NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive

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Prominent use of the death penalty reflects poorly on society.

Commands And Laws
Never Change
Statures Always Do

Exodus through Deuteronomy are the four books of the Old Testament that contain what is called the Law of Moses and these laws are the topic of many discussions.

Some people misguidedly attempt to superimpose these laws on today’s cultures, a hopeless and useless endeavor. 

Refrigeration and modern farming methods have made Old Testament dietary restrictions obsolete.  We eat pork today with no nutritive repercussions.  Even in Jesus’ day improved food handling had overcome the obvious dangers of eating “unclean” animals.

Of course, Old Testament laws are not all given an equal hearing. Some people attempt to uphold certain laws while completely ignoring others.  We love the laws relating to monogamous marriage but are a bit embarrassed to admit polygamy was regulated rather than run out of town. Regulation, however, wasn’t meant to endorse polygamy but was rather a way of controlling it or keeping it from getting out of control. The plan worked. You rarely hear of polygamous marriages in most Bible-influenced societies today.

Moralists today are adamant about one and embarrassed by the other. It’s difficult to argue loudly for monogamy from an Old Testament perspective without getting tripped up by the likes of Jacob, David, and Solomon to name a few. It raises additional questions also: Why wasn’t polyandry regulated? And a question like that opens the door for discussions about chauvinistic tendencies in OT history. [Read more…] about OT Law – Restrictive Not Prescriptive

Tithes And Taxes Not Equal

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Taxation was enforced tithing wasn't

If They Overlap
They Aren’t Equal

Some would suggest the tithe was simply a form of taxation in the Old Testament but tithes and taxes are two very different issues. I do concede that the Levites, who were supported by tithes, did a few things that are funded these days by taxes but their primary responsibilities were spiritual. Their civil responsibilities were minimal.

  • Tithing was not legally enforced and was used mostly to serve spiritual purposes.
  • Taxation is imposed and monitored by government regulation. They support government structures only.
  • Tithing was practiced before the law and incorporated in the law. Taxes were introduced much later.

When the Israelites first arrived in Canaan they had no government to support. They were under the rule of God (theocracy).

Later, when they requested a king, Samuel warned them that heavy taxes would be required to support their monarchy and that is when taxation began (1 Sam. 8:10-18). From this, we understand that tithes and taxes were separately instituted issues. Tithes supported the Levitical system and taxes supported the government.

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The people might have used their tithes to pay their taxes (that still happens today) but there was no justification for doing so. The Levitical system and the priesthood operated separately to and required funding apart from the government. You can’t mix the two issues.

One way in which tithing is similar to taxes is the fact that both are needed. The difference is:

  • Tithing represents a fixed amount for everyone, no brackets, which is fair and equal.

See why tithes should be calculated after taxes.

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Democracy Is Christian Even When The State Is Not

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Democracy is God's grace applied to the political process.

If We Don’t Love Our Enemies
At The Government Level
We’ll Never Do It Individually

Over at the Huffington Post Robbie Gennet has made some interesting remarks about the impossibility of a democracy being Christian. In his words,

“There is no such thing as a Christian…Muslim… or Jewish Democracy…(or a solely Heterosexual one, for that matter).”

“True Democracy,” he says,

Means True Equality and no religion sees itself as equal to all the others (and they feel especially unequal to secularism and atheism)…In this country, the vast majority of them (the religious) feel that the USA was founded as a Christian nation and should be run like one, which is anathema to the true Democratic ideals of our founding fathers.

The truth is Mr. Gennet and I agree and disagree. I agree that America is not A Christian nation, and from the start that was never the intent, but I would say emphatically that democracy is Christian.

That doesn’t mean the US is a Christian nation but it does mean that the US is managed by biblical principles and that makes democracy Christian even when the state is not.

A nation is very different to a democracy. In fact, once a state becomes Christian, it ceases to be a democracy and that is what our forefathers understood. [Read more…] about Democracy Is Christian Even When The State Is Not