Why Christians Are To Blame For SCOTUS Marriage Decision

Okay, now that we good Christian folk have all had a chance to lament the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage, I think it is time that we took a moment to consider our culpability in the situation. I know this really eats into your allotted time to wail about the evils of our society, but getting honest is a huge part of the Christian faith.

And I think it is time that we got honest about how we paved the way for this decision. Now there are a million and one things that we have screwed up royally, I plan on addressing several of them in the future, but right now I want to focus on one.

We have tried to turn Jesus into the Easter Bunny.

Not even Santa Claus, but the freaking Easter Bunny. Santa, at least, demands good behavior for rewards, but the Easter Bunny, he don’t care. All he demands is that go to sleep and you get all the feel good goodies you want.

We have told the world they should love him because he is soft and snuggly. We have said that he wants you to have your best life now, and that he doesn’t care what you do just as long as he can put a smile on your face, he’s happy bouncing in and out of your life.

The Jesus we showed the world doesn’t even care enough to stop you from facilitating your own demise. In fact, he will help and he will praise you while you do it because isn’t that what wanted? Isn’t he the one who filled your basket with desire, sexual or otherwise, so that you can indulge in it to your heart’s content?

When we started preaching love without holiness, grace without discipline, mercy without judgement, we started preaching a false gospel that only caters to the whims of the selfish. We began with money, because who doesn’t want more? We claimed that God wanted us to prosper financially, and we justified by calling God good and declaring that a good God did not want his people to be without this fundamental necessity for happy life. It was an easy sell. We all bought it.

Our views of God began to warp just tiny bit. It was easy to push aside those passages that talked about Jesus not having a home or caring for the poor. We found other verses that suited our cause so much better, and we began to declare them over homes, our families, and ourselves. We told the world that riches were not evil, and Jesus really didn’t mean it when he said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. The love of money was certainly evil, but we sure didn’t see any reason not to love the things it bought us.

We were trained and groomed to use the Bible as shield against our detractors, and we became proficient in making converts to this gospel of self-fulfillment. Soon money wasn’t the only thing that this message could be applied to. We began to add marriage to the list, God didn’t want me to spend my life being unhappy or so the tale was told, and divorce became a valid option for all, not just those for whom it was not a choice. We tacked on “me time” and called it boundaries, when the reality was we just didn’t want to be burdened with a friend’s need. We found ways to justify fornication, but we never called it that. We knew that God just wanted us to love and be loved.

We stopped serving God and we started serving ourselves. Even church became an experiment in self-gratification (you have no idea the amount of control I used not to use the proper term here), worship was too loud, too slow, too new, too old, and too boring. It offends my sensibilities and tastes, so therefore it could not be of God, because he wants me to be happy. Sermons became pep talks, pop psychology, and self-help seminars so that we could be empowered to live the life Jesus died to give you. We were encouraged to live life more abundantly, but defined according to our new god of happiness.

And oh, how we have served that god! So many lives offered on his alters!

And we served with such devotion that the world caught our fervor. They became excited about this soft and lovable god who gave his people only sweet things and never required a thing in return. They took up his cause and began to evangelize in the streets, in the cities, and on the hillsides. “You were created to be happy! You know our god loves you when you are happy! You deserve happiness and you must fight for it because it is your right!”

Some of the new followed our example, and they still worshipped their god in the Christian churches. They found evidence of him in our sacred books, and they even prayed to him the name of our Lord Jesus. Those who refused to honor their right happiness became hypocrites, legalists, unenlightened, and bigots, and the god of happiness began to look less and less like the God of the Bible.

You want to know who to blame for the Supreme Court decision? Look in the mirror. Point the finger at Christians who failed to live their faith with integrity and who sacrificed the God of the Bible to the god happiness. Blame those who knew better and didn’t care, those who placed selfish desire above obedience, and those who refused to experience the pain of conviction when confronted with the truth of the Word.

See the God of the Bible never prioritized happiness over maturity. He never condoned our selfishness, and he never praised us for meeting our needs. Instead, he asked us to love him above all other things including happiness and self-fulfillment. He said he wants to be the center of our world and life, he wants to be the source for all good things we have and experience, and he wants us to know the beauty of growing in him so that we can share that beauty with the world.

The God of Sinai is cuddly. The God who took out the prophets of Baal wasn't interested in sweet things. The God of who lead the children of Israel through the desert did just show up when they had a tummy ache, he was there through the hard times and the bad but he demanded that the people honor him with their hearts and their actions, and he hasn't changed. The God of the Bible is still the same, it was just us who tried to create him our image in an attempt to avoid the pain of growth.

It's time we repent, and we let him be God of our lives again, even when it doesn't make us happy because when we do there is once again hope that we can change the world - and maybe get it right this time.

Photo via PhotoPin

A More Thoughtful Response To SCOTUS Decision

A good friend who always has a balancing and healthy perspective on the issues I address, pointed out to me that yesterday's post about the SCOTUS decision seemed dismissive of the gravity of the situation. And as usual, I could not argue as she was right.

I did not address any of the possible, and I believe inevitable, negative outcomes this will create for the Church. There is no doubt in my mind that things are going to get a whole lot uglier before they get better, and I think that as Christians we should be prepared for what is around the bend.

Now, I am in no way claim to be a legal expert, nor do I pretend to be familiar with all the intricacies of the laws of our land. What I offer is my opinion based on my knowledge as a student of the Bible and history.

What I do know about our nation’s laws is that they can be rewritten to be acceptable to the changes of time and culture to better reflect the social attitudes of our day. The ability to make these changes was integral part of the design from the start and has been used to make some very positive changes in our country. Women’s right to vote and racial equality are just two issues that come to mind without a second cup of coffee. My point is laws change, even constitutional laws change, and to bank on them as the source of our security is absurd and naïve.

And it isn’t always that the laws have to change, it is simply that interpretation of the laws are changed. After all, if you compared many of the selfies posted on social media, they clearly fit the standards of pornography of the Comstock Act of 1873 and would have been grounds to arrest about half our nation. However, over the years styles and fashion changed so the definition lewd and obscene changed and as such laws had to be changed to accommodate public demand. Now you can show your butt online as long as you have a string over the crack, and by law it is not considered to pornographic.

There is a very similar evolution going on in our laws that dictate the relationship between church and state, and the SCOTUS decision is going to accelerate that evolution.

The first, most obvious reason, is that the Bible teaches homosexuality is wrong. I know there are a ton of convoluted arguments to the contrary, but let’s go with the plain reading of the text as offered in Scripture.

Now if we believe that freedom of speech is a protected act in the US then you have never studied censorship laws – speech is only as protected as it is deemed proper under societal dictates. Whereas Clark Gable once caused a scandal by “not giving a damn”, no one even blinks at such phrases today. However, say that for a man to lie with another man as woman is an abomination, and presto! You have crossed over into hate speech, and do you know what isn’t protected under freedom of speech?

If you guessed hate speech, you are right.

Freedom of religion also will not spare us the consequences. All that is needed is apply the term abusive to any religious practice and it can come under fire, particularly when it involves minors, and this isn’t a bad thing. When we have men like Warren Jeffs marrying off teenage girls to the men his church, legal action should be taken. However, where do we draw the line and who determines what abuse is? In California, reparative therapy for a child dealing with same sex attraction is considered abusive and has been banned. Other states are sure to follow as homosexuality is now considered to be normal part of our society and culture.

To me the almost obscene footnote in all of this has become a major issues among Christians, and that is the idea that churches will lose their tax exempt status. Ladies and Gentlemen, I hate to break to break it to you that is going to happen. When we have churches who voluntarily decided to run themselves corporations instead houses of prayer we asked for it, and I am not going to waste time feeling sorry for reaping the consequences of what we have sown. There are greater issues on the line than money, and if you think that God has to have a tax break to be present in this world, your god is pretty small and probably not worth worshipping, and definitely not able to handle the real issues of our world.

So what are we supposed to do? Well, for starters, don’t sit around wringing your hands as if the world has come to an end. What if it has? Isn’t that the hope and longing of all creation? Our job is to be preparing for it, and I don’t mean by stockpiling a bunch of food and ammo. I mean we should be helping those around us to see God’s glory and goodness so that they might be inspired to seek him, and let’s face it, if we are only showing them a defeated God, why would they want him?

We dive deeper into his Word and we follow the outline he gave a persecuted church so many years ago. For their persecution was far greater than any we face now, and yet, he gave them not only the keys to survival, he showed them how to thrive! He told them how to live their faith in the face of oppressive laws and intolerance for their religion. He didn’t lie to them about how believing in him would make their lives all lollipops and rainbows. Instead, he said that we are blessed in persecution and that we would be reviled and that we should rejoice in it.

We become intentional in seeking our King. For it is in knowing him that we find the strength and humility to live transformational lives. Lives that are not full of self-pity or fear, but lives that recognize the darkness makes the light shine even more brightly.

We surround ourselves with other believers, but we remain available to the rest of the world. We find strength and encouragement through the love and support of those who share our faith, and we use those times as a springboard to live our faith boldly before others.

We educate ourselves on the issues that touch the lives of our loved ones, believers and non-believers alike, so that we can have a ready answer in due season. We have been called to be wise, and wisdom is difficult to cultivate in a desert of ignorance.

We walk in grace and compassion, not anger and bitterness. God has done this for us and when we fail to extend it to others, we fail to deny God’s gift to us.

We speak truth, but we do it in love, fully recognizing that the love that has been given to us is also offered to any who would receive it.

But most of all, we share our stories of how God changed us. For some of us this means being real about struggles in our sexuality, for some this an admission that we don’t know what it is like to face that challenge, but for all of us it call to celebrate the goodness of God’s grace and mercy extended to us no matter what we have faced in our lives.

Photo via PhotoPin

Why I Am Not Crying About the Supreme Court Decision on Gay Marriage

Today we learned that gay marriage is now legal in all fifty states. There was both much rejoicing and lamenting throughout the land. Supporters of the movement celebrate this new freedom and right within our nation, while Christians vacillate between abject mourning and threats of hellfire and damnation. I will admit that there is a strong temptation for me to join in with my brothers and sisters in Christ, but I am choosing a third option.

I am rejoicing and making a deliberate attempt not to show my butt.

So how is it that a Bible believing Christian can rejoice, you might ask.

Simple.

My faith was never in the government. I know that my identity as a Christian is not tied to my nationality in any way. God was never hamstringed by any governmental authority. If I start acting as if this affects him in the slightest form, I am basically saying the government is bigger than the God I serve. So excuse me if I fail to deify the Supreme Court justices, but I think that would fall under the heading of idolatry and I try to actually live what I believe. (Success is variable, but the attempt is constant.)

I am rejoicing because Bible believing Christianity will no longer be the default setting for Americans. Faith in the Bible as God’s holy and inspired Word will be an act of decision and living it will be a commitment that requires us to be actively engaged in knowing what and why we believe. Laziness and ignorance will no longer be compatible with calling yourself a Christian. Some of us might actually try reading it now that we know that we can’t count on society to reflect what only the Bible is supposed to teach us.

I am rejoicing because this is a reminder that we are to be counter cultural and, boys and girls, we haven’t been that in years if not decades. Instead, we have embraced the *smaller* sins of our times as excusable and justifiable because everybody else is doing it. Whether it was speeding down the highway at ten over, cheating on our taxes, gluttony, sloth, or turning a blind eye to heterosexual immorality, we failed to live up to the standards that our God has given to us and in doing so we paved the way for this decision. When we confused being our culture with our faith, we stopped putting God first and made belonging to this world an act of worship that denied his right to be Lord of our lives. Maybe this will get our attention, and we will stop half-assing this thing we call Christianity and experience the conviction we should have been sensitive to so many years ago.

I am rejoicing because some people only learn through consequences because now is the opportune moment for God to reveal that his law is perfect. Something that could never happen when the decrees for right and wrong were based in man given law, not divine revelation.

I am rejoicing because I believe that by allowing marriage to become a social contract and not honoring it as sacred covenant we have made Christianity a little more irrelevant to our society. And I think that is a very good thing, in that only those who want to experience God will continue to identify themselves as such. Am I ignoring or downplaying the consequences for thousands of people? No, but I am not discounting my God’s ability to act despite and within the consequences of our decisions.

I am rejoicing because now we have an opportunity to choose our response, and the response we chose will identify us as we really are – bigots who are only faithful when it allowed us to feel superior to everyone else, pretenders who never believed but went along when it was convenient, or authentic believers willing to be unpopular for the God we love. But even in authenticity, there is a choice. For if we are nothing but venom spewing martyrs for a God who has called to live in love and peace, then we are denying our faith in denying the world a witness to his love.

So I will not cry over this decision. God is still in control and his Word will remain true. No one can affect that, but we can affect how his Word is manifest in our lives. That choice is and always was ours, and now we must face it as we have never have before. So what will choose? Bitterness, anger, or despair? Or will you do as he has asked and continue to praise him as the God who was not surprised or defeated by some words on paper?

How big is your God? The response you choose will inform the world.

After this posted, a friend of mine observed that I did not address the gravity of the situation here. I giving her words some thought, I followed up with this:  http://misdirectedmusings.blogspot.com/2015/06/a-more-thoughtful-response-to-scotus.html

Photo via PhotoPin

Tamar - A Story For Men

As you probably already know, I love to write about the women of the Bible. I love challenging our ideas and beliefs about who they were and what their stories have to teach us. I was excited to take on the story of Tamar as it indisputably one of the most scandalous stories recorded in the Bible. However, I was not expecting to find that how significantly Tamar’s tale radically changed the perceptions of how one relates to God.

Tamar steps into the pages of Scripture in Genesis 38, but to understand the true import of her life and deeds, we have to step back to chapter 37 and follow the ripples she leaves in her wake found most predominately throughout out the rest of Genesis and still felt today. I am just hitting the high point so as always grab your Bible and read it for yourself, follow along, and double check me.

Tamar’s story is begins with an assault on Joseph. While she is yet to be named the stage is being set for vindication before Judah. The sons of Jacob conspire to kill Joseph, their father’s favorite son, but is stopped by Judah who suggests that they sell their brother into slavery instead. He orchestrates a grand cover up. Joseph’s distinctive coat is covered in the blood of young goat, and it is presented to their father, Jacob, with the request, “Please, identify whether it is your son’s robe or not.” Jacob is overcome with grief, and Joseph is taken to Egypt.

Chapter 38 opens by telling us the Judah has left his family, taken a Canaanite bride, and raised three sons.  The Bible never specifies why he left his homeland, but scholars speculate it was out guilt and shame for his part in Joseph’s tragedy and causing his father heartache. His sons now grown, he seeks out a wife, and Tamar arrives on set.

Tamar comes to the story with no background or indication of her lineage. She is simply a bride to first Er, who God promptly kills off and then Onan who God also does in – all told in the space of four verses. This is the part of the story where most people get hung up, after all how much more salacious can you get than the Bible’s specific recount of Onan “spilling his seed on the ground”? But this is just prologue for the real story.

For the modern reader, this blunt portrayal of levirate marriage is in and of itself off putting. After all what modern woman can imagine being handed off to her dead husband’s brother or brothers? What we must keep in mind is that levirate marriage was not intended as a cruelty, in fact it was just the opposite. Remember, this is a society of nomads with no city wall for defense, no standing army, and no one other than family to call upon in times of need. Once a woman left her father’s house, he had no financial or societal obligation to care for her. She was at the mercy of her husband’s family, and by including her in the household of her husband’s brother her children retained the rights to all of the first husband’s property. Her new husband was expected to do all the upkeep and management of his dead brother’s belongings so that it could be passed down to the children he would bear in his dead brother’s name. This insured that women were not simply cast aside or forgotten and forced into seeking support through things like prostitution.

Before we dismiss this custom as crude or barbaric, we should also recognize that we celebrate the upholding of this tradition in two separate Biblical accounts. First, in the story of Ruth where Boaz becomes Ruth’s kinsman redeemer and saves her from life of destitution, and then again in our story when Christ becomes our kinsman redeemer so that we too might share in the inheritance as a child of God. For this is the proper term applied to the brother who offers up his sacrifice in the division of property to care for one who is not his own – the kinsman redeemer. When we wrap our minds around this fact, we begin to understand why Onan’s sin was so heinous and worthy of death. Not only did he fail to uphold his duty and obligation to this woman, he did so in a way that that was degrading, abusive, and preyed upon her body to satisfy his lust.

Tamar is promised Judah’s third son Shelah, but she is required to live as a widow in her father’s house until the boy comes of age. She is left in a state of limbo. For while she is living with her father, she is still under the authority of Judah. She is neither married nor unmarried at this point as she technically considered to be the betrothed of Shelah. We do not know how long she lived in this manner, but we are told in verse twelve that it was “a long time after” before she makes her move.

Recognizing that Judah is never going to fulfill his promise to give her Shelah as a husband Tamar decides the dissatisfaction of her undefined state outweighs her fear of possible death, and does something so bold that even I wonder if I had the guts to do what she did. Putting aside her widow’s garments, she dons a veil and places herself at the crossroads waiting for Judah to appear, and ironically, in this place known at as “Open eyes” Judah fails to recognize her. He propositions her, and she haggles with him for a price. Dear Lord, this woman was bold as brass.

He promises her a young goat from his flocks, but she insists he leave his staff, cord, and seal as a pledge of his intentions. Much has been written about the significance of Judah relinquishing these items to a woman he believes is a prostitute. The staff would have probably been covered with carvings that documented his family history and affirmed his position in the community. The cord would have alsoe been custom made to indicate his status. The seal was used to convey his authority and serve as indisputable evidence of identity. Tamar was a smart gal who knew exactly what she was asking for and the boldness of this request shows she was playing for keeps, as she had to be as her life was literally on the line. At this point of the story, I have to wonder if Jacob, the original schemer, would have been proudly amused by his granddaughter-in-law, and we are reminded of Esau who traded away his birthright for a bowl of soup just as Judah now traded away his to satisfy other appetites.

Tamar disappears, using Judah’s own command to fade out of sight in her father’s house, but soon the truth is discovered and whispers reach his ears. Tamar is pregnant and she is pregnant because she has played the harlot. (38: 24). You can almost hear the relief at being rid of her in Judah’s voice as he makes the command that will reveal more to us about who this woman is.

“Bring her out,” said Judah, “and let her be burned.” Genesis 38: 24

Wait, what? The punishment of sexual immorality is stoning, not burning. Why would he demand such a gruesome punishment? The answer is found in Leviticus 21:9

“When the daughter of a priest defiles herself through harlotry, it is her father who she defiles; she shall be put to the fire.”

Ah, how the plot thickens! Tamar is not just any woman, she is the daughter of a priest! And if tradition is correct, not just any priest, the daughter of Melchizedek! Now of all the figures in the Bible one of the most enigmatic is Melchizedek. Here is what we know of him: He visited with Abraham. He is the King of Salem (later to known as Jerusalem). He is a priest of God Most High. (Genesis 14). Christ is identified as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 7:17).  (This is where I stop myself from racing down a fascinating rabbit trail and get back to our regularly scheduled programming.) If this is true, then Tamar would have been a desirable bride for any family and connects the descendants of Judah to a royal birthright to the throne of Jerusalem that originates from the time of the Flood. (And offers an interesting parallel to the priestly ancestry of Jael.)

Returning to our text – this is where things start to get real interesting.

Tamar hears of her father-in-law’s decree, and she sends the seal and staff to him with the message:

“I am with child by the man to whom these belong.” And she added, “Please, identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”

If the words, “Please, identify” sound familiar they should. For they are the exact words with which Judah presented Joseph’s robe to his father. The blood of the kid offered up to cover his sin against his brother to appease his appetite for prestige, a kid offered to a whore to satisfy his sexual greed, a life he tried to destroy in Joseph, the lives of his sons taken from him, the deception he committed, and the deception he fell prey to – all running parallel to each other and crashing upon his heart until he declares:

“She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her my son Shelah,” Genesis 38:26

This is a turning point of history. Judah recognizes his wrong and he repents!

We read that and we think, “Sure he did, that is the proper response. You screw up, you repent, and you ask forgiveness. That’s how this thing works.” Let me reach through this screen and shake you while I scream – “NO! NO! NO! IT WASN’T! THIS IS SOMETHING RADICALLY BRAND NEW! NOWHERE IN THE PREVIOUS HISTORY OF SCRIPTURE TO THIS POINT HAS ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEEN SEEN!!!”

Others had accepted God’s love, acceptance, and provision. Others had been thankful and obedient. Others had called out to God for help, but no one else had had the guts to stand up and admit their guilt before God and the world.  Judah alone, out of all the patriarchs, feels sorrow for what he has done, and Judah alone demonstrates how that type of brokenness changes who we are. In Genesis 44, he will stand before the second highest man in Egypt, before the brother he betrayed, and he will offer up his own life for the life Benjamin. He will prove that he has laid aside self-interest and moves through this life with compassion and humility because he learned it at the hands of a woman.

Is it any wonder that Judah was deemed worthy to be the father of the tribe that would bring give birth to our Savior?

So how then shall we view Tamar? Were her actions blessed and divinely sanctioned? I doubt it. As much as I want her to be the shining heroine, she failed to act in faith and resorted to self-reliance in order to achieve justice on her behalf. And while God blessed her with twin boys who would be the pride of a nation, and her name would be praised among the women, she would return to that place of limbo the wife, but not quite wife, of Judah who would never be intimate with her again. (Genesis 38:26) We do not know how the story would have played out if she had made her appeal to God instead of scheming to manipulate circumstance, but the Bible was never big on telling us what should have happened and offers to us instead what did happen. In doing so, we are confronted with the God of redemption who does not erase our mistakes or even our willfulness, but folds them into the pages of history as a testament to his mercy and power to redeem all things.

I believe Tamar is remembered and celebrated for two reasons:

Her story is a cautionary tale for men, not to trifle with the lives of women or fear the consequences. From her life we learn the significance of the kinsman redeemer, and the gravity with which God views such a role. First demonstrated in the deadly consequences of Onan's abuse and negect under the guise of obedience, and then in the blessing of children as she took what was hers by law. For while I do not believe her actions were as God would have desired, he protected her first from Judah's recognition at the roadside and then from his wrath when she dared to expose his shame as Judah, also by right of law, could have commanded her death despite his involvement.

Tamar was the rock against which Judah was broken. She showed him what it was to be the recipient of the sins that he had committed against others. Through her he knew the grief of Jacob in losing his son, through her he knew what it was to be duped and played for a fool, and through he knew what it was to repay evil for evil, but above all he learned the power of repentance and honesty before the Lord and others. I believe that it is for this reason Tamar is remembered, not as example to be followed but rather as the means through which God softened the heart of jaded man. And this is why I call this story for men so that they might not repeat the sins of Judah against the women God has placed in your care.

Jael - Most Blessed of Women

There are just some stories in the Bible that I wish had been written by women. Men are good at giving us the facts, but let’s face it, if you want all the little juicy details, usually you need a woman to do the telling. The story of Jael, for instance, is one of those tales that would benefit from a few additional details. I mean, who was this woman who took down one of the most brutal generals in Israel’s history? What was she like? Where did she get the guts to do something so audacious and bold? I have read her story countless times, and each time I have been left wanting more.

I don’t think you have to be a Bible scholar to know that Jael seems to leap from the pages of history and demand that we acknowledge her as someone special. After all, how many women in the Bible do we see engaged in battle and subterfuge?  And then we have Jael, whose quick and decisive action is among one of the goriest and most celebrated scenes in the Bible.

We know that she was Kenite and married to Heber. They had separated from the rest of his tribe to settle near Kedesh which is close to Megiddo – if that name sounds familiar, it should as it is the same place identified as the Armageddon, a foreshadowing of the bloody future of this place, perhaps? The Kenites are an interesting people unto themselves, as they were the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law who was recognized as priest and one Moses’ trusted advisors. Some traditions trace their lineage to Cain, due to similarities in the two names Kenite and Cain (the connection is far more obvious in the Hebrew) and the belief that they were skilled metal workers, a trade also connected the children of Cain. (Genesis 4:17-22).

If Heber was a skilled metallurgist then that might explain why there was friendship between King Jabin (Sisera’s boss) and himself. (Judges 4:17). Jabin needed someone to make his weapons of war, and who better than a Kenite smith? And that friendship is probably why Sisera felt that Jael’s tents would be a safe place to hide. (Moral number one of this story, your friends’ wives are not required to like you so never assume they do.)

But this also adds an interesting twist to the story – Sisera was at the very least a social acquaintance with Jael’s husband, possibly the primary source of their income. Jael was familiar enough to walk out and greet him, call him by name, so there had been some previous contact between the two. In a society and culture where we picture women as completely subservient to their men, her actions become even more outrageous when we consider that little fact.

If we read only the Judges 4 account, the situation seems rather cut and dry. Sisera entered the tent, Jael covered him, he asked for water, she gave him milk, covered him again, he fell asleep, and she put a tent peg through his temple. However, some scholars to believe that Sisera not only imposed upon Jael for a place to hide, but that he also raped her.

The basis for this view are the multiple references to Jael covering Sisera in chapter four, a common Biblical metaphor sex as I covered in my post about Ruth, and the emphasis placed on violence in Deborah’s song, verses 26 and 27. Particular attention is paid to verse 27 and the repeated refrain:

“Between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still; between her feet he sank, he fell; there he where he sank he fell – dead.”

If you read my post on Ruth, you also know that the word feet is a euphemism for genitals, and it is believed by some that the first “between her feet he sank, he fell, he lay still” refers to the rape, and the second and third  time refers to Jael turning the table on this man who abused her. Penetration for penetration, if you will.

Adding to this argument is the fact that Deborah even mocks the lust of the Sisera and his men in verse 30a:

“Have they (Sisera and his men) not divided the spoil? – a womb or two for every man;”

“Womb” being the closest Hebrew word for vagina you will find and the word is placed in the mouth of Sisera’s mother as she waits for her conquering son to return from war.

Do I agree with this view? Let’s just say, I don’t dismiss it as a possibility. Sisera was a man of violence, he went to the tent of a women (why not Heber’s tent?), and raping women was considered part and parcel with warfare. We have every reason to believe that he was capable and willing to commit such a heinous act. What I do not like about this view is the fact that it has been used to discount Jael’s bravery and justify her violence, and therefore denying her example as bold woman to anyone who does not have this strong provocation. However, the truth is we will probably never know exactly what happened in that tent and in the end we are left with nothing but speculation to flesh out the bare skeleton of what was recorded in Scripture.

What we should not lose sight of is what do know with certainty. Jael showed courage and strength. She did not let societal constraints or even her husband’s friendship with Jaben to stop her from putting an end to the enemy of God’s people. She risked her life when she opened her tent and allowed him to enter, a risk posed first by Sisera himself and then by her husband who could denounce her for adultery as she had welcomed another man into her private quarters. She did not shy away from the gore of the task, and she did not do it in half measures.

This earned her an extraordinary honor that was reserved for only one other woman in history. Look at verse 24:

“Most blessed of women be Jael.”

There is only one other place in the Bible where this blessing is given, Luke 1:42, when Elizabeth greets the pregnant Mary. I think there is a reason why God chose to link these two women this way. Each of them accepted a role in history that required great courage and posed significant danger to their lives and reputations. Both delivered a death blow to the enemy of God’s people, and I don’t think he wanted us to forget the sheer grit that honoring him would require of them. I don’t think he wanted us to believe that good women are weak women or even proper women. I think he wanted us to know that our service to him would cost us, place us in positions of danger, and cause us to be the subject of scandal of gossip.

I think he wanted us to know and remember the truth. We are daughters of the High Priest. We are have been chosen because he knew we could handle the gore and violence of this life, and we strong enough handle the rumors about what we may have done or what may have been done to us. He expects to eradicate evil when it enters home, even in the guise of friendship and to not be intimidated when the men of this world have formed evil alliances. He promises to redeem our reputations and honor us for being faithful the call he placed on our lives. He sees who we really are and in knowing that we find the strength to deal the death blows to the enemies who threaten his children, and these are the truths, my sisters, which we should cling to as women of God.

Asking My Opinion Rarely Leads To Happiness

Ok, so this isn’t so much a direct question as I was asked to weigh in on this article, 12 Reasons Homosexual Marriage Will Wreck The Nation, by a friend who said,

“Verbiage such as this makes Christians look like a bunch of ignorant paranoid hicks. It also puts people off of God, faith, and the church. There are LGBT couples who are more stable and healthy than most straight WASPS. 

However, I did forward the article to Emily Dixon. Emily is a Christian educator at the collegiate level. Additionally, she is a published author and speaker on Christian Sexuality. I can't wait to see what her take on this is.”

Well, you know the old saying, “Don’t ask for my opinion if you really don’t want it”? I think this is going to be a great example of why we would need such a warning. 

First off, the article is well footnoted with links to supporting articles and historic examples. Kudos to Dr. McDurmon for doing the dirty work that so many of us like to eschew in favor simply spouting our opinions – something of which I am guilty. 

Secondly, I am not in full agreement with each conclusion or, more appropriately, share the same concern if this happens to be the outcome. However, my variance is slight.  

1. Wholesale Revision of Every State’s Family Law, and Related Matters.

This is an unavoidable and logical conclusion to the legal acceptance of Homosexual marriage. When we change what the legal definition of what something is then the laws must be brought into agreement with the new definition. Some laws will only be altered slightly, however, other laws will be radically changed. As I do not have a law degree, I will leave speculation for those better qualified.

2. Closure of Christian and Other Religious Adoption Agencies.

This is happening and the author shares two articles documenting it in Chicago and Boston. Nothing to argue here. 

3. Preaching Against Homosexuality and Counseling of Homosexuals Likely Would Be Prohibited.

Again, already in the works as anything – even the quotation of a Scripture verse is being called hate speech in public circles. Don’t believe me, check out my Facebook page. Sweden and Canada have already declared that the Biblical teaching against homosexuality is hate speech and worthy of jail time. So as Dr. McDumon included the qualifier “likely”, I do not see what there is to argue with.

4. Churches and Others Would Lose Exemption from Federal Income Tax.

Yeah, this is pretty much an unavoidable fact on our horizon. I think it is time we pretty much accept it as a forgone conclusion and prepare our church budgets to take the hit. On the upside, no one will be able to gripe about the church getting special treatment any more. I don’t think this is a bad thing if we are wise about it. Unfortunately, most churches won’t be and a lot of them will be closing their doors. 

5. Legalization of Multiple-Partner and Incestuous Marriages.

People’s objection against this one always amuses me – it’s like there is this line in the sand for even most of the LGBT community where they can point and say, “Oh, I will violate these Biblical statutes, but not those.” Why? I mean, if you are going to start moving the line why stop there? 

Honestly, the only real argument for homosexuality is “this makes me feel happy/fulfilled/and affirmed as a person.” (Why one would feel this way is irrelevant since the Bible is pretty big on denying one’s self. I feel fulfilled after eating an entire chocolate cake, still doesn’t make gluttony all right or less sinful.) If you can justify casting aside on boundary revealed in the Bible, then the next step is to cast off any of the rest that get in the way of personal fulfillment and affirmation. 

And we cannot say that there are not people who believe that happiness is found in relationships that include multiple partners and there are various articles that affirm the right of any adult to have any sexual relationship they desire, including incestuous ones. To deny this is to lack the faculties to read or properly utilize Google.   

6. People of Biblical Faith Would be Driven from Public Office.

Okay, this is going to happen. I don’t think it is the right response to the situation and I think that a lot of Christians are going to be playing the role of martyr by claiming to be driven out of public office. We still have to be in the world, and we have to function within the world. Simply doing ones job such filing paperwork on a marriage license is not the same as offering approval of the marriage. 

7. A Coarsening of Civil Society.

Yes. However, it is the job of parents to help create a tender and responsive heart in their children while also teaching them to deal with issues of society without fear or flinching. The coarsening of civil society does not mandate that we lose all influence in our homes or community. It simply means that we must actively deal with issues we have been content to ignore as “they don’t affect me” has been our excuse to remain ignorant. 

8. Mandates on Businesses to Cater to Homosexual Couples.

Again, already documented as happening. I am divided on this issue as I personally think privately owned business should be able to turn away business that they feel does not reflect their values. It has been going on for a long time, whether it be restaurants with dress codes or flea markets that ask the Jehovah Witnesses to leave. The only difference is this has been touted as a civil rights issue for the LGBT community instead of private ownership and freedom of religion and speech issue. It’s all about the slant.

However, if I had bakery, I would have baked the cake with a smile and taken their money. Because I believe excellent workmanship and customer service is a witness to the community. 

9. Professional Licensing Requirements to Serve Homosexual Couples.

And once again, already documented as happening. Now here is my question, if a lawyer can refuse to defend a murderer they know is guilty as it is a violation of their ethics or conscience, why would not the same rule apply here? And why would you want someone who disagreed with your lifestyle to defend you in court when they could easily throw you under the bus? The same for medical services, really, it does not make sense, unless your intent is to be provoking. 

10. Undermining the Created Male-Female Order.

Yes. However, Christians should bear in mind that this order only applies to those of us who claim to live our lives under the authority of Scripture. We have no right to chastise or correct anyone who does not claim to share our faith. When we try to impose our rules on those who do not respect the source of those rules, we wind up with deservedly bad press.  

11. Loss of Liberty.

I get where he is going, but to build the case with finality would be cumbersome task. It is enough to look at the examples furnished by Dr. McDurmon and note that every society who has embraced homosexuality did indeed abandon any ideas of equality or social justice. A fact that should not surprise anyone since homosexuality is ultimately about satisfying a selfish desire. 

12. God’s Judgment on the Nation.

Yeah, God isn’t big on being disrespected and there will be a price. However, I think the penalty will be far more severe because we have had the audacity to claim that we are a Christian nation while engaging in things that are not very Christian. Please note, I am not saying that this is all going to happen because some people happened to be gay. I am saying it will happen because we all screwed up whether it was in our greed and gluttony, the backbiting and slanderous gossip we all love, or the lazy entitlement attitude that cultivate to an art form. Oh, no, we cannot pin this on anyone group of people when we all shared in the demise of our country. 

We have all created an image of God in our minds that allows to condemn one party while excusing our pet sins. We have said God hates homosexuality and then cheated on our taxes because "God understands." Uhm, no, he doesn't and he's not happy about it. Maybe if all of us who claimed to be Christians started doing what we told instead of what was easier or felt good, the rest of the world might get to see how amazing our God is. Until then, put down your stones. 

Finally, allow me to add this. 

When we speak of marriage we need to start delineating between two separate and distinct entities. One is a government sponsored contract between two individuals. The other is religious sacrament and a God sanctioned covenant between a man and a woman. We should consider very carefully if we want to blur that line between church and state. For if the church can dictate to the state what marriage is, what prevents the tide from turning and allowing the state to dictate to the church the definition of this union? 

I personally believe we should guard that dividing wall between the church and state. It is my belief that recognition of state document of marriage should not be regarded as a sacrament, nor should the sacrament be devalued to the point of a contractual obligation. I recognize that this takes a far greater faith in God, to believe that his will can and will be done without the aid of the government mandates. I also recognize that for many this is leap of faith that is far too great as their faith has been sponsored by God but placed in legislation. 

Ever wonder if that is why he allowed this shake up? I have. 

Please recognize this post has been a response to a question and does not fully reflect my views on these issues. To learn more, check out this link.When Our Faith Offends

A Second Hand Question - Natural Revelation and Multiple Religions

“I believe in God but how come there are so many different religions to believe in? Like how could anyone really be living for the wrong god if they grew up believing in something else, and they have no clue about anything else. Like atheist, and stuff..just because you hear about another religion and people saying it the way to live doesn’t mean they’re going to live that way.”

A friend of mine tagged me in response to this Facebook status, and due to the original author’s privacy settings I was unable to respond directly. So I guess this is a secondhand reader question. I decided to answer in this way so that our mutual friend can share my response with the writer, and I know that this is a common question among believers and non-believers alike.

First, there are several questions being presented here, so let’s divide them up for easier handling. I am also going to arrange them in order of what I consider to be importance.

Q.) “Like how could anyone really be living for the wrong god if they grew up believing in something else, and they have no about anything else(?)”

A.) This was a question that has bothered me since I was old enough to know that people might not hear the message of the Jesus, and I wrestled with it for a long time. It did not seem fair to me that God would punish someone for something they were never taught or saw in their culture.
The problem with this view is that we are limiting God’s power to speak to whomever he wishes however he wishes. We are saying that God can only reveal himself if men and women speak on his behalf, but there are so many accounts that show that God will make himself known to those who really desire to know him.

One famous example is Helen Keller who was blind and deaf from the age of two. After she learned to communicate she was introduced to Phillips Brooks who wrote about their conversation. Keller told him that she always knew who God was and that he was there with her in the silence and darkness. She did not have a name or the proper *Christian* words to use for her experience, but when she was told about Jesus she knew that he was the one who had been with her at this time.

There is another story of the Druids in Ireland who upon hearing the message of the first Christian missionaries declared that they could now end their search for the name of the God they had been seeking. The Romans built an idol to an unknown God as they knew there was a God greater than any they served, and they desired to honor him even if they could not identify him.

Paul address this in his letter to the Romans:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness suppresses truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” 1:16-20

Now I know that is a big chunk of dense Scripture, so let me break it down a little. To me it means that if any of us stopped and really looked at this amazing world that we live in, we would see the evidence of our Creator. And we would not only see that he created a home for us, but he cared about us enough to make it home of beauty and to contain things simply for our pleasure and delight. (Can you say “chocolate”? Beautiful sunsets? The cool breeze on a hot day? The list of the good things he has given us can go on and on.) We might not know his name, but we would know something of his heart for us. We could see it and love him even without being told his story. And as our hearts opened in faith to seek him, we would be come to know him more fully despite the fact that no one told us who he is.

I think this is what happened with Helen Keller – she discerned his presence and she trusted him in the darkness. I think in doing so she learned to recognize him so completely that when Phillips Brooks described Jesus to her she knew he could be describing no one else than the God who had been with her all this time. I think God honored her desire to know him even before she knew his name, and I think God would honor that in anyone who had never been told of his story. Which leads us to the next question.

Q.) “Just because you hear about another religion and people saying it the way to live doesn’t mean they’re going to live that way.”

A.) You are absolutely right. I have studied so many religions trying to understand this world, and I have yet to hear of a new one that even begins to draw me away from the faith I grew up with.

So what would cause someone to change their faith just by hearing about a new religion such as Christianity?

I believe it happens when the people have had a faith in the God their hearts knew to be the real God and we make the introduction. Just like Helen Keller, we share the story of Jesus and they recognize that this is the God they truly want to serve in their hearts. The understand the limitations and shortcoming of the faith they had known before and recognize Christianity as the complete answer to their questions and desire to know God more fully.

Q.) I believe in God but how come there are so many different religions to believe in?

To answer this question completely would require that I write a book or ten. The answer is found in history and cultures that were isolated from the message of Christianity, and in the fact that some people will never accept the truth of the Bible. Some people want to think they can exist without God, that science and reason can answer all the questions of their hearts and close off their hearts to him. Some have intentionally created new religions in order to have a god that will allow them to serve themselves and justify their evil intents. Some people have deliberately deceived others saying that God has spoken to them and used this as a way to get power and prestige.

It is popular today to say that all religions are the same and all religions really serve God. Many people believe that it does not matter which religion you claim as long as you believe in a higher power, but the Bible rejects that claim – as do all other religions, because all religions claim that they are the one true religion and deny the rewards of their faith to anyone who does not follow them.
Once we have been told of the Jesus and his sacrifice for us, we have a choice – to believe and accept Him as the Truth or to reject Him as a lie. There is no in between.

I truly hope this answers your questions or, at least, gives you a starting point to begin seeking out more better and fuller answers to your questions. I confess there are many who could answer this far more eloquently and plainly than I.