Slavery, Shellfish, and Stoning

A Christian politician (is that an oxymoron?) was asked about his view on whether the Christian principles from the Bible should guide legislation. Here was his answer: "Which passages of scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests that slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is an abomination? Or should we go with Deuteronomy which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith?" This has become a mantra for atheists and is all over youtube and on the web. But does the Bible really promote these things? No-and here is evidence to back that up.

The Bible is a book about redemption. It's purpose is not to speak out against every moral and social evil in the world. The Bible simply recognizes the reality of slavery. Slavery flourished in the ancient world but it had nothing to do with racism. It was mainly an economic issue. You could not file for bankruptcy and so many people allowed themselves to be slaves or bond servants to pay off a debt. In fact, thieves could even pay of their debt in this way and make restitution. That part of the practice still exists today and we call it "community service".
Some slavery was also tied into political arenas. When a invading country overtook another country they would often either exile or enslave the conquered regardless of race or gender. Furthermore, the Bible explicitly condemns the practice of slave-trading in 1 Timothy 1:8-10. It is listed in a group of evil practices alongside those who kill their parents, adulterers, liars, and perverts. In fact, the application of Christian principles have been the catalyst for emancipation of slaves throughout history. The Bible also clearly teaches equality when in Galatians 3:28 it says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ."

So what about shellfish? The Old Testament laws were instituted to keep the Hebrew race pure and separate. God was illustrating his purity by the laws of clean and unclean. When Jesus came he fulfilled those intentions-revealing God in the flesh. Numerous places in the New Testament instruct us that we are no longer living under the Mosaic Law. One example is Galatians 3:28-29 which reads, "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Context is key when interpreting the Bible. We should also note that many of the cleanliness laws were more necessary in the past because of sanitation and hygiene issues. As for shellfish, to their chagrin, Christians can eat them without remorse or going against the scriptures. In the NT God declares that all foods are clean and acceptable to be eaten. (Acts 10:10-15)

The assertion that the Bible teaches us to stone our child when they stray from the faith is ridiculous. The son in question is not a child but rather a person able to perform extremely wicked behavior-the kind that threatens the health and well being of the entire community. The parents desire for the son shows the built in provision for unjust judgement to be enacted on anyone. The elders were conferred with and the conclusion was made that the son was a threat to their community and spiritual well being. Just because in our country inmates spend dozens of years on death row does not mean that the guilty should not be punished. The law of the land must be upheld-even if the guilty is a friend, a brother, or even a son.

This just goes to show us the need for understanding the Bible in it's context. Far too often snippets are taken and twisted to make it say things that in does not say. To hear how all this got started click here: http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=rIrrGqckSQg&feature=related
Warning: you may not want to know