Cafeteria Christianity

Often, many Christians will say XYZ is a sin, while ABC is no longer a sin.

The mix up comes from inconsistent application of the Bible, of course - as it always does. In the New Testament, we are taught that Christ Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant. That is to say, things that the Jews used to have to do to show themselves separate, were no longer required. Still, some "sins" or other instructions for how the Jews could keep a different appearance as given in the Torah (first five books of the Bible - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), are now claimed by Christians - incorrectly - to still be "sins."

For example, you might get a statement like this:
It's OK to eat shellfish, but not to be homosexual.

How does one figure out what are the sins, and what are the lifestyle commands for the Jews? 

It is much simpler than most people would let you believe, and that because God made it simple, not complex. To determine what is a sin, one can look to one of three main schools of thought (which largely overlap):
- The Decalogue (Ten Commandments)
- The Noahide Code
- The Greatest Commandment

I've talked about the Greatest Commandment before (love God, love your neighbor). so, for the sake of this article, let's focus on the other two.

Decalogue:
1. Have no other gods before Jehova.
2. Do not make graven images.
3. Do not take God's name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath.
5. Honor your father and mother in the Lord.
6. Do not murder.*
7. Do not commit adultery.**
8. Do not steal.
9. Do not bear false witness against another person.***
10. Do not covet.

Noahide Code
1. Prohibition of Idolatry.
2. Prohibition of murder.*
3. Prohibition of theft.
4. Prohibition of sexual immorality.**
5. Prohibition of Blasphemy.
6. Prohibition of eating flesh of an animal still alive (humaneness).
7. Establishment of courts of law to enforce 1-6.

Let's analyze:
Decalogue 1, 2, 3, 4 and Noahide 1 & 5 are all under the same umbrella.
Decalogue 6 = Noahide 2.
Decalogue 7 is covered under the same umbrella that is Noahide 4.
Decalogue 8 = Noahide 3.
Decalogue 5, 9, and 10 do not have a Noahide counterpart.
Noahide 6 and 7 do not have a Decalogue counterpart.

Rabbinic Jews would say that non-Jews cannot sin by failing to observe the parts of the Decalogue not covered in the Noahide. In other words, for a gentile (non-Jew), Decalogue 5, 9, and 10 are not sinful activities - according to Rabbinic Jews.

However, for the purpose of this article, lets include all of these as potential sins... just to be on the safe side. And let's face it, most people would agree that it is wrong to fail to honor one's parents, to bear false witness, and to covet. Likewise, being humane is a good thing, and being inhumane is bad. Enforcing the good is a necessary part of society.

So there we have it. Except the notes:

* The sin is murder. Killing a person may or may not be murder, depending on circumstance. Plotting the demise of a person who spoke ill of you on the internet would be murder. Shooting a burglar who breaks into your home and threatens your family would be a justifiable homicide - not murder. Murder is the sin. Killing a person may or may not be a sin... depending on what is in the person's heart.

** Adultery is specifically the breaking of the marriage vows.
Fornication is using sex to worship other gods, or to dominate / assault another person.
Sexual sin is covered in greater detail here.

*** Bearing false witness against another person is not necessarily lying. It is lying that causes harm to another. As in, lying on the witness stand ("bearing false witness"). Sometimes, deception is used by God to accomplish good (ie - saying: "no, Mr. psycho-murdering maniac, my family is not in the next room" when, in fact, your family is in the next room). We, being made in God's image, and with free will, are given the ability to distinguish using it for good vs. using it for evil. Bearing false witness as a sin is the use of deception for evil. 


Commonly or sometime listed as sins... but they are NOT sins:
- Premarital sex
- Eating of certain foods
- Wearing of certain mixed fabric garments
- Drinking alcohol
- Using drugs
- Short hair (women) / Long hair (men)
- Pride / Gluttony / Sloth / Lust / Greed are not sins if they do not harm you or another person.


Jewish Law
Simply put - all commands given by God to the Jews not included in the above are just that - Jewish Law. These may or may not fall into the category of sin for a practicing Jew, depending on wording and other factors. There are hundreds of laws that fall into this category, so they will not be touched on for the sake of brevity. Basically, if it is found in Leviticus, it is Jewish Law.


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