Isn’t the Bible Full of Injustice

This question gets to the heart of some of the hardest passages in Scripture. The key is to see the Bible not as a flat rulebook dropped from heaven, but as a story unfolding over time.

• Historical Context:
  The Bible was written in a world where slavery, patriarchy, and warfare were standard across cultures. The presence of these things in the text does not mean God endorsed them — it means God spoke into a real, broken world, meeting people where they were.

• Progressive Revelation:
  God gradually revealed higher standards, pointing humanity toward love and justice. For example, laws that regulated slavery (Exodus 21) or protected women may seem harsh to us, but compared to surrounding nations they were shockingly humane. The New Testament moves further, teaching that in Christ, “there is neither slave nor free, male nor female” (Galatians 3:28).

• Slavery:
  In the Old Testament, slavery was closer to indentured servitude. Harsh abuse was forbidden, and many laws humanized the practice. In the New Testament, Paul urged masters to treat slaves as brothers (Philemon), planting the seeds that eventually led to abolition.

• Women:
  In a patriarchal culture, the Bible often provided protections that lifted women’s dignity. Jesus radically affirmed women, treating them as equals and entrusting them as the first witnesses of His resurrection.

• Violence and Warfare:
  Some of the hardest passages are God’s commands to destroy whole nations, like the Canaanites. At first glance, this looks like cruelty — but when you look deeper, it shows God’s patience and justice in dealing with entrenched evil.For generations, the Canaanites practiced abominations such as sacrificing children to idols (Deuteronomy 12:31) and gross sexual corruption, including perversions tied to demonic activity (Genesis 6:1–5). God did not act immediately — He waited hundreds of years, giving time for repentance. In fact, He told Abraham that his descendants would not inherit the land until “the sin of the Amorites has reached its full measure” (Genesis 15:16).When the time finally came, God’s judgment was not against innocent people but against cultures that were violently and dangerously evil, persisting in rebellion for centuries. These weren’t random acts of war — they were decisive moments in the cosmic battle between God and sin, where God acted to protect humanity and preserve His plan of redemption.

• The Bigger Picture:
  From start to finish, the Bible points toward justice. The prophets declared, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Jesus embodied this perfectly, proclaiming freedom for the oppressed and healing for the broken (Luke 4:18–19). The story ends with a restored world where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4).

Conclusion: While individual passages may be troubling when taken in isolation, the Bible’s trajectory is clear: from the messy realities of ancient culture, God steadily leads His people toward greater justice, freedom, and love. That journey reaches its climax in Jesus, where true equality, compassion, and redemption are found.