[Sca-cooks] Catholic/Christian, was: The Fallwell/Robertson statements

[Barbara Nostrand]

Noble Cousins!

Greetings from Solveig!

	M'kashephah lo t'chayeh. (Shemot 22:17)

Shemot 22:17 - "Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live." "moth yumoth"
		(he shall be surely put to death), meaning he is liable
		to death, and it is a positive commandment upon us to slay
		him, based upon the verse which says, "And thou shalt put
		away the evil from the midst of thee." (Devarim 17:7)
		... But here, however, He (G-d) did not say, "a sorceress
		shall be put to death," but in this case He (G-d) warned
		us in a stricter manner by means of a negative commandment.
			Ramban (Nachmanides) Commentary on the Torah

		"Rather, she shall be put to death by the court. [This law
		applies to] both males and females, but the verse speaks of
		that which is common,
			Rashi


		"... only the court has the authority to implement the death
		penalty."
			Mizrachi; Sifsei Chachamim.

NOTE. The Septuagint translates "Sorceress" in Shemot 22:17 as "poisoner".
       However, the original meaning is sorceress. Hertz opines that sorcery
       negates monotheism and is a particularly abominable form of idolatry.

This and other laws in the Torah are incumbent upon Jews and are generally
speaking not incumbent upon anyone else.

Christians seem to follow a rather ad hoc procedure of picking in choosing
which of the Torah laws to include in their religion. Many Christians go so
far as ignoring the one or more of the seven Noachide laws which were
accepted as applying the Christians by the Synod of Jerusalem recorded in
the Book of Acts. According to Jewish thought, only the seven Noachide laws
are incumbent upon non-Jews.

The Torah is particularly adamant in its opposition to certain practices.
These include various forms of necromancy, consulting a medium, divining
the seasons, passing your children through fire, &c. The child sacrifice
described in Devarim 18;10 does not necessarily result in the death of
the child. Simply the act of passing your children through fire suffices
to incur the death penalty. This particular practice is associated with
Molech worship and is further described in Vayikra 18:21 and 20:1-6.

Note. Anyone familiar with Jewish jurisprudence knows that it is very
       difficult for the court to actually execute a death penalty. There
       has to have been witnesses, the culprit has to have been warned,
       and the court continues to hear the case as long as the accused
       has anything to say. Further, testimony acquired through torture
       is inadmissible in Jewish courts and confessions are not allowed
       in criminal cases. "No man can in law brand himself a criminal."

Now if I could only find my copy of the Stone Chumash, I would be able
to cite Onklos and all sorts of other neat stuff.

					Your Humble Servant
					Solveig Throndardottir
					Amateur Scholar
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| Barbara Nostrand, Ph.D.         | Solveig Throndardottir, CoM       |
| deMoivre Institute              | Carolingia Statis Mentis Est      |
| mailto:nostrand at acm.org         | mailto:bnostran at lynx.neu.edu      |
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