Dear Rick,
I know you to be a man of deep faith in God and a person whose faith causes you to have a strong sense of responsibility to improve the world. Several years ago I heard you speak passionately about the threat of a nuclear Iran to the world and when I thanked you for your attention to this important issue you immediately quoted for me a verse from the biblical Book of Esther: "Perhaps it is for this exact purpose you have been placed in this political position" (Esther 4:14).
Because you are so conscious of the role of religion in government and political life, I wanted to share with you a concept from the Jewish interpretation of the Bible.
According to Judaism there are two different types of commandments: There are certain commandments known as "mitzvoth" and there are other commandments known as "chukim." The rabbis explain that mitzvoth are those commandments which can be explained logically and make good sense, for example, honour your father and mother, or do not murder. But there is another type of commandment that is called a chok; a chok is a law that we must equally obey however, the rabbis recognizes that this law cannot be understood rationally. We must obey the law because God has ordered it and not because we necessarily understand it.
The interesting thing is that we do not always know into which box we can place a commandment that appears in the Torah.
Sometimes a commandment is explicitly called a chok. The most famous example of this is the commandment to slaughter a red heifer, known in Hebrew as a parah adumah, and sprinkle its ashes as a purifying mechanism upon a person who became ritually impure. The rabbis tell us that the wisest human being in history, King Solomon, said about this law: "I said that I would understand it, but it is distant from me" (Bamidbar Rabbah 19:3, quoting Kohelet 7:23).
But in most cases it is not entirely clear.
I argue in my book Fifty-Four Pick Up (p. 223-226) that an example of a law that is a chok, is the biblical discussion of homosexuality. The Torah specifically declares that a homosexual act is prohibited but I say about this law: "It is my law, and it is distant from me. I know that the Torah uses the word to'evah -- usually translated as abomination -- about this prohibition, but I also know that the word to'evah also appears in other contexts throughout the Torah that are not necessarily morally charged, like bringing an animal sacrifice that has a blemish on it (Devarim 17:1) and the prohibition of eating certain animals (ibid. 14:3)."
This distinction may in some cases help us transmit our religious beliefs in a passionate manner without alienating those with whom we disagree. As a Jew I know that Torah requires us to keep kosher, but I would never cast moral judgment upon those who choose not to follow the dietary laws of the Torah.
Similarly, while I try with all my heart and soul to follow all the commandments of the Torah, I would never cast moral judgment on those who are gay. The Bible prohibits homosexual acts, and I can never argue with that, but in accepting the commandment I can say: "It is my law and I do not claim to understand it." Some people like to say about homosexuality, "Love the sinner and hate the sin." I totally disagree with that approach. I don't hate the sin. Not at all! I accept the Torah's command, but I do not claim to understand it.
Ultimately religion is about submitting oneself before our Maker. We cannot pretend to understand all of His ways and commands. But we must follow all of his commands and in this respect there is a hierarchy: Our rabbis tell us that fundamentally the entire Torah can be summarized in the teaching: "Love your neighbor like you yourself."
Sincerely,
Shmuel Herzfeld
Rabbi,
Ohev Sholom--The National Synagogue
Washington, DC
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God is a delusion and religion poisons EVERYTHING.
Especially the ability to think rationally.
Sodomy is any sex act other than penile-vagina intercourse, and thus it's mostly heterosexuals who are 'sodomites'. Or don't you betteroesxuals perform oral sex or anal sex anymore?
Put something that ridiculous in the blurb to this blog post and I simply won't be reading the post, sorry.
In what way is it "ridiculous"?
14 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
Thomas Paine aptly noted in the 18th Century that this was an invitation to mass slaughter and rape (keeping only the young girls alive): killing the parents and, in his words, debauching the daughters.
This is only one example of genocide in the Bible. I can quote you the rest if you like.
I leave aside injunctions to, for example, stone children for disobedience.
Indeed the more serious sins in God’s eyes, even more serious than the sexual immorality of say Sodom and Gomorrah is religious hypocrisy and spiritual adultery e.g. Prov. 6:16-19 9.
To say someone is being judgmental though is nonsense. God has already judged sin e.g. Jeremiah 44:4; Psalms 119:104.
We are not to condemn others as seen with the woman (Mary of Magdalena) caught in adultery when the religious hypocrites were preparing to condemn here by stoning her to death…Jesus rebuked their condemnation, their sin of hypocrisy, and told her to go and sin no more. Her sin was adultery. Her obedience to Christ is an example of what repentance from sin is. A loving God telling us to turn away from that which He has called sin. The power to do so only come from turning to Him as Mary did. The physical urges to sin are too strong to fight on your own.
The good Rabbi should know his scriptures better.
The issue was turning from sin, in her circumstance, sexual sin, as that was the imperative Jesus required for forgiveness. He said to her, “go and sin no more”. We are all called to turn away from sin period. Without a turning away, repentant from any life style of sinfulness, there is no forgiveness.
You’re simply either misinformed and/or ignorance regarding what sexual sin is theologically. I am not going to argue the point when it is very clear in the scripture that “any” sex outside of marriage between man and woman is sinful.
It is your choice to not agree but you’re in very poor company historically over the last 4500 years or more.
If anyone is not born again according to Jesus Christ, they are indeed incapable of being forgiven for anything by God and still reside in their sin nature. We only become God’s children when we receive him under his prerogatives. Until then we are children of Adam. If you decide to deconstruct the historical narrative and produce your own private eisegesis, you do so at your own peril my friend...
Provide your arguments and your resources so I can respond.
Jesus did NOT call homosexuality "sin".
In fact, here is what He had to say on the topic:
". . . . ."
Not ONE recorded word. He was silent on the issue. Would that His (semi-selective) followers would take the hint and do likewise.
Also, for the true "sin of Sodom", you might want to check out Ezekiel. It wasn't about "sexual immorality" at all.
Lastly, do you believe all homosexual persons are "immoral" just because they love others of the same gender?
How is loving something to "repent" of?
If everyone followed this, instead of trying to guess and interpret what the Bible tells us, what a wonderful world this would be.
How about we all keep to our own business and allow those who are not hurting anyone (those eating shellfish, working on the Sabbath and being gay) to mind their lives. Just leave them alone. The Lord does not need any help. If people are indeed sinning, it is not up to us to judge and it is certainly not up to us to hate.
Love ALL of our neighbours and help the less fortunate was Christ's message for us. That should be good enough for anybody.
I would like to correct one point made by the author. In Biblical times, the idea of homosexuality, as we understand it today, probably didn't exist. They thought all people were "straight," and therefore, anyone engaging in sexual acts with another of the same sex was an aberration, or, indeed, an abomination. The more modern notion of homosexuality as having biological origins is only, perhaps, two hundred years old.
Hebrew society still frowned upon it but Greece and Rome were a totally different story.
I think the sub-culture today calls that being on the 'down low'.