Re: Fw: Do non-U.S. Christians say "God Bless America?"

From: RFaussette@aol.com
Date: Tue Jun 03 2003 - 08:39:31 EDT

  • Next message: Debbie Mann: "Is everybody saved?"

    In a message dated 6/3/03 6:44:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time, gmurphy@raex.com
    writes:

    > Can we just drop all of this and talk about some things that have some
    > connection with faith-science issues?
    >
    > Shalom,
    > George
    >
    >

    The debate over the Levitical prohibitions is the biggest threat facing the
    churches today. If it generates a little heat, what's the problem? I say the
    Levitical prohibitions are sound if a group wants to survive in an age like this:

    “The Persian fleet wintered at Miletus and then put to sea again the
    following year. The [Ionian] islands near the mainland – Chios, Lesbos, and Lenedos –
    were easily subdued. Whenever the Persians took one of the islands, they
    ‘trawled’ for the inhabitants. Trawling involves forming a chain of men with
    linked arms across the island from the northern coast to the southern coast, who
    then traverse the whole length of the island hunting people down…When they [the
    Persians] had conquered the settlements, they picked the best looking boys and
    castrated them, cutting off their testicles and turning them into eunuchs;
    they also took the most attractive girls and sent them to the king as slaves.”
    Herodotus

    Warfare at the time Cyrus the Persian let the people go to rebuild the temple
    in Jerusalem was to destroy the ability of a tribe of people to reproduce. I
    believe the levitical prohibitions were composed to ensure genetic continuity
    - survival in the face of these war tactics. Nomads kept the birth rates high
    and kept related family units separated so the whole family couldn't be
    massacred into extinction at one time.

    "There is a stela in a Cairo museum on which the word Israel first appears in
    written form. The son of Ramesses II launched a military expedition to Caanan
    and conquered Ashkelon and Gezer, and wrote the famous sentence, `Israel is
    spoiled, his seed is not.' That was in 1207 BCE - after the conquest as related
    in the Bible."

    Obviously, Israel's seed survived to be known as Nehemiah's "holy seed."

    Faith in the Levitical prohibitions is scientifically grounded in genetic
    survival.

    rich

    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Tue Jun 03 2003 - 08:40:03 EDT