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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 4, 2024

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The New Testament lacks the specificity to address Jesus's particular views regarding death by torture for the followers Moloc.

But it seems difficult to interpret John 8 as Jesus advocating stoning. And the only other mention of stoning in the New Testament is very negative against the stoners and sympathetic to their victim who is being stoned. It's quite a contrarian reading of the Bible to think that the followers of Jesus should be stoning people.

Edit: I scrolled through your post history wondering if you were one of the local Indian posters or something. Someone who is honestly ignorant about Christianity. But no, you only lived in America and Europe and you go (or went?) to church some amount. Why are you acting unclear regarding Jesus's advocacy about stoning people to death? This isn't some obscure point. And what church do you go to where people play the game: "Jesus never said we couldn't do this." This is Pharisees-level attempted rules lawyering.

Not simply worshipers of Molech, they need to be child sacrificers.

I don't think I've said Jesus advocates stoning in John 8. Only that he persuades the crowd not to stone the adulteresses. I don't read this as being negative against the crowd. He doesn't say she doesn't deserve to be stoned, or that the law as proscribed is invalid or unjust. Might Jesus instruction to the crowd have inspired mercy? Which other account of stoning as punishment is negative against the stoners?

The Lord (Word of God) clearly tells Moses that the ancient Israelites should stone child sacrificing Molech worshipers and not doing so will set them apart from God in Lev 20:2. Jesus must be on board with this at the time he says it to Moses.

There are examples in the New Testament where Jesus reframes earlier teachings on adultery, food prohibitions, and the sabbath. I don't find any teachings that murderers shouldn't be punished as proscribed by law. Jesus seems to have something worse than drowning in the sea with a millstone around the neck in mind in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I don't find a prohibition against capital punishment in general.

I don't think I've said that Jesus advocates for stoning, nor do I think he prohibits it where proscribed by the law. Nor do I find this inconsistent with the teaching to love your neighbor as yourself.

The Lord (Word of God) clearly tells Moses that the ancient Israelites should stone child sacrificing Molech worshipers adulterous women

This is literally the Pharisees in John 8:5. You are now quoting the Pharisees and advocating their view in plain opposition to Jesus.

Which I guess is fine in some non-Christian sense. But both Christians and modern Jews don't follow these rules. And Christians can point to Jesus dunking on the people who tried to "gotcha" him with the laws of Moses.

Except before your edit it's restating an instruction from a much earlier covenant;

Gen 9:6

"Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God's image God has made humankind."

In your edit in John 8 they were trying to trap him in conflict between Roman and Mosaic law. To stone her would break one, preventing the stoning the other. He avoids the issue by instructing the sinless to cast the first stone. It's still an instruction to cast the stone. I will concede I don't believe Jesus wants us to stone adulteresses though we can divorce them. I believe he threaded the needle of sparing the woman, upholding Mosaic Law and not breaking Roman law. I do not believe this is a general prohibition against stoning, that would preclude the stoning of child sacrificing Molech worshipers.

What is the role of the sword in Rom 13:4?

for it is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God's servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.