The Ethics of Eating Shellfish

Why was it a sin for the ancient Israelites to eat shellfish? Leviticus 11:9-12 says, “These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers, that do not have fins and scales...

Idolatry and Injustice: Two Sides, Same Coin

The Bible makes a big deal about the sin of idolatry, and since it does we feel like we should also, but the truth is that there aren’t too many idol-worshiping religions to be found in the U.S. It’s just not a threat, so when we teach about idolatry we tend to say that anything that we place above God is...

Impatience and Idolatry

Waiting for the Lord, as Isaiah 40:31 tells us to do, is difficult because the Lord doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry. Consider that the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for over 400 years before the Lord sent a deliverer (Moses), and that the conditions of the Exile lasted over 500 years before he...

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