The Bible and
Morality: Some Interesting Passages
1. Long hair: “Does
not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to
him.” 1 Cor
2. Slavery: “Slaves, obey your earthly
masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but
wholeheartedly, fearing
the Lord. Whatever
your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your
masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you
serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer
will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your
slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”
“As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves. You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness.” Lev 25.44-46
“When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so
hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If,
however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since
the slave is his own property.” Exod 21:20-21
3. Divorce:
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him
give her a
certificate of divorce.’ But I say to
you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity,
causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Matt 5.31-32
4. Swearing Oaths: “Again, you have heard that it was
said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear
falsely, but carry out the vows you have
made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne
of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by
5. You Fool!: “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.” Matt 5.21-22
(Note that in Matt 23.17 Jesus calls the Pharisees “blind
fools!”)
6. Veiling: “Any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head disgraces his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled disgraces her head--it is one and the same thing as having her head shaved. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, she should wear a veil. For a man ought not to have his head veiled, since he is the image and reflection of God; but woman is the reflection of man.” 1 Cor 11.4-7
7. Christians in Court: “When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels--to say nothing of ordinary matters? If you have ordinary cases, then, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to decide between one believer and another, but a believer goes to court against a believer--and before unbelievers at that? In fact, to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud--and believers at that.” 1 Cor 6.1-8
8. Marrying Foreigners: “In those
days also I saw Jews who had married women of
9. Women
saved through childbearing: “Yet she will be saved
through childbearing, provided they continue
in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.” 1 Tim 2.15
10. Call no man father:
“And call no
one your father on earth, for you have one Father--the one in heaven.” Matt 23.9
11. Call
no man “Baldy”: “He [Elijah]
went up from there to
12. Marriage
and Celibacy: “So then, he
who marries his fiancee does well; and he who refrains from
marriage will do better.” 1 Cor 7.38
13. Premarital
Sex: “If, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman's virginity was
not found, then they shall bring the young woman out
to the entrance of
her father's house and the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a
disgraceful act in
13. Dealing with Rape: “If there is a young woman, a virgin already engaged to be married, and a man meets her in the town and lies with her, you shall bring both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help in the town and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. But if the man meets the engaged woman in the open country, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. You shall do nothing to the young woman; the young woman has not committed an offense punishable by death, because this case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor. Since he found her in the open country, the engaged woman may have cried for help, but there was no one to rescue her. If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are caught in the act, the man who lay with her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the young woman's father, and she shall become his wife. Because he violated her he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives.” Deut. 22.23-29
14. Don’t Drop the
15. Baptism for the Dead: “Otherwise,
what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people
baptized on their behalf ?” 1 Cor 15.29
16. Turn the Other Cheek: “You have
heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the
other also
and if anyone wants to sue you and take
your coat, give your
cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do
not refuse anyone who
wants to borrow from you.” Matt 5.38-42
17. Homosexuality & the
Leviticus Holiness Code:
When someone tries to defend the
homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22
clearly states it to be an abomination... End of
debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements
of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I
may 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?
2. 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? (I'm pretty sure she's a virgin).
3. 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?
4. 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, or should I ask the police to
do it? How can I help you here?
5. 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? Aren't there
'degrees' of abomination?
6. 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?
7. 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?
8. 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?
9. 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 and thus enjoy
considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank
you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.