A Little More On The Subject

Deb posted this (in italics below) on her blog and it has been on my mind ever since. Mainly because I cannot stand it when people take scripture from the Old Testament and try to use it against Christians on religious hot topics. This is partly because the Old Testament also consists of Jewish cultural law. The OT is a history for Christians, a prologue of sorts, to the birth of Christ. And, when Christ began teaching He more completely explained the laws of God and what was expected of His followers.

So take a look at what she posted, which by the way she did not write ... but got elsewhere ... and is supposedly in regards to why gay marriage should be acceptable, so you will understand what I am addressing.

I would like to note that this was one of the most redundant things that I have ever read. The author, Tom A. Trottier, really needs to read the whole Bible before making a fool of himself again. But, then my Grandma Belt always said, "When you use Scripture to try and make a fool of God, you show yourself a fool."

On to the Biblical assessment of his scriptural claims ...

1. Marriage shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. [Genesis 29:17-28; II Samuel 3:2-5]
   
   

   Marriage was instituted when man was still innocent [Genesis 2:18-24]. This [Genesis 2:24] is the original intent of marriage, which was taught by Jesus as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed [Matthew 19:4,5].

   Monogamy was the original law of marriage [Matthew 19:5; 1 Corinthians 6:16]. This law was violated when corrupt usages began to be introduced [Genesis 4:19; Genesis 6:2] to support beliefs in direct opposition of God's law. The prevalence of polygamy and having concubines became prevalent in the patriarchal age [Genesis 16:1-4; Genesis 22:21-24; Genesis 28:8-9; Genesis 29:23-30]. Polygamy was also acknowledged in the Mosaic law and made the basis of legislation, and continued to be practiced all down through the period of Jewish history to the Captivity, after which there is no instance of it on record.

2. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. [II Samuel 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chronicles 11:21]

   As stated before, the prevalence of polygamy and having concubines became prevalent in the patriarchal age. Concubines were females conjugally united to a man, but in a relation inferior to that of a wife.

   Among the early Jews, from various causes, the difference between a wife and a concubine was less marked than it would be amongst us today. The concubine was a wife of secondary rank. There are various laws recorded providing for their protection [Exodus 21:7; Deuteronomy 21:10-14], and setting limits to the relation they maintained in the household to which they belonged [Genesis 21:14; Genesis 25:6]. They had no authority in the family and could not share in household decisions.

   The immediate cause of concubinage might be gathered from the conjugal histories of Abraham and Jacob (Genesis 16 & Genesis 30). But eventually the custom of concubinage degenerated, and laws were made to regulate it (Exodus 21:7-9).

   Concubinage is right up there with the sins of fornication and adultery (Matthew 19:5-9; 1 Corinthians 7:2).

3. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. [Deuteronomy 22:13-21]

   In the Old Testament, Jewish daughters were not to bring dishonor on their families. They were to obey the laws and the law said they were not to have sex without being married. Nowhere, that I have read, does it say the marriage is not valid if the wife is not a virgin ... it says that she will be stoned if her sin is told by her husband and proven to be true.

   Also, the penalty for many a sin in those days was to be stoned. That ended with Jesus [John 8:7].

4. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. [Genesis 24:3; Numbers 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Nehemiah 10:30]

   In the Old Testament, that was so. The Old Testament law was given to the nation of Israel. The laws were to make the Israelites know how to obey and please God, to show them how to worship God, and to make the Israelites different from other nations.

   In I Corinthians 7:12-16, Paul explains to us that the believer and non-believer can marry. He says that the unbeliever is sanctified by the believing spouse and gives hope for the non-believers salvation.

5. Since marriage is for life, no government or law shall be able to permit divorce. [Deuteronomy 22:19; Mark 10:9]

   I honestly do not see how the writer decided that Deuteronomy 22:19 had anything to do with this, as in that particular scripture, the husband had insulted his wife and her family by claiming she was not a virgin when he married her. The law required him to be chastised and fined ... and she would remain his wife.

   Now, as for Mark 10:9, this is a most famous scripture and one heard at the end of most marriage ceremonies performed in church. Matthew 19:5-9 discusses divorce and gives the consequences of remarriage, except for those who divorced because their spouse committed fornication. So, we know that the Bible acknowledges divorce. It does not say that you cannot obtain a divorce, but it strongly suggests you not do so, unless your spouse has cheated on you, because you will be committing adultery should you remarry.

   What most believe Mark 10:9 to be saying is that no person should cause a married couple to separate from each other, as asunder means apart from one another (King James Dictionary).

6. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. [Genesis 38:6-10; Deuteronomy 25:5-10]

   This law was actually in effect to preserve lineage's ... the line of a family. But, once again, this is discussing the OT Jewish law. A lot of cultural law was added by the priests. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to the bondage of that law [Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15].

7. In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your town, it is required that you get your dad drunk and have sex with him (even if he had previously offered you up as a sex toy to men young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of course, this rule applies only if you are female. [Genesis 19:31-36]

   The way this scripture was defiled amazes me. What Lot's daughters did was a sin, as the Bible forbids incest [Leviticus 18:6]. They got their father drunk and had sex with him, without his knowledge, so they could carry on his line. They also did not "tag team" him, but each did their thing separately ... one on one night and the other on another night.

   Also, when Lot gave up his daughters up as "sex toys" it was to prevent the men of Sodom from defiling (having homosexual sex with) the angels that were in his house [Genesis 19:1-8].

The truth is out there for those that wish to know it. It is called the Bible. Try actually reading it sometime.