Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: tblake@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Tom Blake) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: the Sabbath Message-ID: Date: 9 Jun 91 18:58:51 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: SUNY Binghamton Lines: 75 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu [This continues a discussion between Tom and James (mejicovs) about Law. Tom: >It is this picking and choosing among the laws which so bothers me. >"You must obey *this* law!" "I need not obey this other law!" In this >way, we strain out gnats, and swallow camels! This is a sort of odd discussion to be having with James, who is in the process of converting to Orthodox Judaism. He maintains that Orthodox follow all the laws that it is possible to follow today. In a later posting, James said the following: >I am converting to Judaism, so I am *obliged* to disregard a certain law. --clh] This comment has me quite confused. Which law is it that you are *obliged* to disregard? |>Besides that you'd have to point me to a specific law you think I might |>be disregarding... (* Sigh *) I have given examples before of Old Testament laws/commands which many people choose to dis-regard. Here's a few interesting ones... Exodus 21:15-17 15 "Whoever hits his father or his mother is to be put to death. 16 "Whoever kidnaps a man, either to sell him or to keep him as a slave, is to be put to death. 17 "Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death. (TEV) Exodus 22:9 9 "In every case of a dispute about property, whether it involves cattle, donkeys, sheep, clothing, or any other lost object, the two men claiming the property shall be taken to the place of worship. The one whom God declares to be guilty shall pay double to the other man. (TEV) Leviticus 14:33-53 (Okay, I'm not gonna type the whole thing, it's about what to do in the case of mildew in a house.) Leviticus 15:16-18 16 When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body, and he remains unclean until evening. 17 Anything made of cloth or leather on which the semen falls must be washed, and it remains unclean until evening. 18 After sexual intercourse both the man and the woman must take a bath, and they remain unclean until evening. (TEV) Leviticus 17:10-12 10 If any Israelite or any foreigner living in the community eats meat with blood still in it, the Lord will turn against him and no longer consider him one of his people. 11 The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the Lord has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people's sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins. 12 That is why the Lord has told the people of Israel that neither they nor any foreigner living among them shall eat any meat with blood still in it. (TEV) Leviticus 19:19 19 "Obey my commands. Do not crossbreed domestic animals. Do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field. Do not wear clotes made of two kinds of material. (TEV) Well, I was just quickly scanning through, looking for laws. If you take the time, I'm certain you can find a number of interesting laws. (Are you keeping all of them?) I get the impression, that a number of people know how to find the laws they want to hold others to, but never seem to find the ones which they don't wish to be held to. Tom Blake SUNY-Binghamton [It seems like this might be better aimed at Christians who cite the Law in support of the Sabbath or whatever, but who don't keep the kosher laws, etc. Rather that at Orthodox Jews?? --clh]