Thou Shall!
Well, since I was on the bible this morning I decided to continue onward in my Old Testament journey.
I have been greatly induced in this by a fabulous ongoing article in Slate called “Blogging The Bible”. Check it out if you dare…………
Back to Leviticus – in chapter 19 – there lies a most beautiful and quite unique set of instructions that get lost in all the doom and gloom of the old stuff.
We forget how unique and genuinely amazing these people were in the world in which they lived.
Here are the instructions that the Lord gives to his people:
“You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the Lord am your God.”
“You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.
(editorial comment here – when we speak of taking the Lord’s name in vain, it is not the commonly thought “goddamnit” that is what is spoken of here and in the ten commandments – it is the act of swearing an oath using God as your second that is the sin – sorry to all you Southern Baptists out there)
“You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning”.
“You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”
“You shall not render an unfair decision; do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kinsman fairly. Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the Lord.”
“You shall not hate your kinfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord.”
“You SHALL observe My laws.”
So there you have it. Thousands of years ago – a model of how to be nice in a world that is not so nice. This is what sets people of this tradition apart from all others. This is why the Islamic Radicals and the Christian Fundamentalists and Rush Limbaugh will never ever get “it”.
We are to love and respect each other without trying to take advantage of our fellow man.
As I listen to the shit that goes on in Congress, I am reminded that our founding fathers would be sorely pissed if they could see us today in our pork barrel nation where the plight of the citizens is somehow marginalized into a “theory”.
So I am going to climb down from my soap box now and just remind you, again, of the words of St. John and St. Paul – “All you need is Love”.
Peace.
I have been greatly induced in this by a fabulous ongoing article in Slate called “Blogging The Bible”. Check it out if you dare…………
Back to Leviticus – in chapter 19 – there lies a most beautiful and quite unique set of instructions that get lost in all the doom and gloom of the old stuff.
We forget how unique and genuinely amazing these people were in the world in which they lived.
Here are the instructions that the Lord gives to his people:
“You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the Lord am your God.”
“You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Lord.
(editorial comment here – when we speak of taking the Lord’s name in vain, it is not the commonly thought “goddamnit” that is what is spoken of here and in the ten commandments – it is the act of swearing an oath using God as your second that is the sin – sorry to all you Southern Baptists out there)
“You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning”.
“You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the Lord.”
“You shall not render an unfair decision; do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kinsman fairly. Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the Lord.”
“You shall not hate your kinfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord.”
“You SHALL observe My laws.”
So there you have it. Thousands of years ago – a model of how to be nice in a world that is not so nice. This is what sets people of this tradition apart from all others. This is why the Islamic Radicals and the Christian Fundamentalists and Rush Limbaugh will never ever get “it”.
We are to love and respect each other without trying to take advantage of our fellow man.
As I listen to the shit that goes on in Congress, I am reminded that our founding fathers would be sorely pissed if they could see us today in our pork barrel nation where the plight of the citizens is somehow marginalized into a “theory”.
So I am going to climb down from my soap box now and just remind you, again, of the words of St. John and St. Paul – “All you need is Love”.
Peace.
posted by KK at 10:47 AM
1 Comments:
Right on!
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