Is the fact that Southerners gravitate to churches that are Old Testament oriented so that they can worship a vengeful God, related in any way to a collective guilt over slavery and the subsequent maltreatment of blacks? Are they seeking punishment as a way to atone?
When did "Thou shalt not kill" turn into "Thou shalt not murder" in the King James Bible? A google search only returned opinions that murder was a better translation than kill but who decided this and when? It is, of course, a much more accommodating Commandment when there are prisoners to execute and wars to fight. Did this influence the language change?
Why are we ceding the Morals debate when the right wing Christians have defined "morality" based on about 2% of the Bible? They have bypassed all scripture about obligations to the needy or admonitions to shun worldly riches. Now I'm no Biblical scholar but the Internet has great Bible quote sources. We can easily become conversant in these quotes and highlight the rest of the faith. I am including below a few Bible quote examples for your consideration:
"And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! / And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! / It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
"Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end."
"Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these"
"Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart"
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:12)."
"Our love must not be a thing of words and fine talk. It must be a thing of action and sincerity (1 John 3:18)."
"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. [Proverbs 23:7]"
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"
Lets make them listen to the rest of the Bible.