The Bible does not contain every detail for living an ethical life . Strict fundamentalists would disagree with this statement. But from a Catholic perspective, the Bible alone does not give us every detail of God s revelation. The Church, through its magisterial teaching, provides an authentic guide to discerning God s will through the Bible. The Bible concerns as much what happens in this life as what takes place in the next .
Some biblical passages reflect an earlier moral perspective no longer acceptable .
The acceptance of slavery or the total annihilation of an enemy, essentially genocide, is not part of our moral fabric today even if the Bible assumes or condones such practices in some passages. As the faith has grown, so has our moral perspective. Nothing in the Bible justifies hatred of others . Nor can the Bible be used to justify the superiority of one race over another, such as some hate groups have asserted. Some parts of the Bible remain a mystery .