- Exploring Difficult Commands -
A Letter to Dr. Laura
Part 5
by Brad Scott
Well, here we are at another crossroad in the saga of Mr. Wizard. A man who, because of his world view, ends up responsible, albeit unknowingly, for the very things he hates about this world. This next comment is no exception.
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?
A man we shall call Bob one day finds himself in an appliance store searching, somewhat against his will, for a food processor. On the way home his wife, through the normal wifely kind of pressure, convinces Bob to give juicing his meals a try. He sets the box on the dining room table and, without thinking, sets out to commit a breach of normal male conduct by opening the box and reading the instruction manual. While finishing with no extra parts left over, he commits an even greater atrocity by actually reading the warning labels. One of the warnings written in bold black letters instructs the user of this product to refrain from opening the small silver slide at the back of the processor. After many uses Bob becomes convinced that juicing is not so bad after all. One day he turns on the processor and to his dismay it is making an horrific racket. Bob determines that the sound is coming from somewhere near the little silver slide at the back of the processor. Bob opens the slide searching for the source of the gradual slowing down of the motor. He sees that it is plugged with food, so he sticks his finger in the hole to clear out the food. The grinding apparatus clears out all the food along with a half an inch of Bob's finger. Bob's wife naturally asked why he stuck his finger in the hole when the instructions warned him not to do that. He promptly replied that he did not see anything dangerous in a hole making a lot of noise.
Is it possible that the manufacturer of the processor saw or knew something that Mr. Wizard, I mean Bob, could not see or know? I am certain that the Mr. Wizards of the world are convinced that the instructions of our Father are just a list of mundane religious practices for mindless, biblical robots to blindly follow to distinquish them from Buddhists and Wiccans. But it is this writer's opinion that most theologians and powers that be behind the pulpits deep down inside believe the same thing. I mean, what in the world do the things written in the Scriptures have to do with the real world? You know what Mr. Wizard is thinking. He is asking what kind of God would have someone executed based upon whether he rests on the seventh day or not? What kind of barbaric creature is this that you worship? I mean, let's face it, people like Mr. Wizard are not moved by religious answers such as this day is sanctified or this day is set apart and to be honored if you love God. His fellow wizards of the world are not spiritually blind and it is not that they just do not grasp spiritual concepts. I contend they are physically blind. They cannot comprehend the seen things of creation much less the unseen things.
Let's stretch our imaginations for a moment and pretend that God is moral and justified in His attitude about this one day of rest each circuit of seven. Let's just make believe for the sake of illustration that He does know what He is doing. Imagine that the author of the instruction manual for humans knows what the humans do not know. Let's pretend that He designed the food processor, I mean our bodies, and He can see the unseen. He knows every little detail about our body, how it works, and how it can operate the most effciently. Would He be moral if He did not give us any warnings of potential danger or destruction? Suppose that He knows that we are only capable of caring for and responding to our bodies on a day to day basis. Suppose He sees the whole picture of our existence and knows the end from the beginning. Would it be appropriate for the designer to warn his design of short and long term dangers? Imagine for a moment that our bodies are designed to work six and rest one and any other pattern was potentially hazardous to ourselves and others. Perhaps even life threatening. Would He be morally accountable to do something about it?
I pose the question again. Suppose that our Creator is aware of how our bodies and the rest of creation functions. According to MedicineNet.com, a web site dedicated to a compendium of expert medical opinions, our bodies respond to daily circadian rhythms. Our bodies have an internal clock just like other biological forms such as plants and animals including, and most importantly, the earth. It may be just a coincidence that our Father has particular times of rest for the ground, as well. These clocks affect almost every level of our internal organs and bodily functions. Suppose those rhythms are constantly corrupted by external means and are detrimental to our ability to function. How would you feel about someone who corrupted those biological functions with their own particular world view and taught others to do so as well?
Do the Scriptures teach us that this is something we take into our own hands? Absolutely not! Our Judicial system in America was originally set up based upon our Father's instuctions. It is interesting to note that we call them the Fathers of our Constitution. When the know-it-alls of our culture thumb their nose at our laws, we are obligated to take them through a judicial process. There are no vigilantes in our Creator's instructions. So no, Mr. Wizard you are not obligated to kill him yourself. So I know what you are thinking to yourself, not suggesting that we can think to someone else. You are saying, "So, Brad, are you suggesting that this law should be in our country today?" Well, I will put it this way, "The way our culture sees justice today... ahhh, how's that workin' for ya?"
Given these facts about our lives and how precisely designed they are indeed, is it just happenstance that our Creator revealed to us in numerous ways that on His chosen day of rest that we are to refresh and renew ourselves. Did He just mean spiritually, or could it be He had more insight that we thought?
Shemot (Exodus) 23:10-12 "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed."
You mean to say that this barbaric Creator had the wherewithal to know in advance that all biological life was to have the same rest? Mr. Wizard needs to stop looking at the Scriptures through the glasses of wooly-robed, bald-headed monks chanting and fondling rosary beads. Look at the evidence around you my friend, make sure your sarcasm is founded on evidence and do NOT put your finger in a hole that is making a lot of noise.
Shalom Alecheim! ◊