A Bible-Thumped Witch

Question:
Why haven't any Christians tried to kill me yet?
It states in the King James bible very clearly "Thall shalt not suffer a witch to live."
Well, I'm a witch. I make no attempt to hide the fact that I'm a witch and I proudly proclaim this fact about myself to Christians and non-Christians alike.
If the entire bible is the infallible Word of God, and a true Christian is supposed to do everything it says, then why has no Christian tried to kill me? Are you worried about legal troubles? Your God is supposed to reward you in heaven for being faithful, so why would you worry about going to jail or anything?
I ask this because I'm sick of people saying that the entire Bible should be taken literally and that none of it should be left out. Also, there is no possible way I'm taking this out of context. This is a direct quote straight from Deuteronomy. That's the verse word for word so it is not out of context.
If Christians are not under old testament Law, then why do Christians always quote Deuteronomy when they tell me I'm a sinner for being a lesbian? You can't have it both ways.

My Reply:
Yes, Christians are under the Law in terms of discipline, but we're not bound by it like the Israelites were in the Old Testament, since Jesus fulfilled it.
When reading God's Law, we need to remember who the target audience was...God's people.  Moses didn't read this to the surrounding nations, He read it to God's people who were in direct lineage of His Covenant and blessings. See, there's a special holiness that's demanded of God's people, and these laws and commandments were in place to train and form the Israelites into this demanded transformation, and away from what they were. The lesbian, witch, animality, certain foods, etc. on the other hand, were all things that the surrounding nations were engulfed in.  God's people were to be different...Holy as God is Holy.
Also, in terms of witches, y'all don't worship God (as I'm sure you fully know), and God's people were not only commanded to worship the Lord only, but several generations also vowed to.  Therefore, anybody who worshipped something other than the Lord was to be put to death, for they had rejected the Lord, as well as broken their vow with Him and the nation Israel.  [This may also account for what Jesus said in Matthew 5:30: “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” If one member of the Body sins, throw him out of the congregation, for keeping him in would cause the whole body to become guilty of sin (leavening). Therefore, cut it off, for it’s better to lose one part of the body than for your whole Body (the whole nation Israel) to go into hell…Also where Paul tells the Corinthians to expel the sinner, casting him out to Satan…for the rest of the church was accepting it and thus fueling the fires of hell to consume them all…so cast out the one part that sins, for it’s better to lose part than all.]
In the sense of judgment, we Christians are not to judge those outside the Church...that's God's job. Those whom we ARE to judge is one another (other Christians), but in the sense of accountability, not condemnation. You are not of God's people (you've even admitted this in your question). Therefore, we are not called to condemn you, but witness to you and represent God with hopes and prayers that you may come to know Jesus Christ with the love that He has for you.  If anything, we're to condemn what you're doing and the spirit behind it, but not you personally.
Now, in the sense of witchcraft (yes, even "white" witchcraft), such is not of God, but of God's enemy. Jesus also said that "those who are not with Me are against Me." This may explain the aggressiveness of those coming after you with Deuteronomy, for they recognize the spirit from which your witchcraft originates.  But as you've noticed, we have not tried to kill you because it is not with you whom we battle, but with the one whom you serve. (And though we battle him every day, Jesus already won the war).
There's a saying that "those who are against Bible thumpers are usually those who have been thumped by Bibles." If you've been thumped, I can only assume it was by those who either fear you, or the spirit behind your witchcraft, or by people who deep down really care about you yet still need to learn how to show you this in love and compassion, versus the harsh swinging of their swords.

---Pastor Andy  :}>+-

Dim-witted Israelites?

Question: Why would the Israelites worship idols they already knew were false?  Christians often argue that people wouldn't die for a lie as proof of their beliefs, but this argument actually goes against the Bible as the Israelites had even more proof of God than the early Christians did. In the Bible, the Israelites supposedly had direct communication with God as well as plenty of spectacular signs like the parting of the red sea to prove who the true God was. Doesn't this suggest that the evidence wasn't as strong as alleged?  Someone might worship false gods out of ignorance if they sincerely believe it will benefit them, but what would they have to gain by knowingly worshipping a false god, especially when the consequence is being executed or being conquered by pagan nations. They might as well worship a chair or a table. It's like knowing that fire burns and then sticking your arm in the fire anyway. Were the Israelites really that dim-witted, or were they masochists who just liked to suffer?

My Reply:

I think one of the main mistakes the Israelites made was when Moses invited them up to the mountain to talk with God, and they insisted that God use a human (Moses) to communicate through instead (talk about a rejection!). So then all throughout history, they kept their distance from the Lord, only keeping to the religious practices because they had to, not because they wanted to.

Another reason is because the generations failed to teach their children about the Lord, His Laws, and awesome events such as the Red Sea.

Then there’s the fact that the Israelites wanted to socialize and network with the surrounding pagan nations instead of be the one, special, chosen people of God.  Egypt is mentioned so often in the Old Testament, partially because the Israelite kings would often go to them for chariots and such.  But I’m assuming they also admired the gold, structures, and different culture to the point of envy.  Plus, the other nations also had something to offer that they didn’t have in their own lands.  For example, some surrounding religious practices included prostitutes, whereas God required purity.  So when you look at the culture of the time where women were treated more like property and treaty-binders, such a practice no doubt looked appealing.

Then finally, there were the kings.  All throughout 1^st and 2^nd Kings, you’ll read of kings from either Kingdom leading their people to sin.  The people recognized their king as their leader, and so when Jeroboam introduced 2 golden calves, Ahab introduced Baal, and others introduced Ashtoreth and other false gods, the people served who they were told to serve, and who was promoted throughout their land.

I do agree though that they must've been thick-headed, or empty-headed (or as the term goes today, “open-minded”) to continue returning to idols and their former slave drivers in Egypt, but technically speaking, an idol is anything that causes us to take our focus off of God/Jesus, and puts it onto instead. For example, look at some of the idols we have today: fame; money; popularity; cars; "big" stuff; bling; jobs; celebrities; our bodies...even today, we can get just as caught up in these as the Israelites did with their idols back then.

We need to keep constant communication with the Lord, fellowship with the Body, faces in the Word, and friends to keep us accountable in order to keep from slipping away from Him, as they did.  We also need to make sure that the generations after us know of and follow Jesus, too.
For some more on this topic, check out my blog.

---Pastor Andy

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Christians' Lack Of Discerning Good from Evil

Question: Why don't Christians have discernment of good and evil any longer?  In the end, to the churchgoer, will Jesus say; ''depart from me you sinners, I never got a chance to know you?" Will it be a complete surprise?

My Answer:

I’m a little confused by your question.

In the Old Testament, we often read about God calling His people back to Him. Why? Because though God wanted them to be Holy, or set apart from the other nations, they wanted to mix in and be like the other nations. This soon corrupted their thoughts, behaviors, and even worship.

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (as well as all the other churches he wrote to), the outside world's culture was leaking into the Church. They were nobodies before entering the Church, and once they began gaining status, they began behaving as those outside the church.

I have come to notice many Christians today making the same mistakes as both groups mentioned. We're called to be Holy, but so many "Christians" today want to fit in with the world...they don't want to offend anybody with their faith, or exclude anybody, even though the scriptures say that many will be; they begin believing only the parts they want in the Bible; and they no longer see the urgency (or even importance) of the Gospel.  And so therefore, they fall away from the Truth, causing them to have difficulties discerning good from evil.

Will Jesus say "depart from me, evildoers, for I never knew you."? Maybe, for Christianity is all about the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. If they lost sight of Him and put their focus onto a false god or a false image of Christ, then such is a possibility. (Just because somebody looks like your best friend, doesn't mean they even know who you are).

---Pastor Andy

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