The Human Condition: it's our world

I stumbled upon this page a couple of days back. It's essentially a letter about how the bible isn't exactly eternally accurate, and that sometimes we have to interpret it according to the state of our current society.

Here's a reproduction of the letter for people too lazy to click on the link(like shalene):

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

The argument now is that homosexuality should not be a sin, just like how several acts were sins in the past but not now; not under the new covenant, not under ... well, how contemporary society perceives them. I'm not going to argue about homosexuality and the bible - did a quick search of google and came across a truckload of crap, so google too if you're interested - except that God created Eve to be with Adam, not some guy. Nor did he create Eve and Evan and tell Adam to choose. And I don't believe people are born with natural inclinations towards homosexuality. That's my personal opinion though.

It's true though, how we choose certain passages of the bible to emphasize and then conveniently ignore others, writing them off as archaic and obsolete. For example, women were supposed to keep silent in church according to Paul in Corinthians, but now we have women pastors and leaders who are actually pretty good. When a man sins consistently in church we're supposed to kick his ass out of church and not have anything to do with him. I don't see it happening anywhere. I'm sure there are more examples but it's late and I'm lazy.

Let's talk about fornication =) or more commonly, voluntary sex before marriage. It's wrong, and God says not to do it. For the sake of argument let's say that it is because they did not have condoms or other forms of contraceptives back then and the risk of unwanted pregnancies and the risk of contracting STDs were too high to ignore. Now we have condoms, and according to a website:

The proper and consistent use of latex condoms when engaging in sexual intercourse--vaginal, anal, or oral--can greatly reduce a person's risk of acquiring or transmitting STDs, including HIV infection. In fact, recent studies provide compelling evidence that latex condoms are highly effective in protecting against HIV infection when used properly for every act of intercourse.

Our society is getting increasingly liberal about fornication; it's not about abstaining, it's about safe sex.

Anyway, enough of that.

-

I went for a stuttering support group. These are people who've been through therapy and who are supposed to be equipped with skills and techniques that will guarantee them 100% fluency albeit at the expense of some naturalness.

Incidentally, I've just completed the course as well; 3 days of intensive with 6 weekly 2 hour sessions. I'm fluent when I use the technique, but as I mentioned, naturalness has to be compromised. I'm not comfortable with that, so well, I still stutter. Heh.

Anyway, some observations. First, they're all males. Research has shown that most stutterers are men. And, more interestingly, 6 out of 8 of the group members are in IT. That includes me. Stutterers like IT. Haha.

They seemed a little defensive, and they didn't look like they had a great deal of self confidence. I guess stuttering does that to you. It's hard to feel good about yourself when you can't even accomplish one of the most fundamental tasks of a civilized person.

It's ironic really. The more confidence you have, the less likely you are to stutter, and the more you stutter, the less confidence you have. They sound quite natural to me though; I couldn't tell they were using the technique. Perhaps I should try using the technique when I meet new folks.

Ah well. Time for bed. This is a damn wordy post so here are some pics: