If you have ever spent any time considering the Law of Moses and the Apostle Paul you have probably come across reference to the 613 commandments and how it is impossible to keep them. In my opinion that is just a smoke screen. I have looked at the 613 and when you eliminate the duplication and the laws that only apply to a small part of the population at a specific time in history, you come up with a much smaller number.
I am of the opinion that the Law of Moses was not a spiritual standard but a basic book in civics and civilization that was delivered to a bunch of ex-slaves who had no idea how to have a responsible society. That is my opinion and I am sticking to it.
I did come across something that I think reinforces that. I have been reading a book on the Crusades by Raymond Ibriam. One of the constant events when the Muslim armies took over a town was the focus on rape and brutality. In a very real sense that was a mark of the times. Pagan warriors looked at it as their right when they finally broke through the walls.
An example of that from ancient times comes from Plutarch’s Lives in the chapter about Lucullus.
“That day he tarried there, but on the next, and those that followed, he traveled through Sophene, using no manner of violence to the people who came to him and willingly received his army. And when the soldiers were desirous to plunder a castle that seemed to be well stored within, ‘This the the castle,’ said he, ‘that we must storm,’ showing them Taurus at a distance; ‘the rest is reserved for those who conquer there.’”, p. 610This is a recurring theme as the general tried to keep his soldiers in check and on task. They wanted to pillage, rape and kill. He wanted to win a war.
This also emphasizes the difference between Islam and Christianity. When you read the Koran and Hadith you see a pattern of sexual expression that is denied in the Bible. This came to mind as I was thinking about a section of the 613 dealing with sexual contact. It is titled “Laws of Forbidden Relations”. Here they are as the printout appears.
139 Not to have relations with your mother Lev. 18:7
140 Not to have relations with your father's wife Lev. 18:8
141 Not to have relations with your sister Lev. 18:9
142 Not to have relations with your father's wife's daughter Lev. 18:11
143 Not to have relations with your son's daughter Lev. 18:10
144 Not to have relations with your daughter Lev. 18:10
145 Not to have relations with your daughter's daughter Lev. 18:10
146 Not to have relations with a woman and her daughter Lev. 18:17
147 Not to have relations with a woman and her son's daughter Lev. 18:17
148 Not to have relations with a woman and her daughter's daughter Lev. 18:17
149 Not to have relations with your father's sister Lev. 18:12
150 Not to have relations with your mother's sister Lev. 18:13
151 Not to have relations with your father's brother's wife Lev. 18:14
152 Not to have relations with your son's wife Lev. 18:15
153 Not to have relations with your brother's wife Lev. 18:16
154 Not to have relations with your wife's sister Lev. 18:18
155 A man must not have relations with a beast Lev. 18:23
156 A woman must not have relations with a beast Lev. 18:23
157 Not to have homosexual relations Lev. 18:22
158 Not to have homosexual relations with your father Lev. 18:7
159 Not to have homosexual relations with your father's brother Lev. 18:14
160 Not to have relations with a married woman Lev. 18:20
161 Not to have relations with a menstrually impure woman Lev. 18:19
Notice there are over twenty commandments here but they could all be condensed to just a few thoughts. And all of them would be covered by the second greatest commandment that Jesus mentioned in loving your neighbor as yourself.
So don’t get to hot and bothered at the mention of the law unless you are determined to have homosexual relations with your father (number 158).
Plutarch. The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans, Translated by John Dryden. New York: The Modern Library, ND.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.