Waxing Poetically: Addressing Culture with a Twist of Poetry

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As some of you may already know, last week Barack Obama drew criticism from conservative activist and Focus on the Family president James Dobson over remarks Obama made in 2006 while address a religious crowd. He opined about specific books of the Bible such as Leviticus containing absurd references to the allowance of slavery, and the total prohibition of shellfish and that the Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew would be too radical a document for many in Washington to even come close to fulfilling. Dobson accuses Obama of distorting the scriptures to fit his personal agenda, but when one examines the texts of which Obama speaks, is Obama wrong to think this way? Please comment…. Keep waxin’!

Here are some verses:

On Keeping “Servants”

Leviticus 25:44-46 “Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.”

Leviticus 25:48-53: After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.

Even if these people were to be treated well… the verses don’t sound good at all!

On Shellfish:

Leviticus 11:9-12:
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Deuteronomy 14:9-10:
These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

I personally believe these passages to refer to health and safety precautions during a time where modern medicine was certainly not available… but that’s just me.

Jesus’ commands followers to love their enemies:

Matthew 5:43-48
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Does that include Osama? Whoa!

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