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I have no intentention of diverting the thread towards theology, but you said several times that your faith in the accuracy of the Bible is due in part to the fact that it does not contain a lot of stuff that has become obsolete.

I would ask you to consult with an Orthodox Jew as to the intention of dietary laws. Some are, in fact practical in a time before refrigeration, but sanitation is not the primary intent of these laws. Ask those who still obey them.

The Bible explicitly condones slavery in several situations. You might well argue that these situations no longer exist, but people, in my opinion, have not changed enough so that slavery was once a good thing. A lot of trouble could have been saved by adding an eleventh commandment when the chance was available.

None of my Jewish friends are Orthodox, but these friends tell me that the civil rules for handling food, for preventing/containing disease, and for sexual purity are to preserve Israel from degradation and decay and to have a high order of community health. Many spiritual principles are suggested: Israel was to be different from surrounding nations (the pagan nations); it was (and we are) to be different morally and spiritually from unbelievers around us. A healthy environment and a healthy body make our service to God more effective. (I don't believe I said that sanitation was the primary reason for these laws.)

Please show me where the Bible explicitly condones slavery (other than as explained in a previous post).

>>"You might well argue that these situations no longer exist, but people, in my opinion, have not changed enough so that slavery was once a good thing."<<

I truly don't know what you mean by that and would be interested to have you explain.

>>"A lot of trouble could have been saved by adding an eleventh commandment when the chance was available."<<

You'll have to take that up with God; I'm assuming He thought the 10 He gave us were enough.

The Bible explicitly condones slavery in several situations.

That's like saying our Constitution condones slavery and of course it did. But condone does not mean to encourage or establish. A better way of looking at it is that both documents recognize slavery which had been an established institution, this is especially true of the New Testament.

Do a test. Ask yourself why you think slavery is wrong.

Slavery was ended via Christian activist mostly in this country and in England.