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.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n\t
“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<\/strong><\/em>” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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<\/em>” (I Timothy 1:4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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,<\/em> [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<\/em>” (I Corinthians 9:20).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[109,907],"class_list":["post-60104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-death","tag-myths"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46674,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-christians-reign-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":60104,"position":0},"title":"The Christian’s Reign","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A large number of passages establish the reign of Christians. Paul tells us that Christians will reign with Christ after this life is over. \"This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with Him. If we endure, We shall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45587,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-jesus-bear-our-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":60104,"position":1},"title":"How could Jesus bear our sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need help answering a question. I know I can always count on you to help me out. \"The soul that sins dies. The son does not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father does not bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2078,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-christians-worship-on-sunday-instead-of-saturday\/","url_meta":{"origin":60104,"position":2},"title":"Why do Christians worship on Sunday instead of Saturday?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The tenth commandment clearly states that the Sabbath should be kept on the seventh day and we know through the Jewish people that the seventh day of the calendar is Saturday on the Roman calendar. 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