Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
there is the exposure of perhaps the greatest error of them all - the abject inhumanity of false religion and false spirituality, and the damage that it wreaks upon all concerned.
a false religion steeped in abject inhumanity. Jesus exposed their inhumanity, Another Jesus would probably not have even been there to save this woman.....he would probably have been sitting on the front row of the temple pray-reading and calling on the Lord. sorry for all those who have come to this forum and only felt the inhumanity of false religion and false spirituality.
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Beautifully said, Untohim. That's why you are the moderator!!!
Isn't it a beautiful thing when we each can dare to be a bit vulnerable on the forum. It counters any rising hostility, that can so easily happen as hurt can so easily link in to anger, anger to accusation. Trapped took a step of deliberate vulnerability to share about the effect a simple phrase has had on him. It's never easy to do, even on an anonymous forum, as the content he shared is deeply personal and so much pain is still bound in it. He did that for the sake of others he wanted to explain their grievance better.
To add a little to the point Trapped has made: I changed the version of my first name in my early 20's to distance myself from the identity associated with the version that had become the norm in my teens. I squirmed inside whenever I even came across another person going by that old version of my name, as its negative association with the identity I had of myself remained so strong. And I was only one word, my reaction to it completely irrelevant to anyone else. Its also why impoverished nations in Africa and the Philippines can spend money they cannot afford, changing place-names because of the psychological implications of the old names for them.
Has anyone here realised that according to the law, Rahab the prostitute should have been stoned to death when she arrived to join Israel? The law said so. She was an adultereress by trade. Also, technically, the spies should have made no agreement with any caananite. It was forbidden. It should have been considered null before God and they could have killed her alongside the other residents of Jericho. Forget what was going on in her heart, that is irrelevant to the law! My pastor says God put lots of such contradictions throughout the Bible on purpose. It wasn't just Jesus that turned these things on their heads! Rahab married, (a privilege denied to Dinah and Tamar, David's daughter, after both had been raped once!) and had Boaz, whose level of rejection amongst the Israelites made him very aware of how vulnerable Ruth was. It's evidence that the 'religious' were prevalent even then. God was happy with Rahab, as commented many times afterwards. She's on the same level as Abraham in fact, according to James. She was an ancestor to Jesus himself. I love how you have spoken of the woman caught in adultery in the same way, Untohim. It's what we all need to know about God's character, whether we believe or not. It is the antidote to all this damage.