password;699033 wrote:Since some of you claim to be smart on here, I do need some advice from you regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.
I don't claim to be smart, I don't thing, but I'm willing to take a crack.
password;699033 wrote:1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense. Should we pass a law that states that all women must say if they are menstrating or not when they enter a room?
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? (HUmmm...if the policeman does it, is he not working on the sabbath, and should be delt a death blow too?)
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by
Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyesterblend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy
considerable expertise in such matters, so I’m confident you can
help.
Most of these, of course, are tongue-in-cheek. However, they basically deal with Mosaic and Levitical Law.
Much of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are simply record of the Hebrew people's legal documentation from this time. So, how does one tell which applies today and which does not? I'd say there are two ways:
1. Is it mentioned outside the Levitical Law?
Much of what is mentioned in the Levitical Law (no peeing in the camp, no clothing made of a cotton-polyester blend, etc.) is never mentioned elsewhere.
2. Is it addressed with transcendent language?
If I tell my son, "Son, don't eat a cookie," that can be legitimately interpreted as, "Son, don't eat a cookie
right now."
However, if I tell my son, "I am greatly upset with the eating of cookies," that language transcends context a lot more, and thus, cannot easily be interpreted with "right now" language.
There are other questions one can ask to determine if it was contextual or not. Did an author of a later book, who would have been very well versed in Levitical and Mosaic Laws, write something that assumes that the Law was for another time?
Now, in the spirit of having a little fun:
1. Because Canadians are worthless
2. Well, Jesus was sold for 30 pieces of silver. At that time, a single such piece would have been the wage for about three days of work, give or take.
Going by minimum wage ($7.25 I believe), when I extrapolate that out, it comes to $5,220.
So, you're working with a ceiling of about $5,219.99.
3. If they've been pissy for a couple days, just count on it. If they're pissy all the time, then just stay away as a rule, but for more reasons than being on the rag.
4. Nah, but you might want to talk to the homeowners' association. (By the way, such a sacrifice was only supposed to be done at the temple, so your neighbors wouldn't have had a "beef" with it ... pardon the pun.
)
5. Wait a day, and then talk to Uncle Guido.
6. Compromise. Lesbians and bearded clams. Losing on both fronts.
7. Lasik or death. I get paid on referrals. Hit me up.
8. It doesn't say to kill them. Just point and laugh.
9. Today, aren't most footballs made of cow skin?
10. No, it must be the whole town. It's a great team-building exercise, and it strengthens the sense of community.
DeyDurkie5;699037 wrote:how do we know that these bible guys actually went to heaven? I mean if followers of "god" don't get shown the afterlife, what makes you think you guys will? Please don't come at me with a bible verse(skyhook)
Maybe they don't. Maybe what is described as "heaven" is something other than what we understand it to be.
I honestly hope "hell" or "sheol" is something other than what it's commonly perceived to be.
password;699058 wrote:So are you saying that ancient laws were wrong?
A "law" in and of itself cannot be "wrong" unless it conflicts with another law, really. Laws are what is permitted and what is not.
To answer the question, however, most of these laws were written to a specific group of people at a specific place in time. Even to borrow from one of your earlier questions, Leviticus 19, where it talks about hair trimming, if you go to the beginning of the contextual section, verses 1 and 2 say:
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel ...
Beyond that come the commands, but as we are not "the assembly of Israel" (as that assembly doesn't exist in the same respect), this at the very least was not written directly to those outside that group.
password;699058 wrote:Is not the bible a book of ancient laws and beliefs that are still followed today by millions of people looking for someone to tell them how to live.
Actually, by and large, that's not at all what it is. The Bible is written, holistically, as a historical narrative. Any section from where people derive any "this is how we should live" instructions were written as "So-and-so told the people this is how they should live" language.
That's actually something I find a little fascinating about the Bible. If you read it through, beginning to end, the book never tells people what to do. It tells of someone telling someone else what to do, what is good, what they like, etc. It was not written to speak specifically to a timeless reader. Quite frankly, that's one of the biggest reasons I don't think it was written to control people. It's written as a historical narrative, and narratives don't tell people to do things.
password;699058 wrote:A question to think about, When an athiest dies what happens to them and where do they go? We have all been told that if you beleive in god you will go to heaven when you die.
I hope, with every ounce of my being, that they just cease to exist, exactly as they believe they will. Compared to the alternative view of "hell," that sounds peaceful.
Skyhook79;699097 wrote:Faith. You would be amazed at how many times Faith affects your life DeyDurkie5 if you really thought about it.
Eh, he's asking how to "know" something. Not how it will effect him.
The truth is, we are convinced that they went to heaven because the Bible says they did, and we believe the Bible is the inspiration of man by God.
