-21 If a master strikes his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies, the master shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall be taken, for he is the master’s property. 
 
_____________________ 
 
In 2015, Pope Francis expressed the Catholic Church's opposition to the death penalty, calling it "inadmissible, no matter how serious the crime committed." 
 
The Catholic Church also teaches that the Bible is divine revelation--that God is the primary author, the Holy Spirit working through human writers. 
 
Many Biblical passages promote the death penalty. 
 
The language is clear. 
 
So the pope’s call for an abolition of the death penalty goes against divine revelation. 
 
Leviticus 20: 9: Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. 
 
Leviticus 20:13: If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. 
 
Nobody today takes such passages seriously. Nobody wants the death penalty in these cases. 
 
Such passages were written by humans, not God, and the Church should acknowledge that God is missing in some parts of the Bible. 
 
 
 
is Bible proslavery? Leviticus 25:44 & Exodus 21:20-21 God wants humans to own humans Exodus 21:1-6

If I get a chance to talk to the pope, I’ll tell him about how I’m revising the Bible so "bad" passages are removed--that is, passages which influence humans to do evil deeds.

I refer to pro-slavery passages and others that urge humans to behave in wicked ways.  

I’m certain that such passages do not come from God. 

Oh, I also don't think witches should be killed since this is just an excuse to kill women you don't like (witches don't exist).

Here is Exodus 21:20-21: If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he or she dies at   his hand, he shall be punished.  If, however, the slave survives a day or two, no vengeance shall  be taken; for the slave is his property.

Exodus 21:1-6  If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. If he comes alone, he is to go free alone; but if he has a wife when he comes, she is to go with him. If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or d

Revise Bible to remove pro-slavery passages such as Exodus 21:20-21 "If a man strikes his slave..."

NOTE: the word "wood" in the passage below is often translated to "sticks." The point of the story is that we are are to be punished if we work on the Sabbath. If a poor person picks up sticks on the Sabbath for the purpose of lighting a fire to keep warm, that person has done forbidden work and deserves the death penalty. 
 
Of course, God is loving and compassionate. God would not order the death penalty in such a case, and the passage does not belong in the Bible. 
 
If get a chance to talk to Pope Francis, I’ll inform him about how I’m revising the Bible so bad passages are removed. 
 
I refer to pro-slavery passages and other ones that urge humans to behave in wicked ways. I’m certain that such passages do not come from God. 
 
The passage is in Numbers (15:32-36) -- A Sabbath-Breaker Is Put to Death 
 
While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath. Those who found him brought him to Moses. 
 
They kept him in custody because it was not clear what should be done to him. The Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The assembly must stone him outside the camp.” 
 
So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses. 
 
______________________________________ 
 
I am aware of the greater context. The condemned man was doing something he KNEW he must not do. He knew from the Ten Commandments that one day of the week a mandatory day of rest for every living thing in the nation. 
 
Moreover, it does not matter if he was gathering sticks to build a fire: “You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day” (Exodus 35:3). 
 
No cooking was allowed. 
 
Exodus 31:14 mandates the death penalty for breaking the Sabbath. 
 
Exodus 35:2–3 reiterates this penalty and specifies kindling a fire on the Sabbath as an instance of working on the Sabbath. 
 
The big question, given the wider context, becomes this: why did the leaders not know what to do about the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath? Why ask for instruction from God? It was clear to everyone what must be done. 
 
Today, we recognize the passages as primitive rules coming from a primitive people. I wish popes would declare directly that the Bible has many passages like this that are not passages inspired by God but instead are passages that MUST be ignored. 
 
On February 21, 2016, news agencies announced the Pope calling for worldwide abolition of the death penalty. Would Pope Francis care to comment on Numbers 15:32-36 about the man put to death for gathering sticks? 
 
"I appeal to the consciences of those who govern to reach an international consensus to abolish the death penalty," he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. 
 
"The commandment "You shall not kill," has absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty," he told the crowd. 
 
But the Bible insists that the death penalty is necessary. I'm confused.

NOTE: the word "wood" in the passage below is often translated to "sticks."   The point of the story is that we are are to be punished if we work on the Sabbath.  If a poor person picks up sticks on the Sabbath for the purpose of lighting a fire to keep warm, that person has done forbidden work and deserves the death penalty.

Of course, God is loving and compassionate.  God would not order the death penalty in such a case, and the passage does not belong in the Bible.

If get a chance to talk to Pope Francis, I’ll inform him about how I’m revising the Bible so bad passages are removed.  

I refer to pro-slavery passages and other ones that urge humans to behave in wicked ways.  I’m certain that such passages do not come from God.

The passage is in Numbers (15:32-36) -- A Sabbath-Breaker Is Put to Death

While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath. Those who found him brought him to Moses.  

They kept him in custody because it was not cl

Revise Bible so bad passages are removed -- death penalty for sticks on Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36)

Early in the morning, as He was on his way back to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. 
 
He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 
 
When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 
 
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Early in the morning, as He was on his way back to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. 

He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Tim Gracyk Videos

Revise Bible to remove pro-slavery passages such as Exodus 21:20-21 "If a man strikes his slave..."

Revise Bible so bad passages are removed -- death penalty for sticks on Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36)

Jesus And A Fig Tree -- Matthew 21:18-22

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Tim Gracyk Videos

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Revise Bible to remove pro-slavery passages such as Exodus 21:20-21 "If a man strikes his slave..."

Revise Bible so bad passages are removed -- death penalty for sticks on Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36)

Jesus And A Fig Tree -- Matthew 21:18-22

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