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FORTY LASHES FOR WEARING PANTS

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SHOULD WOMEN BE PUNISHED FOR WEARING PANTS?

clip_image001By Ken Blue

“Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.” Leviticus 19:19.

“Sudanese journalist facing 40 lashes for wearing “indecent” trousers…” Breitbart.com.

I am dumbfounded at the ignorance or dishonesty of pastors within the “Fundamentalist camp” who build a doctrine from the Old Testament and impose it on the church today.

I understand individual churches having policies and procedures for ministries. But, to conger up novel doctrines and then search from Genesis to Revelation to prop them up is downright dishonest.

One example is in the “so called dress standard” for all women. The favorite scripture for this bogus doctrine is “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man…: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God”. Deuteronomy 22:5.

The next order of business is to teach that any garment with legs, pertains to a man, and any garment without legs pertains to women. Notice how the other verses within the passage are conveniently ignored by the brethren. Ask yourself, why?

The first reference to this subject is in Leviticus 19:19, but it too is ignored. The text says, “Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.” Leviticus 19:19.

The honest reader can see that the nation of Israel is being addressed. Also, the pastor who applies these to the woman must also preach against farmers crossbreeding cattle, and anyone wearing material mixed with linen and wool.

Will the preacher preach on these? He will not. Until the preacher or teacher discovers how to rightly divide the Word of God, and be honest in its application, he should cease using it in order to put a yoke on the necks of God’s people. Do these brethren agree with Islam that the women in their church who wear pants should be punished with 40 lashes?

POWER POINT AND FUZZ-BUSTERS

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POWER POINT CONTROL FREAKS

Power pointBy KenBlue

An old friend commented, “The devil knows nothing of balance, he would have you either a dead Episcopalian or a snake handling Pentecostal.” We see this extreme knee-jerk reaction by those who criticize the use of modern media in church.

There are some who condemn all multimedia in a worship services. This is done while they speed down the interstate at 70 miles per hour; armed with their Fuzz Buster; talking on their cell phone and charging their laptop so they can hook up at the next internet café.

These control freaks want you to travel by horse and buggy while they fly first-class. They would have you believe that all modern media is worldly and must not be used in church. Yet, they are unrestricted in their personal use of those items. Now, which is more questionable, the use of Power Point in your church service or your breaking of the law and the Fuzz-Buster on your dashboard?

HIGH JUMPING AND STRAIGHT WALKING

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ENCOURAGEMENT FOR STRAIGHT WALKING

Straight road
By Ken Blue

Dr. Paul Vanaman was my professor and a dear friend. He spoke at our church on many occasions in the early days of my ministry. I will never forget a statement he made in one of those sermons. He said, “I don’t care how high you jump, what concerns me is how straight you walk when you come down.”

Some of the brethren, I fear, have confused the two. They think high jumping is the same as straight walking. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have seen many who can run, jump, and yell but they don’t tithe when they come down.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We’ve seen you jump; now let’s see your walk.[/perfectpullquote]

I love excitement in church. Very little plagues Christianity more than a dead, dull, dry service. We are not against jumping high, but we are opposed to that Christianity that fails to walk straight when the dust settles and the shouting is over.

When you come down, do you gossip? Do you attend church regularly? Do you tithe and support missions? Do you read your Bible and serve in your local church? Do you love all the brethren? Are you harboring bitterness and resentment? We’ve seen you jump; now let’s see your walk.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT/ BIBLICAL OR BIAS

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CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE BIBLE

Firing SquadBy Ken Blue
In the Old Testament the following crimes deserved the death penalty:

  1. Murder (Gen 9:6, Ex 21:12, Numb 35:16-21).
  2. Abuse of father or mother (Ex 21:15).
  3. Speaking a curse over parents (Ex 21:17).
  4. Blasphemy against God (Lev 24:14-16, 23).
  5. Breaking the Sabbath (Ex 31:14, Numb 15:32-36).
  6. Practicing magic (Ex 22:18).
  7. Fortune telling and practicing sorcery (Lev 20:27).
  8. Religious people who mislead others to fall away (Deut 13:1-5, 18:20).
  9. Adultery and fornication (Lev 20:10-12, Deut 22:22).
  10. If a woman has intercourse before marriage (Deut 22:20-21).
  11. If two people have intercourse when one of them is engaged. (Deut 22:23-24).
  12. The daughter of a priest practicing prostitution (Lev 21:9).
  13. Rape of someone who is engaged (Deut 22:25).
  14. Having intercourse with animals (Ex 22:19).
  15. Worshipping idols (Ex 22:20, Lev 20:1-5, Deut 17:2-7).
  16. Incest (Lev 20:11-12, 14, 19-21).
  17. Homosexuality (Lev 20:13).
  18. Kidnapping (Ex 21:16).
  19. To bear false testimony at a trial (Deut 19:16, 19).
  20. Contempt of court (Deut 17:8-13).

Execution could be stoning, burning, using a sword, spear or arrow (Lev 20:27, 21:9, Ex 19:13, 32:27, Num 25:7-8).

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”red” class=”” size=””]…is your opinion about the death penalty biblical or biased?[/perfectpullquote]

I, for one, believe in the death penalty for premeditated murder. It was practiced before the giving of the Law to Moses, under the Law and by the gentile nations during most of the dispensations. Its primary purpose was to show the value God places on human life. Without laws, no society can exist.

However, the question is, when you and I go through the above list, how do we justify selecting some and ignoring others? Has society set the standards for your thinking? Has your church influenced your selection or did you just pull them out of a hat? Would you approve of your son or daughter being executed for contempt of court or for cursing you? If your daughter had premarital sex, would you condemn her to death? I don’t think you would. In fact, if all the above were practiced today; you probably would not be reading this article and I would not be writing it. You know what I mean!

These were the laws for the nation of Israel. Certainly there should be and must be a penalty for all crimes, and God has left it up to other governments to establish what will be considered capital crimes. You must accept that conclusion, set your own standards, or incorporate all the Old Testament laws for capital crimes. So, is your opinion about the death penalty biblical or biased?