Religions Must Update Themselves Essay

Many people in the Modern world believe that religious books and laws must be changed to fit the lives of those that live in the 21st century; in this essay I shall argue both sides and come to a final decision on whether or not they should update themselves. One of the many religions that is constantly thought of as out of date or no longer relevant to society is Christianity. This is as the Christian religious book (the Bible) is full of laws (especially the Old Testament) that no longer work well for certain situations or make sense to the logical mind. An example of this is Exodus 21:2 NCV, which says â€Å"If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you six years. In the seventh year you are to set him free, and he will have to pay nothing. † Number one slavery is not only looked down upon by the general public but is also illegal so laws on how to own and release a slave is not only useless to people of this day and age but it could also be seen as hypocritical for a God whom Christians claim to be so loving and kind to condone something as wrong as the owning of a slave. Another verse that appears illogical to non-Christians is 1 Corinthians 14:34 NIV in which Paul writes to the following in Corinth saying â€Å"Women should keep quiet in the Church meetings. They are not allowed to speak, but they must yield to this rule as the law says. † This is straight out sexism; Sexism by dictionary definition is discrimination based on a person’s sex discrimination includes being excluded from or forced to perform a certain action because of sex etc. This is what is happening here, women are not being allowed to talk in church because they are women; yet there are women pastors and evangelists and I have definitely heard several women talking during my visits to church. This raises the question of how ordinary people are to take this rule seriously and think it relevant when Christians themselves ignore it. Most people see these verses and immediately conclude that the Bible is not only out of date but also out of touch with current laws and regulations. It is easy to ake a verse out of the Bible without linking it to the rest of the chapter or considering the history which lead to it. Here are some examples of verses that show the Bible is as modern as can be. A verse that makes more sense to non-Christians and helps to prove the point that the Bible is not out of date is Exodus 21:12 NCV â€Å"Anyone who hits a person and kills him must be put to death. † This makes perfect sense. The verse mirrors not only the judicial system; that every wrong or illegal action has to be paid for but also mirrors simple logic that bad people have to pay for the bad things they do. It is the most basic and un-updateable human impulse for right and wrong to be paid equally. Another verse that helps argue the idea that the Bible is not out of date is Leviticus NCV 19:9-10 â€Å"When you harvest your crops on your land, do not harvest all the way to the corners of your fields. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. † What would happen in Israelite times was that any grain dropped during the harvest would be picked up by the homeless. This was a form of charity towards those who were less privileged. Being charitable is something that has only become popular in the last few years yet here are the Israelites doing it so regularly it has become normal. I believe that the Bible is in fact modern and its laws are still relevant today but you have to be able to change it to fit modern language. For example one of the Ten Commandments is â€Å"Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbour. † This literally means you shouldn’t lie. I believe that that is the way you have to approach all the laws in the Bible not changing the meaning but changing the words to something that’s understandable.