Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
30 Jan 2004 11:00 PST
Dear johnster-ga;
Again, you posed some interesting questions. Let me see if I can clear
some of these issue up and provide a few more examples of what you
were looking for.
For those who subscribe to the old laws of the Old Testament and do
not recognize the new covenant of the New Testament with regard to the
consumption of certain foods or handling of certain animals, the law
is set forth in the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 11:
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts
which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the
cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or
of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the
cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the
hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the
hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet
he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not
touch; they are unclean to you.
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath
fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them
shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the
rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which
is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of
their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be
an abomination unto you.
13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the
fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle,
and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
15 Every raven after his kind;
16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth
upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon
the earth;
22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the
bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the
grasshopper after his kind.
23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall
be an abomination unto you.
24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase
of them shall be unclean until the even.
25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his
clothes, and be unclean until the even.
26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not
clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one
that toucheth them shall be unclean.
27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts
that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their
carcase shall be unclean until the even.
28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes,
and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things
that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise
after his kind,
30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail,
and the mole.
31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth
touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall,
it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or
skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it
must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it
shall be cleansed.
33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth,
whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh
shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel
shall be unclean.
35 And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall
be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be
broken down: for they are unclean and shall be unclean unto you.
36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water,
shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be
unclean.
37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which
is to be sown, it shall be clean.
38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their
carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the
carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes,
and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it
shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an
abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all
four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that
creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an
abomination.
43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing
that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them,
that ye should be defiled thereby.
44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify
yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye
defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon
the earth.
45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt,
to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every
living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that
creepeth upon the earth:
47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and
between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be
eaten.
-- Leviticus, Chapter 11
Of course, as I mentioned earlier, the New Testament did away with
many of the old laws and these rules are interpreted by many to have
been included based on Jesus? statements:
EXAMPLE OF ONE: ?And he saith unto them, Are ye so without
understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from
without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it
entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into
the draught, purging all meats?And he said, That which cometh out of
the man, that defileth the man.
-- Mark 7:18-20
(Var.) "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside
can make him `unclean'? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his
stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus
effe3ctively declared all foods "clean.") (NIV Mark 7:18-20)
So, in answer to your question about shrimp and pork and the like as
unclean foods, Leviticus is where the old law forbade it, but Mark is
where the old law was superceded.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As for the question of sex, celibacy, etc. this law is set out in
Paul?s letter to the Church of Corinth. Paul said in 1 Corinthians
Chapter 7, Verse 1:
?Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a
man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let
every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own
husband.?
Paul was referring to sex and the temptation to have sex outside of
marriage. Here he clearly says that abstinence is preferred to
fornication. He goes on to say that HE is celibate and would like to
see everyone else follow his example, but understands that each man
has his own desires, some more powerful than others, so he is careful
not to make this a law, but rather a suggestion. It is seen as more
righteous of a man to strive to me more like Paul than to do things
contrary to the way Paul would have done them (this, and the passages
that follow, are the foundation for the Roman Catholic practice of
celibacy):
?But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would
that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift
of God, one after this manner, and another after that.?
-- 1 Corinthians, Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verses 6-7
As for the statement about marriage being better than burning, Paul?s
next statement reinforces the practice of celibacy. This passage is
often misunderstood, misquoted or taken out of context but here is
what Paul said; again making reference to himself and his own level of
purity as a celibate person:
?I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if
they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry:
for it is better to marry than to burn.?
-- 1 Corinthians, Corinthians, Chapter 7, Verses 6-7
Put simply, Paul says here that a person is purer if they keep to
themselves, and that a person who commits fornication is considered
biblically unclean. Therefore, if a person cannot resist the
temptation to engage in sex, it is better for them to marry someone
and engage in sex in a scripturally sound manner than to have
unscriptural sexual relations with someone. Effectively, what is being
said here is ?avoid sex IF you can?. You won?t miss what you have
never had, but once you have sex your desire for more sex will grow
(as is evident in all animals); and that it is better to risk your
spiritual purity than to be eternally damned for your sins.
Another word here about Roman Catholic celibacy: Priests and nuns are
often symbolically ?married? to the Church. Since sex outside of
marriage is forbidden and one cannot physically have sex with a
symbolic spouse, celibacy is the logical result.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As for your question about Jimmy Carter?s statement that he ?lusted in
his heart?, this is the passage he was referring to:
?But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.?
-- Matthew 5:28
Where the Bible speaks about individual sin is seen in Romans Chapter
14. In the Apostle Paul?s letter to the Rome he outlines that people
will have different beliefs in this emerging doctrine of Christianity.
The Church in Rome was rife with bickering over trivial issues; who
would do what, what is right and what isn?t, etc. He explains that
where Judaism for example was clear on all points of the law,
Christianity is not. Here Paul basically tells them ?Relax. Don?t
panic and don?t argue with each other about it. There are many ways to
do the right thing in the eyes of God?.
?1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is
weak, eateth herbs.
3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not
him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master
he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to
make him stand.
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every
day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that
regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that
eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that
eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we
die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the
Lord's.?
-- Romans Chapter 14, Verses 1-8
This does not refer to ?contemplating? a sin (as in conspiring to
commit one), but rather being undecided in their own minds as to
whether or not a certain act is a sin. Paul clearly puts this issue to
rest by telling the Romans that if they think an act that is not
covered by biblical law is a sin, it is indeed a sin FOR THEM but is
not necessarily a sin to someone else who believes in his heart that
it is just.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As for old laws (Old Testament) being superceded by news laws (New
Testament), this change was intended all along. The laws of the Old
Testament, where you will find most of the forbidden foods, acts, etc
that modern man considers ?silly?, were set aside by the new covenent
established by Jesus Christ.
?God said that Israel was to be a light to the nations (Hebrews 42:6).
That someday all nations would come to Jerusalem to receive the Law
(Micah 4:2). That in His Law, "every transgression and disobedience
receives a just recompense" (Hebrews 2:2). That all peoples would
marvel at the wisdom and justice of Israel's laws (Deuteronomy 4:6-8).
Yet, with the change from the Old to the New Covenant, there are
clearly changes in the Law, "for when the priesthood changes, there
must also take place a change of law" (Hebrews 7:12).?
LAW OF THE COVENENT
http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/20fe_47e.htm
At the sermon on the mount, Jesus outlined the old laws and gave us
the new law. He knew in advance that many would shrink at what he was
saying, and would gasp in horror as he took it upon himself to change
God?s laws. In preparation for what he was about to say he reminded
them (referring to the old testament passages I?ve show you above that
cleared the way and gave him the authority to do what he was about to
do):
?Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfil.?
-- Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 17
(Var. ) ?"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.?
(NIV Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 17)
Here Jesus finally explains to those who would have understanding,
that he is the Messiah and fully authorized to change the old laws
with God?s blessing. He then proceeds from Verse 18 on to change the
laws of the Old Testament to reflect the new covenant laws which would
eventually become the New Testament, basically putting away some of
the outdated and restrictive ?silliness? you are referring to.
BIBLE GATEWAY - MATTHEW, CHAPTER 5
http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=MATT%2B5&showfn=on&showxref=on&language=english&version=KJV&x=11&y=9
Having explained these issues further, I personally believe that the
?weird laws? of the Bible that people sometimes refer to are often
derived from Old Testament laws, interpreted out of context, or are
simply misunderstood. The issues I outlined earlier, which were taken
directly from the New Testament, are, I believe, the laws that people
commonly ignore in modern times because they are not convenient to
their lifestyles.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Now, let?s examine the old laws:
One of the best sources for this (as I showed you earlier) is the Book
of Leviticus, Chapter 11. To paraphrase, this is what was instructed:
You can eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided AND
that chews the cud. Animals that chew cud but do not have split
hooves, and animals that have split hooves but do not chew cud are
forbidden.
Don?t eat camels, rock badgers (sometimes called a hyrax, or coney),
rabbits, pigs, nor can you touch their dead bodies.
You can eat any water dwelling animal that has fins AND scales.
Everything else is forbidden, including presumably, shrimp.
You cannot eat an eagle, vulture, black vulture, red kite, black kite,
any kind of raven, horned owl, screech owl, gull, any kind of hawk,
the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the
desert owl, the osprey, the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe or
the bat.
You cannot eat flying insects that walk on all fours, but you can eat
the ones that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground, such as any
kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. If you touch any dead
insect other than these you will be unclean and must wash your
clothes.
You cannot eat any animal that walks on it?s paws or walks about the
ground like the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko,
the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. If
one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean,
and you must break the pot. Anything that one of their carcasses falls
on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up (except
for a spring or a cistern).
If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches the
carcass will be unclean till evening. You must wash your clothes after
touching this dead animal.
Every creature that moves about on the ground is detestable; it is not
to be eaten. You are not to eat any creature that moves about on the
ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many
feet.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Leviticus Chapters 19, 20, 21 and 22 are also great sources for these
types of laws. Again, I will paraphrase for simplicity but indicate
where the actual laws can be found:
Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that
have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 10
Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with
two kinds of seed.
Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 19
When you move to a new land and plant a tree you cannot eat it?s fruit
for five years.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 23-25
Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 26
Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 27
Do not cut your bodies or tattoo yourselves.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 28
Don?t be your daughter?s pimp.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 29
Do not consult psychics.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 31
Extend every courtesy and right to foreigners as you would a native citizen.
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 33-34
Do not use dishonest scales when weighing or dishonest rules when
measuring (basically, don?t cheat people).
-- Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 35-36
If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 9
If anyone sleeps with his father?s wife, his neighbor?s wife, or
daughter-in-law, he must be put to death.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 10-12
If a man marries both a woman and her mother they should be burned.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 14
If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death,
and you must kill the animal.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 15
If a man marries his sister and they have sexual relations they should be banished.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 17
If a man has sexual relations with a woman during her monthly period
both of them must be banished.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 18
?If a man sleeps with his aunt, or marries his brother?s wife ?they
will be held responsible; they will die childless.? (this may imply
castration as punishment)
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 20-21
Anyone found to be a psychic or a channeler of spirits must be stoned to death.
-- Leviticus Chapter 20, Verse 27
No person who is deformed may approach an alter
-- Leviticus Chapter 21, Verse 16-23
No person with an infectious skin disease may eat holy foods until he is cured.
-- Leviticus Chapter 22, Verse 4
I hope these add some substance to what I had already offered. I look
forward to your rating and your final comments.
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
JESUS INTERPRETS THE LAW
http://injil.org/Peace/c10.htm
BIBLE GATEWAY
http://bible.gospelcom.net/
WHICH OLD TESTAMENT LAWS MUST I OBEY?
http://www.tenth.org/qbox/qb_000806.htm
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