myths – La Vista Church of Christ

Why do the headstones in cemeteries face east?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 21:45:52 +0000

Question:

Hello Mr. Hamilton,

I was having a conversation with my dad about cemeteries. I suppose I never considered it, but he mentioned that all cemeteries are typically arranged with the head of the deceased facing East. And my dad looked it up, and it said that one of the reasons Christians do it is because it's believed that during the Second Coming of Christ, He'll come from the east. So the dead are faced so they will be ready to greet Christ. So, when Jesus comes back, will he come back from the East, or is this just another premillennialist belief?

Thanks for your time.

Answer:

While many cemeteries orient the bodies to face east, this practice is not universal. It appears the tradition developed from a misapplication of the Scriptures.

In speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem and how widely that judgment would be noticed, Jesus said, "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:27). People have taken Jesus' illustration too literally and assume that he would come from the east. They also applied it to his second coming instead of realizing Jesus was talking about his coming in judgment on Jerusalem.

Jesus also refers to himself in Revelation 22:16 as the bright morning star, which would be in the east. By this, Jesus is saying that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Numbers 24:17. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and the morning star heralds the arrival of the approaching dawn (Proverbs 4:18). Again, people took figurative speech and tried to make literal application of it.

Thus, it is a man-made tradition that self-perpetuates. It is not something required in the Scriptures.

Response:

Thank you. That makes a lot of sense!

Is the Bible Full of Fables?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 23:36:58 +0000

by Richard Blackford

I was recently invited to join a website for Bible discussion. It didn’t take long to observe that its purpose was to bash the Bible, Christ, and Christianity. An accusation was made a few weeks ago that the Bible is composed of fables. My reaction to that is two-fold:

This person is not familiar with the Bible,
This person does not know what a fable is.

Fables Contrasted with the Bible

Fables usually have a moral but are considered fiction from the very beginning. Biblical events were never considered fiction at any time, but they were genuinely believed by the writers from the start. A fable is a narrative form that highlights human follies and weaknesses. Remember, fables are fiction.

Fables are short and have few characters. Many are animals or inanimate objects with human attributes. (Britannica). Since they use animals, they are considered a sub-genre of fantasy. Two examples of Aesop’s Fables are given, which we all agree are fiction and fantasy: “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Ant and the Grasshopper.” No one can keep a straight face and compare those to the lofty material in the Bible, which deals with the real problem of sin (which many want to avoid, for all have sinned). The Bible deals with man’s need for a Savior and the plan that brought Him into the world. It includes real people living at particular times in history, real geographical places, the birth of a nation, the first written law and the fulfillment of a plan that explains the meaning of life, and sublime answers to the solemn questions of “Where did I come from?, Why am I here?,” and What is to become of me?” Fables don’t do important things like that. The “Ant and the Grasshopper” or the “Tortoise and the Hare” do not compare to the Bible in content.

It's interesting that the men God used to record the Scriptures (inspired by God) knew that centuries later, future skeptics and scoffers would make the feeble fable argument. So they answered it long before it was made! This has been the case on many points.

Peter said, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (II Peter 1:16).

Paul: “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith…” (I Timothy 1:4).

Paul: “But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (I Timothy 4:7).

Bible writers knew what fables were, but they didn’t want anything to do with them, so they warned us against fables. Peter contrasted fables (fiction) with eyewitness testimony. Paul said fables don’t edify. Again, Paul contrasted fables to exercising oneself “unto godliness.”

To equate the Bible with fables and fairy tales is an unfair and gross misrepresentation. If the Bible can be dismissed that easily, then we are free to live lives of self-indulgence with no accountability. And some like it that way.

Meme Makers Myth-informed

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 26 Jan 2025 22:03:17 +0000

by Richard Blackford

Meme makers are trying to discredit Jesus again. It’s difficult to find more falsehood in such a small space. This was making the rounds on social media during the holidays.

One of the first things mentioned is Jesus’ “Birthday is celebrated on December 25th. ”But notice the title: “THE BIBLE. Not as original as you’d think…” The Bible says nothing(!) about the date when Jesus was born. They myth-read the Bible and immediately myth-represented it.

“But early Christians did not celebrate his birth, and no one knows on which date Jesus was actually born (some scholars believe that the actual date was in the early spring, placing it closer to Easter, the holiday commemorating his Resurrection)…… The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in A.D. 336, during the reign of the emperor Constantine. As Constantine had made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that choosing this date had the political motive of weakening the established pagan celebrations. The date was not widely accepted in the Eastern Empire, where January 6 had been favored, for another half-century, and Christmas did not become a major Christian festival until the 9th century” [“Why Is Christmas in December?,” Encyclopedia Britannica Online].

Also, the meme maker asserted no proof that Horus was born on December 25. He gave no evidence because there was no evidence. So, the meme maker’s argument is with the Roman church (which changed the date several times before choosing December 25 in the 4th century), not with the Bible.
We’re told Horus was born of a virgin. This lacks any Egyptian historical or archeological support, especially from the 3000 years between when Horus was supposed to have lived and the coming of Jesus into the world. In fact, the story of Horus is that the body of Osiris (Horus’ father) had been dismembered into 14 pieces by his murderous brother, Typhon, and he hid the pieces throughout Egypt. Isis, the consort and brother of Osirus, went throughout Egypt and found the pieces, except for his reproductive apparatus, which a fish had eaten. She made a replica and brought Osiris back to life, and they cohabited. Still, it's not a virgin birth. Another version was that Horus was conceived when Osiris and Isis (brother and sister) were still in the womb(!) of Rhea. It is still not a virgin birth, but it does show the desperation of fans of Horus to make Horus the basis for the account of Jesus in the gospels.
The meme says the North Star led wise men to Jesus when he was born. There is no issue with the Bible, for the North Star is not mentioned in connection with the birth of Jesus. The wise men said, “We have seen his star in the east" (Matthew 2:2). There is no evidence in the Horus story of three wise men, and we’re not told how many wise men came to see the baby Jesus.
There is no archaeological evidence that the Egyptians believed Horus was crucified and then resurrected. We could continue this same point with all the information about Horus in the right column. The info on the meme about Horus doesn’t appear in ancient Egyptian documents, and there is no archeological support. But we can’t blame Horus. He was a” real myth” (oxymoron). It looks extremely like his fans are the copycats in their efforts to bring down Jesus. They are myth-guided and are trying to myth-lead others. Documentation is myth-ing.

Stories of these mythical gods are filled with murder, fornication, adultery, incest, debauchery, and self-indulgence. There is no evidence that this mythical creature cared for the welfare of humans on Earth. Things that skeptics ridicule in the Bible look very tame compared to the farfetched claims for the gods of paganism. For example, Horus got his brother, Set, pregnant when Set was fed a piece of lettuce!

Much of the info about Horus comes from a book by Gerald Massey, a 19th-century skeptic, amateur historian, and wannabe Egyptologist. This attempt to smear Jesus has been promoted by TV celebrity Bill Maher and the 2007 movie Zeitgeist. Ironically, the movie claims to be a documentary, but it, too, is scant in documentation. Zeitgeist was directed by, produced by, narrated by, edited by, and the music by - Peter Joseph. Tens of millions of viewers have viewed it. Mr. Massey appears to be the myth-ing link who contrived this myth-chief. Those who have helped circulate these memes have not bothered to verify their claims and have become partakers of his evil deeds. It appears that the only reason anyone would want to do that is that they, too, would like to destroy Jesus. Jesus said, “He that is not with me, is against me” (Matthew 12:30).

But why do they desire to destroy Jesus? It could be because he has a moral standard. Jesus went about doing nothing but good (Acts 10:38). He taught that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). He helped the poor and had compassion for widows and orphans. He healed the sick, raised the dead, comforted the afflicted and bereaved. His love for everybody far surpassed anything that has ever been known. He went to the cross in a desperate effort to save as many as would come to Him. He was the Master Teacher who taught many wonderful and valuable lessons, including the Golden Rule, which cannot be improved upon (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). His teachings were so lofty and sublime that no one could compare to Him. Certainly not Horus or any of the mythical gods. He truly cared about you, me, and everyone.

If you would like to know more about the One who is offering you hope in this life and victory and blessing in the future life, and who genuinely loves you, we offer home Bible studies at your convenience. We can come to you, or you to us. You will be truly enlightened by the word described as “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105). In these studies, there are no tests and no coercion. When you honestly seek Jesus and see Him for who He really is, no coercion is needed. Please contact us. It is urgent. We only have limited time here.

Is it wrong for a Christian to be interested in cultural myths?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 22:47:11 +0000

Question:

I'm interested in Greek, Norse, and Egyptian Mythology. Is it wrong for me, as a Christian, to be into those mythologies?

Answer:

"As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith" (I Timothy 1:3-4).

The myths condemned in the Bible were teachings of people's imagination that were treated as real. Ultimately, they are lies about the world and how it operates.

It is not wrong to be aware of the myths of various cultures, but you must be careful about what these myths teach. They are not founded on true holiness. For example, many myths depict their gods doing all sorts of evil, including lying, fornication, and adultery. They are presented as if evil is acceptable. You don't want to be influenced by these stories.

Response:

Thank you for your answer. I guess I'll have to focus more on God and the Bible than all the mythologies around the world that were copied from the Bible to confuse mankind.

Are we bound by our culture’s traditions?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 21:03:23 +0000

Question:

In this region of my country, there is a traditional belief that the spirit of your ancestors will kill you and your children if your wife has an affair. If you present a cow to your in-laws during your father-in-law's funeral and you did not do the same during your father's burial, your ancestors will kill you.

Are we not redeemed and free from all this when we become Christians? It's so scary and we believe this because we see people die who are accused of these crimes, or rather when people die mysteriously, they blame it on these beliefs and claim the deceased broke the laws. What is our stand as Christians in this type of society? Is this belief true, and are we bound by them?

Answer:

"For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).

The dead are no longer involved in life on earth. Therefore, a person's ancestors cannot kill their descendants. What you are dealing with is a cultural myth that is used to scare people into behaving.

"As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith" (I Timothy 1:4).

Adultery is wrong, but it is the sinner who bears the consequences, not the innocent (Ezekiel 18:20). Just because a person generously gives a gift, it is incorrect that everyone should receive the same gift (Matthew 20:15).

Christianity turns the world upside down because we follow the truth and are not caught up in myths. Where a tradition or practice does not violate the teachings of God, we try to accommodate our lives in order to be able to teach people the truth. But we don't follow traditions into sinful behavior. "To those who are without law, [we live as though] as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law" (I Corinthians 9:20).

Are these points about Easter true?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 16:00:16 +0000

Question:

Is this true?

Origin of Easter:

Origin of word, "Easter": Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring: "Eostre"

In her honor sacrifices were offered at the vernal equinox or spring

By 8th century church leaders applied "Eostre" to Christ's resurrection

In Acts 12:4, "Passover" in mistranslated "Easter" is in some Bibles

Origin of symbols of Easter:

Easter Egg:

Eggs represented new life that returns to nature about Easter

Ancient Egyptians & Persians dyed eggs in spring colors & gave to friends

Eggs symbolize the now life found in the resurrected Christ

Easter bunny: In ancient Egypt, rabbits, like eggs symbolized new life

Answer:

A monk named Bede, wrote around 700 A.D.:

"Eostur-monath has a name which is now translated Paschal month, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance."

The existence of such a goddess is a bit obscure. "Eosturmonath may simply mean 'the month of opening', appropriate for a time of opening buds" [Adrian Bott, "The modern myth of the Easter bunny," The Guardian, 23 April 2011]. So whether the name came from the name of a spring month or the name of a now unknown spring goddess is debated. What remains is that name became attached to Christians' celebration of Jesus' resurrection in the spring.

Of more interest is why Christians decided to start an annual celebration of Jesus' resurrection. What history tells us is that in the second century, Christians started wanting festivals similar to what the Jews had. "The New Testament contains no traces of annual festivals; but so early as the second century we meet with the general observance of Easter and Pentecost, founded on the Jewish Passover and feasts of harvest" [Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Third Period, AD 311-590, The Church Year]. Only early on it was called "Pascha" in Greek, which is the Greek word for "Passover." Initially, it was held at the same time as the Jewish Passover, but in A.D. 325, the Council of Nicaea set the date to the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. In other words, the entire holiday was started because people were not content to simply do as God directed.

Easter eggs were a borrowed tradition from medieval traditions in Europe. "Decorated eggs had been part of the Easter festival at least since medieval times, given the obvious symbolism of new life. A vast amount of folklore surrounds Easter eggs, and in a number of Eastern European countries, the process of decorating them is extremely elaborate" [Katie Morrow, "Why Easter is called Easter, and other little-known facts about the holiday," 29 March 2021]. "Decorating eggs for Easter is a tradition that dates back to at least the 13th century, according to some sources. One explanation for this custom is that eggs were formerly a forbidden food during the Lenten season, so people would paint and decorate them to mark the end of the period of penance and fasting, then eat them on Easter as a celebration" ["Easter Symbols and Traditions," History.com, 24 March 2021]. Where the medieval Europeans picked up their practice is more debated, but decorating eggs has been around for a long time.

The Easter bunny dates back to a 17th-century German tradition. "According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs. Eventually, the custom spread across the U.S." ["Easter Symbols and Traditions," History.com, 24 March 2021]. Again, where the German's got their tradition is debated, but it is not hard to see why rabbits are associated with the spring season.

Regardless of the origins, the traditions may be fun for children, but they have nothing to do with New Testament Christiainity.

Is Christianity a myth?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 00:24:00 +0000

Question:

Hey Mr. Jeffrey,

I'm taking a philosophy class, and we are studying how the Greeks used mythology in the past to make sense of their world. I asked the professor to explain what a myth is and he said "a story you don't believe." I knew I could've picked that answer apart, but I let it go. Then he went on to list different myths, to which he included "The Father, the Son, the Spirit. Myth!"

I know he is wrong, but I was thinking about the impressionable students who probably take his word as fact. What approach or questions could I have asked to have him better explain himself? My thoughts were: So if a myth is just what you said it is, then it is purely subjective to the individual. How can you objectively prove something is a myth if it is "merely a story you don't believe?" I don't know if that's a good route or not.

Answer:

It is an excellent route. It would be the one I would pick. What is missing from his definition is whether a story contains facts or not. Facts can be verified, but myths cannot be verified. One aspect of the definition of a myth is: "a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence" [Merriam-Webster Dictionary].

By his definition, people going to the moon is a myth, at least to some, because they don't believe it. Yet, it is never a myth because the facts can be verified.

While he disbelieves Christianity, it too offers facts that be judged and verified. " "Present your case," the LORD says. "Bring forward your strong arguments," The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; as for the former events, declare what they were, that we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; declare the things that are going to come afterward, that we may know that you are gods; indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are of no account, and your work amounts to nothing; he who chooses you is an abomination" (Isaiah 41:21-24). That he personally has a problem with Christianity does not make it a myth.

If you want to have some fun, you could point out that this lecture must be a myth because you don't believe it.

Did the priests have a rope tied to their ankles when entering the tabernacle?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 02:25:00 +0000

Question:

I have heard all my life that priests in the Old Testament when entering the tabernacle had a rope tied to their leg in case they were killed because of some sin in their life, they could be pulled out since no one else could enter the Tabernacle.

Thank you.

Answer:

This is a myth that has been traced to the Middle Ages. "The rope on the high priest legend is just that: a legend. It has obscure beginnings in the Middle Ages and keeps getting repeated. It cannot be found anywhere in the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud, Mishna, or any other Jewish source. It just is not there." [Dr. W.E. Nunnally]. The source appears to be a text on Jewish mysticism.

"It would seem that the first traceable reference to this custom is in the Zohar, a thirteenth century mystical Jewish commentary on the Torah written by Moses de Leon. The Zohar is the basic text of Kaballah, the practice of Jewish mysticism.

Here's the reference: "Rabbi Yitzchak said, A chain was tied to the feet of the High Priest, when he entered THE HOLY OF HOLIES, so that if he dies there they will take him out, SINCE IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER THERE… Then there is joy among the higher and lower beings. If not, they were all in sorrow and all knew that their prayer was not accepted."
Zohar Vol. 16 Emor, Section 34. Yom Kippur, Par. 251.

[Dustin Germain, "The Rope Around The High Priest's Ankle- Myth's That'll Preach"].

There are biblical flaws in the myth. There are multiple priests and any priest can enter the tabernacle's holy place. There was a room at the back of the tabernacle, the holy of holies, that only the high priest could enter once a year. However, on the day of atonement, prior to entering the holy of holies, the high priest made sacrifices for his personal sins. Thus, there would be no sins attributed to the high priest prior to entering the holy of holies. "And Moses said to Aaron, "Go to the altar, offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and for the people. Offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as the LORD commanded. ... And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people" (Leviticus 9:7, 23; see also Leviticus 16).

Some versions of the myth claim that people would know when to pull out the priest when the bells on his garments ceased to tinkle. The problem is that before the priest entered the holy of holies, he changed into plain linen garments. "He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on" (Leviticus 16:4).

The Myth of the Flat Earth

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 20:36:00 +0000

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

I ran across an article, from Newsweek of all places, that pointed out that humanity as a whole never really believed in the concept of a flat earth. [Douglas Main, "Even in the Middle Ages, People Didn't Think the Earth Was Flat," Newsweek, 16 January 2016].

"A round Earth appears at least as early as the sixth century B.C. with Pythagoras, who was followed by Aristotle, Euclid, and Aristarchus, among others in observing that the earth was a sphere." By the first century A.D., "the sphericity of the earth was accepted by all educated Greeks and Romans." [Jeffrey Burton Russell, historian, 1997].

Actually, it should be noted that we have even earlier evidence of the belief.

"When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep" (Proverbs 8:27).

"It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in" (Isaiah 40:22).

The Hebrew word translated as "circle" is chuwg (or sometimes transliterated as khug). It translates the concept of something round, rounded, or dome-shaped and can be applied to a spherical shape. For example, the other place this word is used is "Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; and He walks on the vault of heaven" (Job 22:14) to describe the shape of the sky. Notice that "dome" would be an accurate translation in all three usages of the word in the Bible.

Chuwg is not used in the Bible to describe a flat circle or a disk. You cannot take what people wish this word to mean and then state that is how it was used by the writers of the Bible. The Hebrew word for a flat circle, by the way, is cabab. "So he had the ark of the LORD taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp" (Joshua 6:11).

Proverbs 8:27 is of particular interest because it says the oceans (the deep) are round or circular. Yet, it cannot be describing the shape of the shoreline since they are anything but round. However, the surface of the oceans (its face) is round or spherical in shape. We know such to be true because the earth is a sphere and the oceans take on a rounded (or if you will, a circular) shape. A disk-shaped world would not give the oceans a circular, rounded, or dome shape.

Isaiah lived about 740-681 BC. Solomon, who wrote Proverbs, lived about 990-931 BC. Thus, the idea that the earth was spherical has been around for many thousands of years, probably for as long as man has been on the earth.

Douglas Main, the writer of the Newsweek article, goes on to note that Christianity didn't change the acceptance of a round earth.

"While between two and five early popes denied the sphericity of the Earth, the vast majority of people disagreed. "The point is that no educated person believed" the Earth was flat, Russell notes."

So where did the myth arise that ancient people believed in a flat earth?

"The fault lies with 19th century writers such as Washington Irving, Jean Letronne and others. Letronne was "an academic of strong anti-religious prejudices ... who cleverly drew upon both to misrepresent the church fathers and their medieval successors as believing in a flat earth, in his On the Cosmographical Ideas of the Church Fathers," published in 1834, Russell writes."

Wanting to disparage Christianity, these writers decided that early religious people had to have believed in a flat earth -- not because of evidence but because of their own dislike of religion.

"Why bother perpetuating falsehoods? Russell and Gould suggest the flat-earth myth was used to demonize Christians and religion in general, and to lionize scientists. "The falsehood about the spherical earth became a colorful and unforgettable part of a larger falsehood: the falsehood of the eternal war between science (good) and religion (bad) throughout Western history," Russell writes.

"The reason for promoting both the specific lie about the sphericity of the earth and the general lie that religion and science are in natural and eternal conflict in Western society, is to defend Darwinism," he continues, which was introduced around the same time.

"The flat-earth lie was ammunition against the Creationists. The argument was simple and powerful, if not elegant: 'Look how stupid these Christians are. They are always getting in the way of science and progress. These people who deny evolution today are exactly the same sort of people as those idiots who for at least a thousand years denied that the earth was round. How stupid can you get?'"

People readily accepted this lie because it matches the general belief that modern people are more advanced and knowledgeable than the ancients. The real problem is that we tend to forget the past. "Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after" (Ecclesiastes 1:10-11). Sure, our technology has improved, but that doesn't mean our ancestors were ignorant. Nor is there anything inherent in religion that only attracts less intelligent people. History has shown repeatedly that many of our greatest advances have been accomplished by people with a strong faith in God.

Knowledge doesn't evolve; it is discovered and sometimes lost, only to be rediscovered again by later generations.

Doesn’t the Bible say “It is better for you to plant your seed in the belly of a whore than to cast it upon the ground”?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 03:00:00 +0000

Question:

I was reading Does "sexual immorality" (porneia) include masturbation? and something I read in the Bible constantly came to mind. I don't remember the exact book, chapter, or verse, but the Bible does say that it is better for you to plant your seed in the belly of a whore than to cast (or spill) it upon the ground. I believe that this was talking about masturbation. Possibly also "pulling out," but I think God allows us to know if we can afford another child.

Answer:

Interesting. You tell me that you read something in the Bible, but any Bible search engine will tell you that the statement is not in the Bible. Even a search of the phrase on Google will bring up site after site explaining that the quote is not in the Bible, but is a Middle Eastern proverb. Thus, you leave me wondering why you lied about having read a statement in the Bible that doesn't exist.

By the way, the quote is false. In the Bible, prostitution is consistently labeled as a sin (Leviticus 19:29). Sin is never recommended as a "better" choice.

Question:

I didn't say I read it, I said it kept coming to my mind. You were quick to call me a liar. Answer me this would Jesus call me a liar for recalling something incorrectly or would he correct me? Remember, the measure for which you judge me will also be measured unto you. Apparently, I chose the wrong "minister" to open dialogue with. If it is OK with you I will find someone that would rather teach me where I am wrong as opposed to jumping straight to accusation. God Bless.

Answer:

May I direct your attention to your own words:

"... something I read in the Bible constantly came to mind. I don't remember the exact book, chapter, or verse, but the Bible does say that it is better for you to plant your seed in the belly of a whore than to cast (or spill) it upon the ground."

I am not a mind reader. I can only respond to what you wrote. If you didn't mean what you wrote, that does happen, but don't get angry at people who listen to what you actually said.

Jesus would have corrected you, just as he also corrected the Pharisees when they misquoted or misapplied the Scriptures. See Matthew 19:1-9 as an example of this. There are several additional examples in Matthew 22. Jesus often called the Pharisees "hypocrites" (actors) because their words and actions did not match. See Jesus: Intolerant, Confrontational, and Exclusionary.