The Wal-Mart Bible Letter (Part Four)
In this final installment of my response to the "Wal-Mart Bible Letter," I address the final two charges the letter makes against the Holy Bible.
Homosexuality
Citing Leviticus 20:13, which demands the death penalty for a person who is caught in the act of homosexuality, the following accusation is made.
The Holy Bible demands that readers murder homosexual men. The Holy Bible incites readers to commit hate crimes against innocent citizens.
It is hard to know where to start.
First of all, what is a "hate crime?" And where did the authors get such an idea, if it wasn't from an objective standard written by God? Without God, there is really no such thing as a "hate crime."
Next, to claim that the Bible calls on us to "murder" homosexuals is an example of clear fabrication. In the response to the first charge, I showed that there is a difference between murder and capital punishment. When God called on the Israelites to put to death individuals guilty of homoerotic behavior, He was speaking of government action on behalf of social welfare, not murder. There is a difference.
Another thing that I have already addressed is the relevancy of Old Testament laws to our present circumstances. Since His kingdom is spiritual in nature (Jn. 18:36), God no longer asks governments to practice capital punishment with regard to homosexual offenders. However, those involved in this sin will be punished if they do not repent (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-11).
A distinction should be made between sexual orientation and homosexual behavior. The accusation we are addressing makes it appear that God punishes people for struggling with temptation. But temptation is not a sin. In fact, our Lord was tempted, yet He did not sin (Heb. 4:15). The language of the Bible condemns homoerotic behavior (Gen. 19; Lev. 18:22; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Tim. 1:10). It does not condemn a person tempted towards members of his own sex any more than it condemns a person tempted towards premarital sex, alcohol abuse, gambling, pornography or theft. The sin is in the doing of a thing.
Infidels
One final accusation tries to place the Bible on par with jihadists:
The Holy Bible demands that readers murder those who do not believe in the "god" of the Bible.
Leviticus 24:16, 2 Chronicles 15:12-13 and Deuteronomy 13:12-16 are referenced. Again, the conclusions drawn by this letter do not match the evidence. All one has to do to answer this objection is point out two truths that have already been established with regard to an earlier charge:
- These commandments were a part of a "covenant" agreed upon by God and the Israelites. Only those who broke the covenant they deliberately agreed to were to be put to death.
- The covenant in question was taken out of the way because man was unable to live up to its demands (Rom. 7:6).
This letter argues that the Old Testament legislation is "depraved, abominable, disgusting and repulsive." To the contrary, the examples it gives should instill emotions from the other extreme: joy, gratitude and hope. Those elements of the Law of Moses that seem distasteful to us are what we would be bound to if it were not for Christ. Because Jesus died for our sins, we do not have to live under these harsh demands.
Because the accusations of the "Wal-Mart Bible Letter" are clearly the result of twisting the Scriptures, the spin in Blogdom is that the letter is satire or a joke. But make no mistake, the signatories of this petition, whose numbers now exceed 3,000, are serious. Concerned Christians must learn to defend their faith against these claims and others if they expect to convince a world of sinners of the saving power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
