The UmBlog

When Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan he tried to enlighten his listeners on the principle that we are all children of God. All of us are each other's neighbors. He wants all of us to love our neighbors. In the kingdom of Jesus, there is no us and them, just us. Even enemies are us. Jesus tells us to bless our enemies, like we would our friends. Our neighbors are those in need. Who is not in need? Jesus teaches that when we help those in need, we are worshipping him. "Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me," and it's corollary, "Whatever you have not done to the least of these, you have not done to me." Matthew 25. Who are the privileged in the society I am a part of? Me. I am a white, educated male. Who suffers under the privilege of white males in my society? Women. African Americans. Minorities...racial and sexual. These two topics in particular are huge this week in America. 1- A young white man sat in on a Bible ...

Deuteronomy is a rich source for these topics. It is such a schizophrenic book. There are progressive ideas right next to crazy, crazy stuff. I'm not sure there is any coherence to these verses and chapters, sort of like Proverbs or James, but a collection of rules for the community. Recently I read chapter 22. Half way into this chapter I read this crazy stuff on women. Deut. 22:13 Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and then rejects her, 14 accusing her of impropriety and defaming her reputation by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations with her I discovered she was not a virgin!” This is a situation where a guy acts like a Neanderthal. Who knows if he entered the marriage as a virgin? Who cares if she wants to reject him? Not Moses. But he has a solution for her problem. Her parents can whip out her wedding night bedding to show off her blood. Like an animal without a voice. Then the Neanderthal has to pay a fine to his fathe...

Hey Johnboy Deuteronomy is a rich source for these topics. It is such a schizophrenic book. There are progressive ideas right next to crazy, crazy stuff. I'm not sure there is any coherence to these verses and chapters, sort of like Proverbs or James, but a collection of rules for the community. Today I read chapter 22. It starts off with taking care of lost animals until their owner shows up. That's cool. Finder's keepers does not apply in this community. Then it attacks cross dressing. Then it talks about creation care, and not killing a mother bird. The lines on cross dressing are, Deut. 22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and men must not put on women’s garments. The Eternal your God is horrified when anyone does this. How does this even work out in the world today? Are Scottish Christians who participate in Highland games wearing kilts horrifying Jesus? How did that even work out in ancient Israel? If priests are walking around with long robes, how differe...