L Robert Proust

His Hand is Stretched out Still: the Bible's Dark Side L Robert Proust

Publisher Marketing: "Is the Bible good?" In recent decades dozens of books have brought into question the historical accuracy of the Holy Bible. This slender volume is one of the first since Thomas Paine's Age of Reason (1807) to cast doubt on the Bible's morality. Simple in form yet startling in its impact, His Hand Is Stretched Out Still unveils a dark side of Scripture that even most believers are completely unaware of: By law, a rapist must marry his victim. She is given no choice. (Deuteronomy, Chapter 22) The prophet Elisha has forty-two children torn apart by bears for making fun of his baldness. (II Kings 2) The Bible prescribes execution by stoning for an array of offenses, including homosexuality, disobedience to parents, and gathering firewood on the Sabbath. (Leviticus 20, Deuteronomy 21, Numbers 15) In at least one incident, God accepts a human sacrifice. (Judges 11) Moses commands that thousands of prisoners of war - all of them women and children - be put to death, sparing only the virgin girls, whom his soldiers may keep for themselves. (Numbers 31) Quoting nearly two hundred passages from the King James Version, author L. Robert Proust reveals extremes of sexism and ethnic bigotry, draconian laws, and life-taking on a massive scale -- all presided over by a furious deity who seems impossible to reconcile with the loving Father proclaimed by Christ. The Bible is history's single most influential text, today held sacred by a third of the world's population. Many will find this book disturbing; some may want it suppressed. But open minds will respond to Proust's challenge: "The nonbeliever ought to know more about the basis of his culture. The believer ought to know more about the basis of his faith. And both may ask if the creature Man deserves better."