Recently I've seen a lot of things on social media with pretty much the same message. The memes were different, but the idea from all of them was that the Bible is clear on what it means and that what is right or wrong never changes due to changes in Society. The clear implication is that things these people think are sins are sins, and usually there is a verse attached somewhere to prove their point. (I've seen this on Twitter, Facebook, even Instagram. Leviticus almost always comes up.) The Word of God was, is, and forever shall be what it says. And they're right: The Bible says and means what it has always said and meant!
Except when it doesn't.
The Bible has been used over the years to promote many things and to support our own biases against certain "others". People have used organized religion (not just Christianity but others as well) since time immemorial to support what they believe is correct. To say that the Bible doesn't change just because your generation wants something else is a fallacy. The Southern Baptist Convention was created due to slavery, and many in the South would use biblical allusions to make their case that slavery was justified by the Bible, and thus by God. (In fact, the Bible was used to impress upon the slaves that they should suffer on earth and would receive their rewards in the afterlife as a way to suppress rebellion.) In fact the split between Baptists had to do with naming a slave holder to a Missionary position, which was refused by the Home Mission Society's board. I think no one now would say that slavery was endorsed by the Bible, but it was used as justification by preachers prior to the civil war.
Religion and adherence to the Bible were also given as reasons for segregation and anti-miscegenation laws. Following Brown v. Board of Education, many places set up "private" schools that weren't bound by the integration order from the Supreme Court. Most of them were religiously affiliated. (Please google "The Lost Year in Little Rock" or "segregation academy".) How many times was the bible used to keep the races separated in school, society or even in marriage? Loving v. Virginia wasn't decided until 1967 for goodness sake. Only a few die-hard racists now would openly say they are against someone being able to live in a certain area, go to a certain school or marry whomever they want of the opposite race because the Bible says it's wrong.
What about selling daughters in to marriage? Marrying for love is actually a very recent development in human civilization, and it was discussed in the Bible that daughters were more or less sold to older men for money or for consolidation of power or land.
Equality between men and women is a relatively new arrival as well. The Bible is STILL cited as reasons for why women should be living at home, popping out babies and being submissive to the husband's will. ("Wives, submit to your husbands" is a quote that appears on a lot of comments sections.) In the US the women have only had the right to vote for about the last 100 years, so society had to change for that to happen.
The fact is the Bible does say you should live a certain way, and I believe that many of what it teaches can be used to be a good person. Take care of the sick, the aged and the poor. Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. Live your life as an example so that people see it through what you do and how you live, not how you talk about what you believe.
But to think that the way we view the Bible is the exact same as it has always been is not true at all. The changes are there, and in my view they've actually been beneficial to the world.
Again, these are just my thoughts on a random subject I've encountered recently. Feel free to disagree, as long as you do it politely.
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