I bored everyione to hell by saying: Colin, there is much more to the Scriptures than that and I would suggest some courses in modern Biblical scholarship before one attempts to make those passages normative for the Scriptures.
Colin replies: 3 whole books are minute passages? That is very unfair to say there are 3 "whole" books of that type of stuff. And the Scriptures themselves address those issues in later writings. These passages serve as a humbling reminder that none should pick and chose a few passages out of someone else's religious texts and try and make that stand for the whole, as is happening a lot recently with Islam and the Q'ran. I also agree with you whole heartedly that passages that are historically relevant in the era Before the Common Era that are cited to "give" the land to anyone are not valid now. Those promises are not, were not granted in perpetuity and if God intended such, I am sure God would have produced legal descriptions of the land and the deeds. (Even then, exactly what land - there was no such thing as national boundaries in those days.) Twice theologically we understand that possession of the land was taken away, in the Babylonian Exile and in 70 CE with the fall of the 2nd Temple. The earth belongs to the Lord, not to any one or any group of people. And especially in the Deuteronomic covenant and the Levitical code and in the prophets we are enjoined repeatedly to welcome the alien and give them their choicest location in our community and supply to them, for we were once homeless and aliens, a wandering Aramaian was my ancestor... It is an irony that of we believe that God acts in history, then surely it was God's intent, out of a sense of humor or a reminder that none of us are so damned special, that locations holy to 3 faiths are located in the exact same place. Maybe God has deliberatly done such so that are reminded of the commands to live with, and share with the alien, the stranger, the wayfarer, the widow and orphan, for God says, look, I share this land with the humanity that I have made, now you learn to share what is mine. The religious zealots on all sides are the people exactly who never should be allowed to control anything. There is no question that Israel must be a safe and secure nation for its people. And there is no question that Palestine must be a safe and secure nation for its people. And there is no such thing as "a people" for we are all but images of God and we are all commanded to welcome the alien. But safety and security must prevail - for everyone. Now how we do that... who knows untgil people stop dwelling on what is "mine" and start dwelling on the concepts that everything is God's, not theirs, that the religion they espouse does not condone killing others but teaches that hospitaklity and welcome, safety and security, must be extended to all, to all, damn it, why does no one understand that, to all, to all. Vince
