Bible-Believing Christians Who Don't Murder Disobedient or Alcoholic Children Are Practicing Moral Relativism and Turning Against God's Specific Instructions in Deuteronomy

by alice.in.wonderland 51 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  TD

  Yes, it is interesting, but not surprising that Jehovahs Witnesses are not the only ones who can't quite wrap their head around the fact that the Law was not just a code of moral conduct; it was a civil and criminal code as well.

  (e.g. Christians never seem to get tired of making fun of the excruciating level of detail that defined 'Work' on the Sabbath. But when a severe criminal penalty is involved, that level of detail becomes inevitable.)

  Christianity was never a civil and criminal code; it came into existence at the height of the Pax Romana and left both high and low justice to the State. After the destruction of the Second Temple, Judaism started to evolve along similar lines.

  In this particular example, (Deut 21:18-22) the idea that anyone regardless of whether they're Christian or Jew would seize judiciary power and impose penalties in the Law for criminal behavior is either stupidity or hyperbole that went entirely over my head
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  Cagefighter

  Scully,

  I don't know what to think absolutely. I wasn't there. On one hand maybe Paul wanted to encourage the people to tone down the craziness. On the other hand maybe he was condeming them... I am not so sure what happened. I just find it odd that the one guy who flipped out about it all never met Jesus and kind of appointed hisself or atleast had to take the intitiative to come to Peter. Jesus didn't choose him while on earth. I am not know for being so wish washy. I accept Christ but the Bible is a paradox to me still.

  -Cage
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  mrsjones5

  Burns, ya a man after my own heart! I love smores!
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  Scully

  Cagefighter

  Did it ever occur to you that Paul was never married? In fact, he bragged about it, and made it seem like people who married had some kind of weakness that he didn't have (even though being in a loving committed relationship is probably one of the greatest "blessings" a person could wish for) and he cautioned that married people would have "tribulation in the flesh".

  He also (not unlike his contemporaries) held a patently misogynistic view of women - requiring head coverings and punishments for women who didn't cover their heads. Sometimes he sounds positively phobic of women, in an ewwwww kind of way, the way I've heard some gay men express a revulsion for the female form or genitalia.

  I think he may have been gay, even if he never acted on his inclinations. Or if he did, he neglected to write about them in his letters to the various congregations. Maybe he didn't think it was important. He sure did like Timothy, though.
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  Scully

  shamus

  carrot cake isn't good for monkeys. it's in the bible.
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  Cagefighter

  Good points Scully, it's nothing have not thought about before. I think God uses all of us to help others and maybe the story of Paul serves a purpose for some. I dunno. I got enough to sins that I will have to answer for soon enough to not obesess over the sinfulness of homosexuality.

  But ya, that Paul...he's an odd one regardless.
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  Mary

  Scully said: I think he may have been gay, even if he never acted on his inclinations.

  Sure he did. Isn't he the one who used to pummel his body and liked to be led around like a slave?
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  Scully

  Mary,

  That's more along the lines of BDSM, not gay (although they aren't mutually exclusive, apparently). But I concede your point. He was probably gay and more than a little kinky.

  Oh, and he was the one who arranged to have Timothy circumcised, ostensibly to fend off complaints from Jewish converts who knew that Timothy's father was Greek (even though Jewish lineage is through the maternal line, not the father). BTW, the ritual of circumcision back then, after the foreskin was removed, involved applying oral suction to the excised area of the penis. I'd wager that Paul volunteered for that one.
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  shamus100

  carrot cake isn't good for monkeys. it's in the bible.
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  Mary

  BTW, the ritual of circumcision back then, after the foreskin was removed, involved applying oral suction to the excised area of the penis. I'd wager that Paul volunteered for that one.

  LMAO!!!