Dear Phil (duck dynasty) Robertson, Thank you for educating people regarding God's Law

[Douglas Carpenter]

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1 : 9) . The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21: 7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

from Being liberal Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/beingliberal.org

[napkinz]

1. I wish they would make that into a graphic!

K&R!

[napkinz]

2. also from facebook.com/beingliberal.org

[mercymechap]

5. Great poster.....n/t

[napkinz]

3. from facebook.com/ConservativesAreDestroyingOurFuture

[PM Martin]

4. Robertson is not going to be excused by cloaking his bigotry in religion.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. you're cute ... maybe we will get to keep you.

[BKH70041]

8. Why did the writer quote Leviticus?

These are Christians. They view the OT as the Jewish Law of Moses. Their views on homosexuality are from NT, specifically the Book of Romans (among other NT scriptures). And they view the writers of the NT to be inspired of G-d, which means the things they wrote were as if G-d wrote them himself.

No one's going to get anywhere quoting Leviticus. Holy Crap! If you're going to do this kind of thing you at least need to do some basic research, which would have avoided this kind of shit.

[world wide wally]

10. This is the dichotomy....... you make sense..... they don't

just ask any fundamentalist... the Old Testament counts too........ unless it doesn't go along with their agenda anyway

Coming soon......... "The Idiots Guide to the Bible" by me

A verse for any reason

[griloco]

11. Well, you're almost right...

Actually, you're wrong. The author below leads with Sodom and Gomorrah
and quotes Leviticus, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Proverbs.

I think you'll find many Xtians don't read the Bible and thus have
no idea what is OT or NT.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDUQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cogwriter.com%2Fnews%2Fdoctrine%2Fuganda-senate-votes-against-homosexual-agenda-while-new-mexico-judge-rules-for-it%2F&ei=QHy2UuPDNrHesASy4IAQ&usg=AFQjCNGID7IzBjlHwtF8UTsN8x8kpCLbbA&sig2=R_ByGEOGHXWrJ3nXOZkt0Q&bvm=bv.58187178,d.cWc

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

18. See post #17

[Douglas Carpenter]

12. Everyone who has ever had even a cursory exposure to Fundamentalist Protestants

is well aware that they reference the Old Testament all the time as an authority on issues such as homosexuality and many other matters. The Ten Commandments are Mosaic Law and are required memorization for every Fundamentalist child. Of course their use of the Old Testaments is very selective. AS with the New Testament - they quote the parts that fit in with their belief system and ignore the rest. The New Testaments is after all much more strict than the Old Testament. While the New Testament teaches that it is impossible for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and the rich are commanded to sell all they have and give it to the poor - the Old Testament only requires 10%. While there is no mention whatsoever in the Old Testament of hell or eternal punishment of any sort - and only the vaguest of references to any life after death - The New Testament brought in the idea of eternal hell for those who ignore the plight of the least of those among us. .

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

17. Actually

The previous poster is quite correct. The law of Moses is seen as having been absolutely fulfilled by Christ. The import of Christ's words to the rich man isn't that the only way to salvation is to give up all your possessions (though it is the highest form of good works). It was to demonstrate the impossibility of fulfilling the law, a deed which only Christ Himself could do. The rich man specifically claimed that he had "kept the entire law" from his youth, which is denied everywhere in the New Testament as even possible, though absolutely necessary if one is to be saved by the law:

"For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith." (Gal 3:10-11)

Therefore Christ upped the ante, by telling Him, if He will be perfect, to "give up everything," sell all his possessions, give it to the poor, and follow Christ. The law, as viewed from the Christian perspective, is already fulfilled by the life, death and resurrection of Christ, which renders all believers as no longer being under the law, but under the Gospel of Grace, which frees them from the curse of failing to live up to the requirements of the law. In a sense, "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Co 6:12).

This does not mean, however, that we can sin all we like. It simply changes the role of the law in the lives of Christians, so that it is not something that condemns man, or saves him, but is something that Christians do for the glory of God, and at His direct moving and doing within them. Since Christ is the one who chose men to salvation, He also ordains them to produce fruit as a result of a salvation already received:

Joh_15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Eph_2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The difference between the Elect, therefore, and the damned, is that the elect "shew forth their faith by their works," as they were ordained to do, while the reprobate do works of evil.

Therefore, appeals to Leviticus have no bearing on the Christian, since they are loosed from the obligation of the law, and are free to eat whatever they like, wear whatever they like, but ought not "fall under the power of any," and should obey the moral law as detailed by Christ, according to the best of their ability, but not for the purpose of receiving heaven as a reward.

As for hell, Christ's language on the matter is straight from Isaiah, which also, by the way, includes many prophecies of the Messiah as well:

Isa 66:24 "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

Compare:

Mar 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

[Douglas Carpenter]

19. that does not change the fact that the vast majority of Fundamentalist Protestants do rely on

the Old Testament as an authority on numerous matters including homosexuality- albeit very selectively . Why are children in every Evangelical Sunday School Class in the world required to memorize the Ten Commandments? Why are Fundamentalist fighting to have the Ten Commandments displayed in school rooms and court houses - if they don't consider it important? Conservative or Fundamentalist Evangelical Protestant Christianity like many other schools of thought for that matter pick and choose what they wish to believe and what they wish to ignore. Everyone who has ever had any exposure to this brand of Christianity knows this. I was raised in it. Schooled in it Graduated from a fundamentalist University and worked for a Fundamentalist (CBN) affiliated radio station when that movement was in it was in its infancy. But it doesn't take that level of exposure. Everyone who has ever had any experience whatsoever with Fundamentalist Christianity are quite familiar with their way of thinking.

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

20. Point taken

By the way, I edited just after you posted, not realizing you had. I added a comment about hell in the old testament.

[Douglas Carpenter]

21. There is still no refernce to hell anywhere in the Old Testament and only the vaguest of

references to life after death. Unless one really stretched it to the extreme. I'm certain you will not find a single respected Jewish scholar who would claim there is - Nor would you find a single respected Jewish scholar who would consider Isaiah to be a prophesy of Jesus Christ.

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

22. The quote I provided

is a reference to hell, or at least eternal punishment for the wicked, which requires, naturally, life after death in order to enforce. As for life after death in general, there isn't just 'vague references' to it. It's rather a required understanding. For example, Saul goes to the witch of Endor for the very purpose of bringing up the spirit of Samuel:

"Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do."
(1Sa 28:11-15)

As for Isaiah. Isaiah is a huge book with many prophecies, so, of course no one would say that the entire book is about the Messiah. But, that the book contains Messianic prophecies, there is no question. For example, from Joseph Ben Uziel, 30 years before the birth of Christ, paraphrasing from Isaiah:

“Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant, the Messiah, in whom is my delight, in order that ye may know, and that ye may believe in me, and understand that I am He who was from the beginning ; yea, ages after ages are mine, and beside me there is no God.” (The Chaldee paraphrase on the prophet Isaiah [by Jonathan b. Uziel] tr. by C.W.H. Pauli)

[Douglas Carpenter]

24. the witch of Endor is about the only reference I can think of in the Old Testament - in regards to

life after death. And even their - Samuel is in neither heaven or hell and he is upset with Saul that his rest is being disturbed. The concept of Messiah grew in ancient Palestine during the period of Roman domination. The belief that someone would lead the Hebrews into a successful rebellion against Rome was the universally held belief among the Hebrews of that era of what a Messiah would be. Obviously no one imagined prior to the rise of Greco-Roman thinking that the Messiah meant the "Word becoming Flesh and dwelled amongst us" - or a Savior whose death would vicariously atone for the sins of the world. These concepts would have been utterly foreign concepts to ancient Hebrew thinking and would probably have represented the meshing of Greco-Roman thought with certain elements of (probably Pharisaic and Essene) thinking.

[CthulhusEvilCousin]

25. Read here:

"Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist.

Biblical References to the Afterlife

Some scholars claim that belief in the afterlife is a teaching that developed late in Jewish history. It is true that the Torah emphasizes immediate, concrete, physical rewards and punishments rather than abstract future ones. See, for example, Lev. 26:3-9 and Deut. 11:13-15. However, there is clear evidence in the Torah of belief in existence after death. The Torah indicates in several places that the righteous will be reunited with their loved ones after death, while the wicked will be excluded from this reunion."

Rest at link: http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm

For Samuel's rest being spoken of as being "disturbed," Christ speaks of hell and "Abraham's Bosom" as being within visual sight of one another, the latter being a place of rest:

"And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
(Luk 16:21-26)

As for "that the Messiah meant the 'Word becoming flesh... - or a Savior whose death would vicariously atone for the sins of the world."

Check, for example, Rabbi Joseph Ben Uziel again, identifying the Messiah as God:

“The prophet said to the house of David, For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and He has taken the law upon Himself to keep it. His name is called from eternity. Wonderful, The Mighty God, who liveth to eternity, The Messiah, whose peace shall be great upon us in His days.” (The Chaldee paraphrase on the prophet Isaiah [by Jonathan b. Uziel] tr. by C.W.H. Pauli)

A significant paraphrase, since modern Jews interpret the Son's identification as the "Mighty God" as just part of a very long name, nor do they read the Messiah into it.

From the Babylonian Talmud

"The Messiah --what is his name?...The Rabbis say, The Leper Scholar, as it is said, `surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted...'" (Sanhedrin 98b)


A reference to Isaiah 53, which Philip, a Jew, also reads as a prediction of the Messiah:

"And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
(Act 8:31-35)

For such language as 'The Word of God" in the first place, this also has long history among the Jews, unrelated to Platonic thought.

From Dr. John Gill's commentary on John 1:1

"The phrase, מימרא דיי, "the word of the Lord", so frequently used by the Targumists, is well known: and it is to be observed, that the same things which John here says of the word, they say likewise, as will be observed on the several clauses; from whence it is more likely, that John should take this phrase, since the paraphrases of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel were written before his time, than that he should borrow it from the writings of Plato, or his followers, as some have thought"

[progressoid]

13. Huh? The OT doesn't count?

[world wide wally]

14. I now give you one new commandment above all the rest....

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

It's in the Bible somewhere

[progressoid]

15. Unless you are a masochist.

[Bluenorthwest]

29. So the author of Romans also wrote the following, about Phil the Duck Guy:

"Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?"
1 Corinthians 11:14

I could do this all day. Phil also preaches while wearing a headband, directly forbidden by Paul. Nothing on a man's head when preaching and carrying on.

[jmowreader]

37. You are kidding, right?

When a fundamentalist needs something to support his hatred, he will use any part of the Bible.

They're also free to ignore whatever they like: how many Southern churches support themselves with pig pickings, oyster roasts, shrimp boils and crawfish boils? The Bible is very specific on this subject: none of those things are to be eaten. But they do it with impunity, and in the House of the Lord.

Funny story: when I was in the first grade my mom sent me to Catechism, which is the Catholic version of Sunday School except it's on Wednesday. One day they told us the church was God's house and he was home all the time. So I set off looking for him, and ten minutes later they set off looking for me. By that time I'd managed to search the entire church without success, and got told God wasn't really there. The truly independent thinker has no room in his life for organized religion.

[MattBaggins]

38. It spelled with an o... God

[SCVDem]

9. These Duck dudes are from Louisiana, right?

I want to hear more about this not eating shellfish.

Is a Cajun cookbook the work of the Devil?

[fleur-de-lisa]

34. Bingo! I live in the 'moran' state of Louisiana . . .

Although Monroe is in the northern part of the state, very far from the Gulf of Mexico, these fools assuredly eat shellfish on a regular basis. This is merely another example of right wing fundamentalist zealots who know absolutely nothing about the roots of their ridiculous religious beliefs!

From an avowed atheist! - Fleur

[Quixote1818]

16. This was originally sent to Dr. Laura years ago.

But I am glad it's being used again for current events so more people can see it. It's a classic!

[rppper]

23. I read a Facebook / Duck guy Phil meme the other day which....

Quoted from the book of Matthew...specificly Matthew 5:10-5:12, only they left out verse 5:11....another example if how these self serving asshats justify whatever via cherry picking....here are the complete verses, I post, you decide...lol

5:10...Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

5:11...“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

5:12...Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Now as I understand this, 5:11 says those that are reviled and persecuted through the words of Jesus falsely will enter heaven....am I missing something here?

[Gothmog]

26. This reminds me of a classic West Wing episode

I need to rematch this series

[napkinz]

27. God's Tweet

https://www.facebook.com/ConservativesAreDestroyingOurFuture

[Zorra]

28. K&R nt

[Martin Eden]

30. I'm looking forward to Phil's response.

If he wears cotton/polyester blend himself does he have to commit suicide, or is he merely obligated to instruct a family member to put him to death?

[catbyte]

31. Thanks for the list. As Anne Lamotte said:

"You can safely assume you have created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do."

[napkinz]

32. K&R

nt

[Gothmog]

33. Juanita Jean has some good comments about Robertson

http://www.juanitajean.com/2013/12/22/i-know-you-want-to-talk-about-this/

[napkinz]

35. from Bartcop today ...

[napkinz]

36. posted by Americans Against The Tea Party ...

https://www.facebook.com/NoTeaParty