Bye, Bye, Moses. It's Been...Interesting.

I finished reading Deuteronomy, and thus completes the last book of Moses. (Thus? I just wrote "thus." Thou may understandeth I read too mucheth scriptures).

Anyway, reading the last dozen chapters was much easier seeing it through the different perspective my father presented. I wasn't as frustrated and angry. I wish the world would see it differently, too, and not use the literal text of the OT as an excuse to be cruel to each other.

Speaking of being cruel to each other, I read an interesting article yesterday about a loving woman, Becky Douglas, who began Rising Star Outreach, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving leprosy victims in India and their children, who live with them in the leprosy colonies (LDSLiving, May/June 2010, p. 20-21). Those with leprosy are treated as "untouchables" and shunned, "disowned by family members, and cast out of society because of the cultural stigma associated with the disease."

That caught my attention because the Old Testament {what I've read so far (or thus far)} talks about shunning people with leprosy and how it's used as a sign, a warning, or as a punishment from God. I just wonder how much of the ancient culture of different societies have been influenced by what Moses wrote.

Did you know that leprosy is a curable disease? I didn't know that. I figured societies had "leper colonies" because it wasn't curable. Anyway, Rising Star Outreach is an inspiring group. Here's their website: risingstaroutreach.org

I gave my Sunday school lesson today. It was about not forgetting God. When times are good, we tend to let our good spiritual habits slack. We don't read the scriptures as much nor pray as much. This makes it easier for negative influences to sway us. Prayer, attending church, Family Home Evening, gratitude, Word of Wisdom, and scripture reading are among many things we can do to protect ourselves.

Today is Mother's Day. I was given some blogging moments to myself. Time to trade in the computer for my kids and spend the rest of the day together.

:)

Moses? Moses Who?

This post is from my first guest blogger, my father. He didn't know he was going to be a guest blogger, but I liked his letter so much I asked if I could keep it here on my blog. (This is in response to my last post, click here).

Hi Gina. Dad here.

Okay if I share some reactions to your frustration with, particularly, the Old Testament? I've read the entire Bible a couple of times, the NT several times, and various portions of both OT and NT many, many times; and I generally dislike reading in the OT. A lot of it has to do with your reaction to the way God is portrayed and even moreso with how stupid the Israelites come across. That's especially if you take it at face value.

Many, many people share your horror at the murders and genocide that apparently was not only condoned, but ordered by God! A quick Google search reveals that. And many people come to your conclusion (or at least your preferred conclusion) that Moses was at fault, not God.

Lots of people question whether there was really such a person as Moses since there is really no extra-biblical proof that he did. But Moses was referred to many times in the New Testament, often even by Jesus himself. And of course, Moses appeared to Joseph Smith just a few decades ago. So, I suppose it's safe to assume he really existed.

Assuming that, what kind of guy was he? Apparently he had a speech impediment; certainly something that can make it difficult to be in public. He was born a slave, but raised as an Egyptian prince. That could certainly lead to a conflicted set of values. He murdered an Egyptian supervisor for abusing a Jewish slave and went into hiding. Not sure how it was that he was able to reappear and not have to face the murder charge. Anyway, he apparently had a temper; and as I say, the Israelites come across as really stupid people, which no doubt could cause Moses to lose it now and then.

So, why God chose Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, etc., I can only assume is God's way of showing that He can use an imperfect instrument to achieve His perfect plan. I guess we like to think that back then killing whole tribes of people (including women and children) was a common thing, and we've gotten over that. To think that means we have to ignore Rwanda and the K'mer Rouge and the Tutsis and Hutus, as well as the killing going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.. Should I mention the countless acts of violence that go on on an individual basis throughout the world?

Just like now, I think all that violence back then was simply the way humans chose to deal with things they were faced with; although it's hard to understand when the Bible says that God told them to go in and kill all the inhabitants.

That's why I mentioned before that I view the Bible and especially the OT as allegorical in nature because even if it is a literal recitation of history (and perhaps especially so), it has the effect of driving people away from God rather than drawing them to Him. On the other hand, if those stories are to be of any value to present-day people, the lessons have to be applicable on a personal level in a positive way. So, I believe the story of the Israelites in slavery, Moses' leading them out of Egypt, wandering around in the desert, and eventualy entering the promised land, is all allegorical to the progression of the human soul.

Before a person becomes aware of the presence of God in his or her life, he/she exists in ignorance and slavery to sin (separation from God). Anyone or anything which leads the person out of that slavery is their Moses. In the process of learning to survive without the structure of slavery and enjoying the liberties and responsibilities of freedom, a person encounters many obstacles which must be faced and dealt with in faith and action. And even when one enters the "promised land" of a consistent relationship with God, there is further development to be had and dangers of slipping back into slavery. So, the ruthless slaughter of men, women, and children is an allegorical reference to the strictness and severity with which we must each deal with whatever it is in our nature which prevents us from having a complete relationship with God. Since God, to be God, must be pure in nature, He cannot coexist with impurity; just as light cannot coexist with darkness. One drives the other out. So, to the extent we have impurities within our nature, we cannot have a full and complete relationship with Him until we exterminate those impurities. (Emphases by Gina...good stuff!)

(Emphases added by Gina).

Now, I don't know that any of this is true; but it seems to fit better with Jesus' description of God as being Love than the vengeful, sadistic God portrayed in the OT.

Well, those are a few thoughts your reaction triggered.

Love you,

Dad

Moses vs God: Challenging My Testimony

The first five books of the Old Testament are written by Moses. I've read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and part of Deuteronomy. It's been tough on my testimony.

Through the Abrahamic Covenant, God promises Abraham's seed a choice land flowing with milk and honey. First they spend hundreds of years in captivity in Egypt. Moses leads them out, and they journey towards the promised land. Through their journeys and acquisition of the land, they murder populations of other people at God's command (according to Moses).

For example, Numbers 31 - Israel (the name of Jacob's seed) camped near the Midianites. Some members committed "whoredoms" with some Midianite members. They committed adultery and worshiped false gods with them. This was excuse enough for Moses (through God's command) to have the Midianites destroyed. The men were destroyed, but the women and children were held captive. Moses became wroth with the army captains and told them to "kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves," 31:17-18.

Genocide at it's best.

The first five books are littered with God commanding Moses to destroy this group and that group (and these are left out of the Sunday school lessons).

(Where to begin?)

One of the reasons I became an atheist in my early 20's was because I was tired of people using God as an excuse to hurt each other. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of terrorists bullying in the name of God. I'm sick of religions fighting each other and bickering in the name of God. I'm sick of people fighting over land in the name of God. I'm sick of my holier-than-thou uncles belittling family members in the name of God. I could scream. I considered that maybe God didn't even exist and was invented as a way to control and abuse each other and get power.

Here's the thing: I have a testimony that my Heavenly Father loves me, and he loves each of his children, even the ones who don't know him, or know him and hate him. He loves us all. The loving God I have been taught about is NOT the god Moses speaks of.

God is supposed to be the same today as yesterday and tomorrow. (Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not...").

I have a hard time believing God commanded all of that murder Moses writes about. Honestly, I have a hard time taking most of what he writes as literal. The best I can do right now is accept that there is something Heavenly Father wants me to learn from these scriptures.

Every ancient society from every continent has its own story of how they began (where the people came from, how the land was formed, the opposing forces of good and evil, gods/spirits/powers). Isn't it possible the people of Moses' time were no different? Moses had a lot of time on his hands and wrote some great stories of how it all started. "Once upon a time..."

If I'm going to hold on to what testimony I have left, then I have to believe there's a middle ground, meaning, it's not my "once upon a time," all made up scenario I just mentioned, and it's not exactly how Moses wrote it, either. I think he embellished some details and threw in some allegories. He was God's humble prophet that got a taste of power and used God as an excuse to do haenious crimes against humanity for gain. His stories were published and used for centuries to this day as an example for extremists to do the same, unfortunately.

There's a reason a lot of these scriptures are left out of Sunday school lessons. It's deplorable. Families are sacred. Children are gifts. Yet, Moses's god has no problem ripping them apart.

Silver lining...

How thankful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ to bring light and hope and love and humanity to a dark, dark world of the Old Testament (what I've read so far). I'm sorry. Right now I just can't believe the Heavenly Father I pray to is the same Heavenly Father Moses speaks of. Moses misinterpreted God. Either something is wrong with God, or something was wrong with Moses. I choose to believe something was wrong with Moses. Prophets are people, too, with temptations and weaknesses (Balaam, for example) and also susceptible to eccentricities and poor mental health. For reasons I'm not educated in, yet, his books were chosen over others' to be included in the Bible.

I can't let this trip me up. I love the gospel. I love this church. My life is better for it. Dang it, Moses!