Quote:Well, there's at least one person who tried to follow all the laws in the Bible and wrote a book about the experience. He's no fundamentalist Christian (actually he's a Jew), but the book makes for a quick and entertaining read.:)Neat experiment, but I can only assume he's pulling his punches. How, for instance, would you obey Deuteronomy 13: 1-16? I can only presume he discusses this kind of thing, but obeying it, even in the most watered-down way, would be impossible, not to mention illegal. (Apologies for the long quote)
Quote:1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.So, let's see. If anyone suggests worshipping any God but the Hebrew God, you have to kill them, even if they're members of your family. You must do it yourself, with no pity. Then, if you hear that people in another city are worshipping God, you have to kill everyone in it, and burn the whole place to the ground, never to be rebuilt. You can't even pull your punches by "stoning" them without killing them - this is quite explicitly a death sentence, for anyone who advocates any other religion whatsoever (and who lives in a city with them...)
6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. 9 You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in 13 that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, [a] both its people and its livestock. 16 Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt.
Sounds a little harder than not eating shellfish, or not mixing your textiles. In fact, not only does it sound intolerant and murderous, it sounds basically impossible without at least a large army, or a nuclear bomb. But it's in there all the same. (Reviews seems to indicate that he let himself off the hook for doing anything blatantly and unavoidably illegal, like murder. Probably the wise choice, but not one a truly *strict* literalist would have.)
-Jester
Afterthought: Were one to try to justify terrorism in the Judeo-Christian tradition, this would be a great go-to quote.