Follow-Up #1
In response to Comment #1 on the post "Christian Political Party?"...
Anachronism, thank you for being the first to post a challenge to my writing. This blog would be a much more interesting place if there were more like you around...
Responding to your first comment, I believe God's people today have a different standard to follow than did the Israelites before the coming of Christ.
The Israelites were part of God's earthly kingdom, governed by the "Mosaic Law." They fought flesh and blood at God's command to protect their country from pagan influences -- pagan Gentiles were not their "neighbors," they were their enemies. They also killed disobedient Israelites to support God's law and demonstrate the vast importance of obedience, etc. It was "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" in their civil government.
And then Jesus came, turned the tables, and perfected the law. He established a kingdom in the hearts of men, such that we now "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickness in high places." (Eph 6:12) He fulfilled the Mosaic law with a law of love: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Gal 5:14 Who is my neighbor? Anyone. The law of charity spans across nationalities, religions, and heart conditions. What is love? Seeking another's good above my own.
Does loving your neighbor only apply to personal relationships? Could I as a Christian rightfully kill a person who harmed someone else? Jesus states in Matthew 5:38,39, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Jesus was quoting an Old Testament scripture, perhaps Exodus 21 which refers to a man punishing another man for hurting his wife, not himself:
21:23-25 - "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."
Refusing to retaliate would seem to apply to personal and non-personal situations.
There will be more to follow... gotta go to class.
Anachronism, thank you for being the first to post a challenge to my writing. This blog would be a much more interesting place if there were more like you around...
Responding to your first comment, I believe God's people today have a different standard to follow than did the Israelites before the coming of Christ.
The Israelites were part of God's earthly kingdom, governed by the "Mosaic Law." They fought flesh and blood at God's command to protect their country from pagan influences -- pagan Gentiles were not their "neighbors," they were their enemies. They also killed disobedient Israelites to support God's law and demonstrate the vast importance of obedience, etc. It was "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" in their civil government.
And then Jesus came, turned the tables, and perfected the law. He established a kingdom in the hearts of men, such that we now "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickness in high places." (Eph 6:12) He fulfilled the Mosaic law with a law of love: "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Gal 5:14 Who is my neighbor? Anyone. The law of charity spans across nationalities, religions, and heart conditions. What is love? Seeking another's good above my own.
Does loving your neighbor only apply to personal relationships? Could I as a Christian rightfully kill a person who harmed someone else? Jesus states in Matthew 5:38,39, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." Jesus was quoting an Old Testament scripture, perhaps Exodus 21 which refers to a man punishing another man for hurting his wife, not himself:
21:23-25 - "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."
Refusing to retaliate would seem to apply to personal and non-personal situations.
There will be more to follow... gotta go to class.
posted by Claire at 12:58
2 Comments:
So the New Covanent changed right and wrong? David, after all, was a man after God's own heart, and he killed a lot of people in God's name.
Now, your obvious response is that while right and wrong remain the same, the situation has changed and we are therefore to respond differently.
Fair enough, but we've now established that as far as morality is concerned, followers of Yahweh are allowed to spill blood. That is, with regard to what is morally normative, killing is not always wrong, and is, in fact, sometimes a good thing.
The question then, is whether Christians are not to engage in it, whether God laid down new commands for his followers.
I realize this is mostly summary, but I wanted to make sure these points were established before moving on.
With regard to eternal and universal morality, killing is not wrong.
The question at hand is whether God's followers should engage in the same during the current post-resurrection pre-Parousia period.
I think we are on the same page in our understanding of the discussion - say on.
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