Hey Wez, an agnostic friend of mine sent me this, probably to stir me up, but also in question to what she claims is inconsistency in the Bible and trying to validate homosexuality as being ok. If you could take some time to respond to this you would really be helping me as I need to learn how to defend my faith better.
Thanks heaps
Simon
There was a recent controversy in North America that has to do with Laura Schlessinger, a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. She has become a convert to Judaism, and now she is Ba’al T’shuvah.
Recently, she has made some statements about homosexuals that has caused the Canadian anti-hate laws to censure her. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura which was posted on the Internet…
Dear Dr. Laura,
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific biblical laws and how to best follow them. Specifically:
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) 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?
c) 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.
d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed 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?
e) 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?
f) 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?
g) 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 flexibility here?
h) 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?
i) 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?
j) 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/polyester blend). 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, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.
Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.
Anita Heiss
My response
Those verses from Leviticus do seem a bit silly and outdated, but without historical background and context, why wouldn’t they? The Old Testament certainly contains some ‘interesting’ material. But do Anita’s carefully selected verses discredit the Bible’s (Old and New Testament) stand against homosexuality? ** More than that, it seems to me Anita’s problem is not with the Bible’s view on homosexuality, but with the Bible itself. Her disdain for God’s ‘eternal and unchanging’ Word is obvious. The main point of her loaded questions is clear: the Bible is foolish, harsh and out-of-date. What can this ancient book tell us moderns, who have walked on the moon and invented things like hair spray, about what is right and wrong and how to live? If Anita does decide to read the Bible seriously and without prejudice, she will discover the moral centrepiece of the Old Testament is the Ten Commandments (not her carefully selected verses on Levitical Law written to a specific people group). The importance of these commands was also confirmed by Jesus in the New Testament when He summarised them in Matthew 22:37-40.
But what could these ancient Ten Commandments possibly tell us about life and living in the 21st century? This old moral code contains archaic ideas like: you shall not murder or steal or commit adultery or lie against your neighbour and so on. How old-fashioned is that! Think of how much better off our society will be when we have totally freed ourselves from the shackles of the Judaeo-Christian ethic and those 10 outdated orders! Objective Biblical morality is a thing of the past. We have evolved, we have progressed, we are proudly post-modern. Want to commit adultery? Then who are we to judge! Want to pursue a homosexual life-style? Then who are we to say you’re immoral? Want to kill and eat a small child? ‘But who are we to impose our ways, our ideas of what’s right and what’s wrong.’
Do you think I am being a bit silly? Did I go too far with that last sentence? Absolutely not. In fact, that was 60 Minutes reporter Ben Fordham’s word for word response about the Korowai tribe of West Papua who were planning to kill and eat a 6-year-old boy. Ben’s colleague, Paul Raffaele from the Smithsonian Institute, was also of the same opinion: ‘Okay, we don’t understand that they kill and eat each other but to them that’s very important, at the very soul of their being.’ Wow! As long as it’s important to you and feels right to you that’s all that matters. Relativism is our society’s new ‘tolerant’ morality. Now that we have freed ourselves from the Bible’s ‘intolerant’ absolutes, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that a couple of modern, well-educated journalists were unable to say cannibalising a helpless child was wrong. The only thing that is wrong and immoral these days is telling someone they are wrong and immoral!
Anita may not like what the Bible says about the homosexual issue or its claim to objective morality, but at least the Bible’s absolutes can defend the life of a child who is about to be dismembered, cooked and eaten. Maybe God’s ‘eternal and unchanging’ Word isn’t so out-of-date and foolish after all.
The existence of the Bible, as a book for the people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced. Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity. — Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (1724-1804)
** The Bible is not anti-gay, it’s anti-sin. Yes, the Bible has strong words to say about homosexuality, but it also has strong words to say about selfishness, envy, gluttony, pride and so on. All expressions of our sinful nature are against God’s moral law. Just because someone finds homosexuality ‘natural’ does not mean it is right. I find it natural to harbour bad attitudes and to hate certain people but that doesn’t make it ok. Natural tendencies will never justify sinful actions.