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From: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (Dan Boskovich)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Origin of Man
Message-ID: <282@scgvaxd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-Mar-85 19:30:27 EST
Article-I.D.: scgvaxd.282
Posted: Wed Mar 20 19:30:27 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 23-Mar-85 04:07:48 EST
References: <23193@lanl.ARPA>, <281@scgvaxd.UUCP>
Reply-To: dan@scgvaxd.UUCP (Dan Boskovich)
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA
Lines: 82
Summary: 

These questions and comments were asked of me by mail:
The answers will follow:

--
The explanation that you proposed has several points that seem
hard to explain:
When God took away his permission to commit incest - how
could it have been done? 
Global announcement of type:
   As of this moment incest is sin.
or
   For anybody born after this moment it would be
   illegal to screw their sibling, while older folks still can
   keep helping themselves.

When did this major change of policies took place?
How was the announcement made?

I do not, to be sure, expect you to have exact answers, but
rather would be interested in opinion of modern theology.

Please post the answer (if any) to net.religion - it looks
like a topic.
      	Thanks
			Mike Cherepov

  My reply:

  The first time that incest is referred to in the Bible is in Leviticus
  chap.20. Here, God is giving Isreal the Law. The Law strictly forbids
  any act of incest. Up until that time, God never addressed the issue.
  The only other mention of it is in Gen. 19 with Lot and his daughters.
  Here, the scriptures are silent as far as moral judgement. The implication
  however seems to be deceit.

  The key to understanding this is in the Mosaic Law. Many of the laws
  given to Isreal were not moral issues. The food consumption laws,
  circumcision, etc. were laws to seperate Isreal from the rest of the
  nations. There was also another motive. Many of the ancient Hebrew
  laws were to protect their health. The Hebrew race was a strong race
  because of nutritional habits, sexual purity, and cleanliness.

  By this time in human history, the effects of sin were obvious. Life
  span had drastically dropped, meat eating (1) had been encouraged to
  supplement the scarcity of and difficulty of obtaining plant nutrition,
  (famines were quite common) (1) See Gen.6&7, and sin had even effected
  genetics.

  The sin diseased genes of Adam and Eve had mutated enough down through
  time to cause serious health defects in the offspring of those closely
  related (As we can see today). God, knowing this, and in his effort to
  preserve His chosen people, proclaimed incest a sin and commanded the
  Isrealites to abstain from it.

  Incest became known as a sin and was carried down as such through
  Judea-Christian teachings. The New Testament calls Christians to
  a higher law than the Mosaic Law. The New Testament uses the word
  (porneia) which means sexual immorality. Christians are commanded to
  abstain from all types of "porneia". This would include incest, rape,
  adultery, fornication (pre-marital sex), homosexuality, and beasteality.
  In effect, all sexual immorality as defined in the Old Covenant.
  Christians, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, are called
  to abstain from "porneia". This higher Law is the Law of Love. Jesus
  said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". Then He sent us
  the Holy Spirit as a sign of His promise; To save whosoever would believe
  in Him. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the sign of the Christian. The
  Spirit teaches him, controls him, and seals him. The Spirit has been
  called in scripture, an engagement ring. With the blessed assurance of
  salvation, the Christian is no longer under the bondage of a law that he
  cannot keep. Herein is freedom, Who the son sets free, shall be free
  indeed. To serve Him out of Love.

  So as you see, God did not impose a sudden change of heart and a
  consequent new Law on the world, but mercifully presented the solution
  to a serious problem. This problem of course was brought on by mankinds
  own initiation. God was protecting His people as He originally strove
  to protect Adam with His famous warning, "In the day that you eat of
  it, you shall surely die!"



					    Dan Boskovich