This essay is part two of a two-part series responding to a meme. The meme in question suggests that since supernatural and ritualistic elements are in the bible, magic and witchcraft can’t be sinful and that the bible is contradictory. <– Part 1
Part 3 of the overview of Leviticus with commentary. The Ritual Purity laws of chapters 11-15.
Continue readingOftentimes people will use the phrase sodomy in reference to same-sex intercourse and sodomite in reference to those that engage in it. Let’s make a note that Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of far more than just that. Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in Ezekiel 16:49 for various sins like pride and abusing the poor. In Jeremiah 23:14 they are compared to the sins of priests in pre-exile Israel who committed adultery and idolatry. In Matthew 11:24 Jesus even compares his generation of Jews to Sodom and says they are more stubborn and hard-hearted. Therefore, Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of more than just sexual sin.
Continue readingSome may wonder if Christians are supposed to be eating kosher, and following rules about bodily fluids and circumcision. Ritual purity laws are not like moral purity since they don’t involve behavior, and therefore breaking them is not punishable by execution. These laws were designed to set the Israelites apart, and they were never given to Gentiles. Paul had also to say about not enforcing these laws in the OT, and even Jesus said some things. Let’s take a deeper look at why they existed in the first place if new covenant Gentiles don’t have to follow them. What were they pointing to?
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