Tag: rape

Just flipping through the Word….

Leave a comment

I didn’t have anything this morning. Well, in truth, I did have something- I sat down, looked at my email for a second, logged onto my blog site and POOF! it was gone. Just like that- the “old-man-brain-stalled” syndrome.

So, nu? Now what do I do? Well, this site is all about the Word of God, so I took out my Tanakh (JPS soft cover version, of course) and flipped the pages until I just stopped, which was on Jeremiah 46, 13-28.

This is where Jeremiah tells Egypt that Babylon will conquer her, but eventually Egypt will be inhabited again, and that God will bring His people, Israel, back to their land and give them peace, even though He will have to chastise them in measure.

That’s what we need to do to our children, ourselves, the people who work for us and to the world- chastise in measure. Our criminal justice system is not like what God said. And yes- I am talking about eye for eye and tooth for tooth; however, that statement  wasn’t meant to be taken literally, but to instruct us to mete out justice in proportion to the crime.  We don’t do that here in America.

How many people are starving in this country, one of the richest and most plentiful in the world, while criminals live in relative comfort and are fed a nutritious, well-balanced meal three times a day? Maybe they don’t get the best cuts of meat, or the freshest vegetables, but they get them. How many millions in this country don’t? According to Google, about 42 Million Americans struggle with hunger.

According to a web site called “Project Censored”:

A report released by The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit criminal justice advocacy group, reveals that the number of prisoners serving life sentences in the US state and federal prisons reached a new record of close to 160,000 in 2012. Of these, 49,000 are serving life without possibility of parole, an increase of 22.2 percent since 2008.

Am I saying kill anyone who is given a life sentence? No, well, maybe….I don’t know. Look, I have questions and I have ideas, but I don’t have answers. I wish I did.

Yeshua told Kefa (that’s Jesus and Peter, respectively) that if someone asks for forgiveness you should forgive him (essentially) every time he asks. The assumption is, of course, that the person asking for forgiveness really means it. Our criminal justice system seems to have gone beyond considering if anyone really means it or not and just goes right to forgiveness. When I say they go right to forgiveness, what I mean is that the death sentence is not something we see anymore, except in a few states.

The bible tells us that a murderer must be put to death, as well as a blasphemer. Also, people practicing adultery deserve the death penalty (we would lose half of the government and nearly every Hollywood star from the last century if we did that!) So maybe doing exactly what the bible says with regard to adultery won’t really work out well for us, but it might reduce the number of adulterers.

And that is what God’s justice system is about- it isn’t concerned about being considerate of the ones who have rejected society, which is what criminals do, but to be more concerned about keeping others from doing the same. I believe (as did John Locke, 1632-1704) the rules that govern society are designed to protect us from each other and secure our rights; furthermore, I believe that when someone consciously ignores those rules and chooses to live outside of them they are, by definition of their actions, making a statement that they reject the rules of society and, thereby, they waive their right to the protection those rules provide.

Their social status, race, religion, upbringing, and any other external factor is not a consideration- we all have free will and no matter how we were raised or what economic status we hold, we choose to do what we do. There are way too many examples of people raising themselves up from the depths of society to become meaningful contributors to that society to automatically accept the argument from those who claim they are the real victims: victims of their social status.

We all want to have a peaceful existence, and we all want to live our lives. The “bad” people want to live their lives, too, only they want you to provide it for them instead of working for it. They choose to take instead of earn.

I understand and agree that socio-economic conditions are factors in our lives, and can influence us. Some people are taught that taking something that doesn’t belong to them is stealing, whereas others are taught that “finders keepers: losers weepers” is a valid and fair rule. For these people, if they see a wallet on someone’s chair (that probably fell out of his back pocket) they will take it and use the money and cards inside it, with no thought at all that they are stealing. They found it so now it’s theirs.

That’s why lie detectors don’t work- they only indicate the physiological responses of people to questions based on the person’s morality: if I steal and murder but don’t think there is anything wrong with that, I won’t register on a polygraph.

We need to upgrade our criminal justice system to meet what God said it should be: fair not to the criminal but fair to the victim and fair to society. Criminals need to know that jail isn’t their only option- death is a definite option, too. I know there will be miscarriages of justice- that’s normal. It stinks, especially for the one who is suffering from being found guilty and isn’t, but there is no perfect answer.

 

I don’t like crime, and I don’t like the idea that people who violate my privacy, steal my possessions and maybe do harm to me or any of my loved ones will get to sit in a room, have a library, a gym, and be fed for the rest of their life. If they are caught and sentenced.

On the other hand, I don’t think jail is a holiday- there are beatings, rape, social unrest, over-crowding (the death penalty will help resolve that) and racial strife in most every jail (except the ones the rich people get to go to) so it is not all fun and games.

What I am trying to say is that we need to chastise in measure, and that the bible is a good place to find that measuring stick. Restitution must be made for theft, so let the person who steals work in the jail and that money goes to the one he or she stole from. That’s both helping the criminal learn a trade to use on the outside, and make restitution. Upon release, the government has jobs for almost any trade so that is where these people should be placed- let’s have criminals working in government that (finally) admit to being criminals.

(I had to throw that one in there)

Seriously, I think there is a reasonably justifiable argument that social factors contribute to criminal activities, and that there is a fine line between giving someone a hand up and a hand out. The Welfare System has gone way beyond helping people- it has hampered them, it has enabled them and subsequently, today we have families who for two or three generations have been stymied and controlled by the welfare system and an economy that makes getting a handout more profitable than earning a living. And it really isn’t fair to just cut them off without helping them learn how to be self-reliant.

The monies that we save not providing everything to “lifers”  could be used to create job training for welfare families. The monies we save not building more jails could be used to feed the hungry. And the message we send to the people who think they are allowed to ignore the rules will be that they will suffer for their crime in proportion to what they do- if they steal they will be made to repay, if they do physical harm (from rape to murder) or if they commit any capital crime, they will die. It’s that simple.

No matter what we do God will punish the wicked- that is, ultimately, His job and He tells us that, often. He will repay, He will bring them to justice, and no matter what we may do here on Earth, when these people, the ones that feel they can do whatever they want without regard to anyone else’s rights or property, face God then they will be chastised in measure.

I am saying we should help more of them get to that point.

 

Stand or sit: it’s all the same to Uncle Sam

Leave a comment

If you follow this blog, you know that I rarely, if ever, get involved in political stuff. But the White House has gone too far, this time.

Within the past few weeks, the White House (i.e., President Obama) has issued a letter to public schools (you can “google” it) that says, essentially, if a student says they are gay or transgender they must be allowed to use whichever bathroom their gender identification makes them comfortable using.

In other words, we will now have 4-5 bathrooms available: one with an image of a man, one has an image of a woman, one is marked “Family”, one has a blue handicap banner, and the last one has a question mark on it.

No medical determination has to be submitted, just a letter from the parent saying Junior isn’t really Junior anymore.

OK- we know from the bible that gender identification issues, in whichever form it takes, has been around as long as gender has been around. It is as much a part of humanity as sin, and will continue to be around until the Day of the Lord is over. Once the final battle is fought, the new Jerusalem is lowered from heaven and all the saved are resurrected, I don’t know if we will even have gender. Maybe at that time we will be beyond gender, beyond sexual activity (that doesn’t sound like heaven, does it? But, well, maybe?) and all of this will be a moot argument.

But until then, we have to live with it. I don’t see this for anything other than what it is- a mockery of God. God made man and woman, separate, distinct and designed to help each other. It is how things are designed in this world- two of the same thing can’t become any more than double what they are- no synergy, no improvement, no change. Two men, two women- only that. Two of the same.

But put a man and a woman together, and you get three things, Not double of the same, but three distinct and unique things. Then you get four, and more and more and more. There is improvement, there is synergy, there is the working of God’a plan.

When we say ‘transgender’, ‘homosexual’ or whatever label we use as an identification that is anything other than what the person’s anatomy identifies him or her as, then we are making a mockery of God’s creation and insulting the Lord who:

“…created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

Wait a minute! It says He created them in His image- male and female He created them. Hmmmm??? Does that mean God is both male and female? Is God a transgender? I mean, He identifies Israel as His son but also as His bride, and He is often referred to in the plural throughout the bible. Maybe we should all be transgender, right? Perhaps we should all be mollusks because all mollusks are hermaphrodites. That would solve this whole issue, wouldn’t it? If we were all blessed with male and female anatomies, then there wouldn’t be domestic violence- I mean, really, who would beat himself up? There wouldn’t be rape, there wouldn’t be expensive shoes for women and cheap shoes for men (how come the government doesn’t pass laws dealing with why women’s clothing is so much more expensive than men’s clothing, huh?), and there wouldn’t be any issue with using separate bathrooms.

I don’t think God wanted humans to be clams. He made us human, He made us in His image, meaning above the animals and spiritually aware. His image has nothing to do with sex or gender, and if God had intended for us to be non-gender specific, He would have made us that way. Adam and Eve didn’t seem to have any issues with who each of them was, but somewhere down the line someone got confused.

I am not homo-phobic. I am not a hater of those who have gender identification issues. I am simply a person who believes that what God did was to make us separate so that we would complement each other. He made us to be men and women, and that is what we are. I believe those with gender identity issues are suffering from either a hormonal imbalance, or a mental/emotional issue that represents itself in gender identification. I believe that it is something that can be treated, something to be seen as an emotional or physiological imbalance, and something to be handled respectfully and compassionately.

I have close family members who are homosexual, and I love them. I enjoy being with them, and I don’t tell them how they should be and they don’t tell me. They know how I feel and I know how they feel, but we love each other because we are family, and I can love the person even though I  disagree with their choice of lifestyle. And, yes- I believe it is a choice. That should not insult or bother anyone who thinks it is normal. I choose to accept God, His word and what He says in the bible. If someone tells me they don’t, I am not insulted. That is the one thing that really gets my goat- the hypocrisy of people. If I disagree with someone, it’s horrible and wrong for me to do so, but it is perfectly acceptable for that person to call me a bigot and hateful just because I disagree with them. If they think apples taste good and I don’t like apples, does that make me a bigot? Am I apple-phobic if I say I wouldn’t eat an apple pie if my life depended on it?

The real issue here is that the government has rejected God, again. First we threw Him out of the school when we refused to allow people who believe in Him to say, “One nation, under God” in the pledge of allegiance. In fact, we got rid of the pledge, altogether. Then we threw Him out of the court system when the 10 Commandments were considered improper on a courthouse.

Now we are mocking Him by ignoring the most basic creation of God: gender difference. Sit or stand, it makes no difference to Uncle Sam, you can all use the same bathroom, and at the same time, too!

Do you have a young daughter? A son entering puberty? Do you feel comfortable knowing they may have to share a bathroom with a child of the (physically) opposite gender? Or, worse, at a public building like a Target department store (yes, I understand they have embraced this whole idea) your 13 year old daughter going into a bathroom where there may be a man who is 40?

Do the kids really understand? Children entering and going through puberty don’t even understand their own gender yet: how can they possible make the life-changing decision that it isn’t the right one?

Better get ready, Folks- the end is coming up on us faster and faster every day.

 

Parashah V’Yishlach (and he sent to him) Genesis 32:4 – 36

Leave a comment

Jacob comes back to the land he left, and hears that Esau is coming out to meet him with 400 men. Frightened for his family, he splits the camp, sends them ahead and stays behind the Jabbok River that night by himself. That night he wrestles with an angel, who (in order to be released by Jacob, who has prevailed against the angel even after the angel damages his hip) gives Jacob the name “Israel” and blesses him. Jacob limps across the river, then decides to send gifts to Esau to appease him before the camp even gets close. As he gets closer, he sends his favorite wife and her child  (Rachel and Joseph) to the very rear, then next closest is Leah and her children, and right behind Jacob are the handmaidens of his wives and their children. It is obvious that the least favored of his children’s mothers were to be closest so if Esau killed Jacob and the family, these would be next, and hopefully Esau’s anger would not reach all the way to the end to find Rebekah and Joseph. However, Jacob’s prayers are answered when Esau embraces and cries over reuniting with his brother, and that is about all the lovey-dovey they do. Esau goes back to his family and life in Seir, and Jacob ends up settling at that time in Shechem, in the land of Canaan.

In this land Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, is raped by the son of Hamor, the king of Shechem. After doing so, however, the prince falls for her and asks a bride price. The sons of Jacob (interesting that Jacob is not in this discussion) state that the men of the city, all the men, must be circumcised before Dinah can marry even one of them. Then when the men are recovering, Levi and Simeon attack the men, kill all the adult men and take the women, children and possessions as spoil. Jacob is enraged about this, and (reasonably) concerned for his welfare and that of all his family. God tells Jacob to get to Beth-el. Jacob sets up a standing stone there, an altar to God, and as they continue to travel towards Bethlehem, Rachel dies in childbirth as Benjamin in born. She is buried there, and they continue to Bethlehem. One other major event is that Reuben sleeps with his father’s concubine, and this is an affront for which he is not forgiven, even unto Israel’s dying blessing on him, and Reuben also loses the rights of the firstborn (which go to Joseph and his sons.)

The parashah ends with a brief review of the sons of Jacob, and then an entire chapter to cover the descendants of Esau. From this point forward we don’t really hear that much about Esau and his relationship to Jacob, and the storyline shifts starting with the next parashah further away from Jacob and into the life of Joseph.

I could write a book on this parashah: there is so much in the telling of the brotherly love-hate relationships we’ve seen so far in the bible. Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau: each set of brothers had strife between them. Cain and Abel strove over the acceptance of God, Ishmael and Isaac strove over the acceptance of Abraham, and Esau and Isaac strove over the rights of the firstborn. From God’s acceptance, to their fathers acceptance, to receiving the blessings for themself.  We see the relationship deteriorate from between me and God (accepting my sacrifice), to me and Dad (Abraham sending Ishmael out on his own with no real inheritance), to pretty much me and me (Jacob and Esau struggling over the blessing and rights of the firstborn.) There’s plenty of juice in this orange we could squeeze out.

There’s also the changing of Jacob’s name, his wrestling not just with an angel, but with his (or mankind’s) desire to use deviousness over doing what is righteous. The name change is more than just that- The Chumash indicates that it represents a change in his entire viewpoint and actions from one of being the “supplanter” to one of being the “champion of God.” We see this change somewhat in how Jacob despises the deviousness of Levi and Simeon.

So, nu?  With all this good stuff to talk about, what do I talk about? Actually, as I am writing this I am not sure. But I think I know where to go, and it isn’t from the storyline. It’s from the comments I read in the Chumash.

The “Rabbis” who contributed to the Chumash, even though they were learned and godly men in many ways, just had to find something deep and studious in the word of God. For instance, at the very beginning of this portion we are told that Rashi takes the term, “I have sojourned” to mean that Jacob is telling Esau that although he has become as rich as a prince, he really was never more than a humble wanderer, a sojourner, and that the blessing he received from Isaac saying  Jacob would be greater than Esau has not been fulfilled, therefore Esau has no reason to be angry with Jacob. The Midrash states that the letters used in the word “גרתי” (sojourned) has the numerical value of 613, the exact number of commandments in the Torah, and it uses that to demonstrate that even though Jacob dwelt in a land that was not the one promised to him by God, he still remained subject to and obedient to the Torah- an exhortation to his descendants to do the same. Honestly, and with all due respect, to me that seems to be stretching it a bit; I mean, the Torah wasn’t even given to us yet.

Throughout the Chumash one can read many of these interpretations, and they do make sense in many ways, yet I was taught that you can’t make an argument from nothing. The fact that Hebrew letters have a numerical value and that it is part of interpreting the bible is valid- I have no problem with gimel (ג), or 8, representing a new beginning,  7 is completion,  3 is the godhead, and 4 for man and God. Yet, I can’t forget that old expression I learned when in banking: “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.”  If we look deep enough, and manipulate things enough, eventually you can get blood from a stone.

When we read the bible the best way to interpret it is to let God, who wrote it, tell you what it means. The way that is done is through the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. I do not, in any way, feel that what I am writing now is spirit-led. I think it is more my own feelings, and experiences, and not some divine revelation. Still, I think it is valid ( or I wouldn’t write it) and ask that you think it over for yourself. Whether I tell you something, or your Rabbi/Pastor/Priest/Minister/whatever tells you something, you need to verify it for yourself by asking God to tell you what it really means. Of course, the spirit will only indwell when you ask for it.

The bible is, even for someone who doesn’t believe in God, a wonderful book, a valuable lesson in human relations, and a history of more than just the Jewish people (and every day it is proven more and more to be an accurate historical document.)  It has wisdom, poetry, substance, and value to everyone and anyone who has to survive in this world. To those who do believe in God, and who have accepted the Ruach HaKodesh, they will read all that the non-believers will read but get so much more out of it.

I give to you today a blessing and a curse regarding the Word of God: the blessing is that if you allow the Ruach HaKodesh to be your ultimate interpreter when you read the bible you will receive wonderful, life-changing, and eternal understanding of God and His kingdom. The curse is this: if you only listen to others, you accept what you like and reject what you don’t like, and never ask God to lead your understanding, then the bible will become a trap and a snare for you and you will be led not to eternal joy but placed on a direct path to the Lake of Fire!

The bible is like fire: when handled with respect and awe it can warm you, save your life and provide protection; but, when not respected, understood or treated with concern it will turn on you, destroying you and everything you have.

God is just so much so! He is so far above us and so much holier than we can even imagine that He must be treated with the ultimate level of respect. He is the One, He is all there is, He is everything (and I mean, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G) and the only thing that matters. As humans, we want to have the world revolve around us, but we need to revolve around God. He should be the center of our universe, and His word should be treated with total respect and awe. It is like dynamite- when you use it respecting it’s power, you get tremendous benefit from it. When you treat it casually and without respect, you get blown to bits!

Look for what God has in the bible for you, but make sure that no matter what you hear from humans, you always test it against what God tells you through the Ruach HaKodesh.