Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Deuteronomy 13

1 - 18 Counteracting Sedition
  1. Don't follow people who say dreams or visions told them to follow other gods (1 - 5).
  2. Don't let people come to you secretly and try to get you to worship other gods (even your own brother or step-siblings) (6 - 11).
  3. If another town goes astray, then that's an act of war (12 - 18).

Question of the Day: Some of the reactions to apostasy might seem a bit extreme today. Why were they so "harsh" back then?

3 comments:

Karlton said...

Isreal was a community that needed to survive and it would be impossible to do that if they continued to intermarry and "water down" their faith.

JP, I like your quote, "God wants to show us mercy and compassion and increase our numbers because we obey God."

FireBoy said...

I completely agree with you JP. When I read your comment, I thought about that kid getting caned for vandalism in Singapore (I think). If I ever went there, for whatever reason, my first thought would be "don't use spraypaint here." I doubt other religions would spread if we put to death people who tried to persuade us to worship other gods.

Karlton said...

What's even more outrageous about the Singapore incident, if I remember it right, was that it was for chewing gum! Still, it was against the rules, and I bet he didn't do it again.