mysaviorjc

Virginity, to this day, is an important concept within Judaism as it has legal consequences, and so we are very careful not to bandy about terms. When a woman is a virgin, we use the word 'besulah' - virgin - and that's exactly what we mean.

Dearest Rabbi,

I don't disagree with your statement above. Bottom line here is a direct vs indirect interpretation of virgin. Ok, so what if the correct translation is "young woman"? Did not Mary say to the angel Gabriel "How can this be as I have not known a man?" That is about as direct confirmation of her virginity without actually using the word. It doesn't change a thing scripturally.

Doug

First of all, Isaiah 7 was not a prophecy about the Virgin Mary but it was a prediction given to King Ahaz about his child. Second of all, the entire virgin birth myth was based on a mistranslation of the Isaiah prophecy. Matthew based his reading on the Greek translation of the OT and so he mistranslated "young woman" as "virgin" and the whole virgin

To get a deeper understanding of Isaiah 7:14, this is a good read:

http://www.bibleanswerstand.org/immanuel.htm

While I don't agree with the explanation that Jesus is a mere man, the rest of it explains the relation between Isaiah 7:14 and Matt 1:23 as well as other NT verses that speaking of Jesus' conception and birth.

Doug

So, while abortion has no Biblical support...

George,

Maybe not directly but let's look at this through a few scriptures. Let's start by clarifying what a pregnant woman is carrying. Isaiah 7;14, prophesying Mary being with child, Jesus. Since prophecy, by definition, indicates a future event, it can be inferred that a pregnant woman is carrying a child from moment of conception. Should we not protect the unborn child with as much zeal as a child walking this earth?

Now, on to Psalm 139:13-16. God foreknew everyone before they were even conceived, according to the Psalmist. So, if you believe God is our creator, why would one want to destroy the life which God creates?

Now, before you consider throwing miscarriage into the mix, know that our finite minds have no idea why some things occur. The most intriguing question is if God created the unborn child, why do miscarriages occur? I could not tell you but I don't pretend to know the answer and I am unwilling to make assumptions, suppositions or conjecture on this subject. God is God and I leave it at that.

Doug

Hello Doug,

 

So, if G-d indirectly declared lesbiansim 'clean' in the OT, why are Christians calling lesbianism 'unclean'?

 

In this particular case, the NT obviously does not uphold the OT teachings.

 

Rabbi Benjamin

Dearest Rabbi,

God did not indirectly declare or infer lesbianism 'clean'. First, the Bible indicates a man to lie with a man (Lev 18:20, 20:13)

and a woman to lie with a woman (Romans 1:26-27) is unnatural. So, if you wish to use conjecture, it follows that Lev 18:23 and Lev 20:16

say that a woman is not to lie with a beast (unnatural) so God indirectly declares that if a woman lies with a woman unnatural based on

the unnatural relation of woman and beast. Romans 1:26-27 just says it directly so NT *does* uphold OT teaching.

If you think this preposterous, it's no less preposterous than your argument. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Doug

If homosexuality is a terrible abomination, why isn't lesbianism prohibited in the OT?

 

Male homosexuality is listed in Leviticus right along with all the other 'abominations': eating shellfish, eating non-kosher meat, wearing garments mixed with flax and wool, sowing fields with mixed types of seed.... How is it that Christians believe that that homosexuality is so evil and must be stamped out while, at the same time, eating shellfish, eating non-kosher meat, wearing non-kosher garments...? I understand that Christians believe that Christ relieved them from having to uphold the Jewish covenant, but then why continue to pick and choose which laws are 'good' to observe and which ones 'bad'?

Dearest Rabbi,

Thank you for your comments. You are right, lesbianism is not mention in the OT but you'll find it in the NT. See Romans 1:26-27 Which, BTW refers to both men AND women in these passages. If OT law is affirmed in NT teachings, that's not picking and choosing. The NT confirms the OT in this instance. The whole food issue you mentioned is rectified in the NT as well when Peter had a dream and God gave to him to eat all sorts of "unclean" animals and Peter told God he could not eat them. God told him not to call anything impure that God has made clean (Acts 10)

Doug

Presumably, if God created other people in the garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to have sex with, God would have allowed them to engage in same-sex relationships as the only commandment in the garden of Eden was to not eat the apple. The Garden of Eden story has been used by fundamentalist Christians to justify all sorts of horrific actions.

 

Because God told Adam and Eve that they had dominion over the Earth, many anti-environmentalist Christians have used this as an excuse to destroy the planet and waste our natural resources.

 

Because it was the woman who sinned and not Adam, Christians have used this as a justification for why women should be considered inferior to men and why women should be banned from voting or from ever having any leadership roles or from having a job.

Well, it didn't happen that way, did it? The population of the earth began with Adam and Eve as God intended. To presume from events that never occurred put one on a slippery slope.

I can agree with what you say of God's words for them to have dominion over the earth. No, that is NOT license to destroy the earth.

I laugh when I hear things like this whole woman thing that she sinned first. While that's true, there's nothing to indicate that this act makes women inferior. Adam *did* sin but what was worse? He placed the blame on the woman instead of taking responsibility for his own actions!

Doug

Hello, my new friends.

 

I'd very much like to know the thoughts of 'progressive' Christians on the subject of homosexuality.

 

Hi Kath,

I find it curious you would use quotes for 'progressive' so I'd like to know how you would define the 'progressive' Christian? Maybe start a thread to talk on that topic?

To stay on this topic, I am a Christ Follower (I use that term because I think the term Christian has become so diluted and abused so as to have no significant spiritual connotation any more). I will not bore anyone with the details of what the Bible says about homosexuality. We all know the verses in Leviticus as well as Romans 1. I'll just say I believe what the Bible says. I'd like to add, though, that I believe God confirms what he calls as abomination by defining marriage as between a man and a woman (Gen 2:24) and he told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28), something homosexuals cannot do.

Would that not add to the evidence why God called it an abomination in Leviticus in the first place?

Your thoughts?