Kristen Gyles | The law that was ‘nailed to the Cross’

“He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.”

A few years ago, in response to an article I wrote expressing discomfort with the concept of capital punishment, someone quoted this verse to me as support for his view that it was perfectly fine for the state to kill people who commit murder. This was one of the judgments that God told Moses to set before the ancient nation of Israel. It is found in Exodus 21 verse 12.

Obviously, the person was a Christian and believes in the Bible enough to quote it, although, I will probably never know if he believes in the whole Bible or just that one verse. If he believes that men who kill other men must be put to death, he should also believe that a man who smites his father or mother should be put to death, because that is exactly what is stated three verses down. He should also believe that the ‘ten commandments’ listed just before, in the previous chapter, should be kept.

This is the precise thought process that goes through my head every time someone turns to the book of Exodus or Leviticus to quote verses that outlaw homosexual activity, adultery or any other commonly held ‘sin’. It is sheer hypocrisy.

Quoting the books of Exodus, Leviticus or Deuteronomy as evidence that adultery is wrong, that getting a tattoo is wrong, that cross dressing is wrong or that eating unclean meats is wrong, may possibly itself be… wrong, for the very reason that doing so is inconsistent, if one does not generally adhere to the principles outlined in these books.

SEVERAL CLASSES

First, it is clear that several classes of laws were given by God to this ancient nation of people the Bible calls Israelites. Some of these laws are called statutes, some are called commandments, some are called judgments, etc. It is my view that these are not just useless or nominal descriptors but that they are different and mean different things. Regardless, these laws were given to Moses specifically to govern the nation of Israel. So, if you are not a citizen of the ancient nation of Israel, it would appear that these laws were not intended for you.

Almost every church agrees with me on this – except when it becomes convenient not to. Many churches say we do not need to keep any of these laws. Others say there are some we should keep and others we don’t need to keep. If the latter is your position, there has to be a reason for keeping some and not others – and the reason can’t be your own convenience.

Yet, many churches do this type of cherry picking. Some promote the keeping of the ten commandments or ‘moral law’ specifically because they were written with God’s finger and placed in the ark of the covenant. This would make them ‘special’. That position can be debated but is not, in itself, inconsistent. The inconsistency is in tacking on to the ten, another seven, eight or nine based on convenience.

For example, almost all Sabbath-keeping churches, which obviously believe that the ten commandments should be kept, also agree that bestiality is wrong. Many also insist that Christians today should tithe, and some will even say it is sinful to eat unclean meats. Others observe feasts or festivals, such as the feast of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. None of these laws are contained in the 10 commandments, so what is the basis for them?

Even more confusing are the churches that say the entire law is “done away with” and was nailed to the cross, but threaten to publish a list of the names of members who have not been paying their tithes. Their members are not simply encouraged to give liberally to support the work of their church, but are told that they commit a sin if they do not pay over a tenth of their increase to God. Somehow, the payment of the tenth into the church’s coffers is considered synonymous with giving the money to God, but that’s another story.

CONCEPT OF THE TITHE

It suffices to say that the concept of the tithe can be applied by anyone anywhere, but if the tithe is not being given either to a Levite or to the poor, fatherless or widowed (Numbers 18:20-28, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, 26:12) it is not the biblical tithing laws that are being obeyed.

Now, one could say that the basis of the Christian lifestyle is not the suite of (expired) laws stated in the Old Testament, but is instead the principles outlined in the New Testament. That is a thought. But that thought largely collapses when one considers that Jesus’ teachings (and many New Testament principles) were given… before Jesus’s death… which means they cannot rightly be attributed to the ‘new covenant’.

Jesus is quoted as saying that He did not come to destroy the law, or the prophets, but to fulfil them and further, that anyone who “breaks one of these least commandments, and shall teach men to do so” will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. Was this applicable only until his death? I doubt it, because long after Jesus had died and been resurrected, Paul also referred to these ‘commandments’. He says, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God” (1 Corinthians 7:19).

What are these ‘commandments’, if not the ten? And why do churches insist on enforcing adherence to all sorts of other laws? What really is the basis for the Christian lifestyle, whatever that looks like to you? Responses which are both respectful and sensible are welcomed.

Kristen Gyles is a free-thinking public affairs opinionator. Send feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com