Some "hard passages" and other Biblical passages reflect an earlier, lower standard of morality and should be ignored. They are dangerous to the religious belief, spirituality and ethics of today's readers. These passages include verses which condone and regulate slavery, which advocate discrimination against women, which promote religious hatred and intolerance, which denigrate homosexuals, which describe the killing of innocent people, genocide, etc. Both conservatives and liberals agree on one factor: these "hard passages" are  rarely cited in church or religious writings. They appear to teach a system of ethics that is profoundly evil by today's religious and secular standards. A sampling of these passages from the Hebrew Scriptures follows.

If you have the stomach for more, "The born-again skeptic's guide to the Bible" contains brief descriptions of about 70 "mass killings ordered, committed or approved by God."

"And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.
 Joshua 6:21 1


"So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon." Joshua 10:40-41