This "shifting moral zeitgeist" kills a lot more people:

http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE1.HTM

How to explain the increasing level of violence? Technology doesn't cut it. Just because we can look down our noses at some archaic ways of thinking about racism and sexism proves we are advancing morally? Society has yet to advance a higher moral ground than "love your enemies." That was proposed 2,000 years ago.

Dawkins allows for this morality shift among modern, progressive, "rational," thinking, "civilized," people like we 21st century bohemian aristocrats (covered up with cappuccino grunge), however disallows the same fluidity to the 3,000 year span of time covered by the Bible. He has as fundamentalist interpretation of those documents as is seen in any Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell.

Well, Jesus never condemned slavery, and said the homophobic, racist, sexist, genocidal laws of the old testament should be followed through to the last word. So when he says stuff like "Love thy neighbor" he really means only other jews and people who fully embrace the scriptures.

However, he is still among the greatest moral philosophers of all time, because we have to remember that he lived in a very tribal, small and dangerous world. Jesus didnt know, for instance, what the world map looked like. A random 10 year old today knows more about how the world works than Jesus ever did.

We are having conversations here literally over distances Jesus didnt even know about, across seas and continents that for all he knew could lead to the gates of hell if he traveled far enough. We no longer see "the far east" as some distant, far-off abyss we've never been to, instead, we are more likely to have Japanese friends on facebook. It goes without saying that our ability to see this planet as one, small speck in the midst of a gigantic universe, changes our perspective radically, this kind of knowledge and leap in communication accounts for the rapid movement of the moral zeitgeist for the last couple of hundred years.

there's less violence than ever, see the TED talks about it. it's a myth that violence is increasing, totally the opposite is true!

I believe Johnald_Chaffinch is referring to this TED talk:

http://www.videosift.com/video/TED-Steven-Pinker-A-brief-history-of-violence

*talks

Adding video to channels (Talks) - requested by mauz15.