Theology Time

After a week off, we return to that little hill in Judea. Let us recall something the Galilean said, sort of slipped it in actually, early in his immortal Sermon on the Mount. I refer to the Gospel of Matthew 5:17-18 in which he said

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” (KJV)

His audience at the time surely knew about “The Law” to which he referred. One hopes that the body of law didn’t include the instructions by Moses concerning the fate of the Midianites. No, he doubtless meant the laws written by God upon two tablets of stone and then given to Moses on Mount Sinai. That clears that up, right?

Not exactly. We remember of course that Moses got pissed and broke the first set that he delivered. As the late Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. would put it, “Here’s what they said:”

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

(KJV)

That’s a pretty high standard, despite the fact that our sisters fall into the same ownership group as servants, oxen and asses. One assumes it would even include a man’s bass boat. That inclusion must hurt. At any rate, it is not a standard by which many who claim today to be followers of the Galilean judge our modern president. He’s broken them all except may the killing part and if we accept the Galilean’s “thinking is as bad as doing” test, he’s not only done it but bragged that he could do it, and get away with it.

Maybe that’s why some followers might accept the revised edition that God gave Moses on his second trip. Here’s what it said:

1.Thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

2.Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.

3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep.

4. All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.

5. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest.

6. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven.

8. Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.

9. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God.

10. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

(KJV)

That’s a bit easier. Maybe we could just call him “The Second-Set President” and ease him through. Most of the editors I know tend to accept a final published version as the authoritative one, so even the industry he despises so much might offer some solace. Mission accomplished?

No, there’s still those first two. Drats. Have faith though. Franklin Graham will figure out a way. He always does. He leaves no stone of sin unpolished while the Galilean continues to weep. I hope he's not watching us now.