Bible question? Christians?

Question

Matthew 15:4 Jesus tells the Pharisees that "For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother must be put to death." Very loving god... and don't try to tell me times have changed... who chooses when beliefs expire and no longer should be followed? That verse allowed thousands of childen to be killed for disrespect fo parents in the NAME OF GOD!

Answer 1

As with everything else you quote, you take the statements of Jesus out of context. FINISH the verse, heck even the paragraph!\

Mat 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
Mat 15:4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
Mat 15:5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to [his] father or [his] mother, [It is] a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
Mat 15:6 And honour not his father or his mother, [he shall be free]. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Mat 15:7 [Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.
Mat 15:10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Mat 15:15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
Mat 15:16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
Mat 15:17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
Mat 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Mat 15:20 These are [the things] which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man

Answer 2

That's actually taken a little bit out of context. The Pharisees were challenging Jesus because his disciples weren't following the "tradition of the elders"

To which Jesus replied with what you have quoted, explaining that the Pharisees weren't very respectful of their parents, hence aren't following the tradition either.

To your point about times having changed, it is critically important to note that indeed time have changed, even in the days of Jesus. Jesus agrees entirely with you that old traditions expires, and in fact, Matthew 14 is really about that very point. What's upsetting is that in 2007, some Christians still insist on a literal interpretation of the text, when in fact, Jesus COMMANDS us to do what makes sense. If something from Leviticus makes sense in 2007, let's abide by it. Otherwise... Remember: the law is made for the good of the people.

Killing 1000s of children (I'm going to let this one slide...) is definitively NOT something that make sense. It would in fact be rather the doing of a misguided person, sinning against God for 1) commiting murder 2) blaspheming for doing so in the name of God.

Answer 3

You state, "That verse allowed thousands of children to be killed for disrespect fo parents in the NAME OF GOD!"

What evidence do you have for the number, "thousands", you state? Do you have biblical evidence that 5 children were killed for speaking a curse to their parents? If so, kindly cite the book, chapter and verse to back up your claim. If you can't find 5 references, can you find 1?

You ask, "who chooses when beliefs expire and no longer should be followed?"

Answer, God does. The Scriptures state:

Gal 2:16 "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. "

In short, the Law passed away with Christ, per the Word of God.

Answer 4

I think you're missing the point of the passage, which can be seen if the entire chapter and the preceding chapter is read.

Jesus is quoting Exodus 21:17 and Lev. 20:9 and is pointing out the intrinsic evil tied to the practice. The Bible doesn't record an incident I can recall of this prohibition being practiced... if you can identify where you've found the "thousands of children being killed for disrespect to parents" I'd like to hear more.

In my opinion, the point of the law in this instance is to amplify the nature of parenthood at a type of the nature of God. But from a Christian point of view, the law was made deliberately untenable and impractical, the purpose being to draw people to the Messiah and the completion of the law in Jesus.

Answer 5

The next 2 passages read:

"But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is 'devoted to God,' they are not to 'honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition." -- Matt 15:5-6 TNIV

This commandment assumes that the father and mother teach their kids to give glory to God first before they receive their proper respect. If this is taught in the home, then the this commandment applies.

Dysfunctional, abusive, and toxic families misinterpret this commandment. If family tradition forces you to give glory to parents over God, then the tradition basically negates the commandment to honor father and mother. God is thus disrespected. The parents should be disgraced for teaching their kids to demand respect from their kids, rather than respecting God first. The glory and credit should go to God, over glorifying the parents.

Answer 6

Context once again...

Jesus tells the Pharisees that they aren't following the commandments they teach, as they aren't honoring their fathers and mothers. He then goes on to tell of the importance of your motivation - of your heart.

Jesus came so that we were no longer under the harsh punishment we deserved for our sins. Those punishments have been lifted, and now, we can live with and enjoy God forever.

Answer 7

Why are you asking this question of Christians? Rephrase this and ask the Jews, since it's their law! Jesus merely quoted the law because he was showing some Pharisees how hypocritical they were.

And by the way, the Talmud did not let anyone simply drag their child off and stone him to death. There had to be a trial first. The Jews weren't heathens -- they did have a justice system!

Answer 8

If you read the whole passage, you will find that Jesus is telling the Pharisees they are hypocrites, because they claimed to follow God's Commandments, but disreguarded them for their traditions.

Answer 9

If honouring your parents is too hard for you to do, nothing good will come of you anyways.
Dying the death (being dead already) is what it really says, and is a small penalty, when you are defiling yourself in such a base way.
Grow up, please!
Ps get a good version of the Bible, and stay away from that Skeptics ann. one. I can smell the reek of it from here.

Answer 10

To sin is to inherit death it is still true today all men sin and all men die. A loving God did fufill the law and pay the penalty of death for us you are correct a very loving God.