The Wages of Sin

I don't remember the Old Testament saying much about doing good deeds. Before Moses, it was all about obedience to God, who directly communicated His instructions to individuals. Even Moses started out that way, with God giving him specific instructions to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to "Let my people go!" Come to think of it, that may have been the first time God relied on a third party to deliver one of his messages. When God wanted Noah to build an ark, or Abraham to leave his home and journey to the Promised Land, He told them so, right to their faces. Be that as it may, most of the laws of Moses began with "Thou shalt not...." Jesus was the one who told everybody what they should do, like feed the hungry, heal the sick, and love thy neighbor.

I'm having a little trouble with Uncle Ken's definition of sin. That word is almost exclusively used in a religious context, and Uncle Ken isn't even religious. Violation of a government law is usually called a crime or a civil infraction, never a sin. Then there are a bunch of other rules that are just social customs, having neither a divine nor a legislative origin. Many social customs may have spun off of religious precepts, or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, if you are not a member of a particular religions or social group, you are not bound by their rules.

The emphasis that many cultures place on gambling, drinking, and sex is not well supported by Biblical scripture. The only reference I remember to gambling is when the soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing when He was being crucified. Wine is frequently mentioned in the Bible (I don't think beer and whisky had been invented yet), but it is only spoken of negatively in the context of over indulgence. I find it hard to understand how any of the Biblical rules about sex can be applied to today's culture. In those days, people got married at the age of 12, and some of them practiced polygamy. Virgin Mary was only engaged to Joseph, not married, and yet, when he discovered that she was pregnant, he "resolved to divorce her quietly". 

Speaking of strange marriage customs, I saw on the news tonight that there is a new thing going around called "sologamy", or something like that. What it is, is that people are marrying themselves. I am not making this up! They only showed women doing this, but I suppose men can do it to. The women they showed put on a wedding dress and marched down the aisle by themselves, then said some vows to themselves, and then threw their flower bouquets over their shoulders into a crowd of other women who each tried to catch it. One of them reported that she was even going on a honeymoon by herself. She did not specify exactly how her marriage would be consummated, leaving that to the viewers' imaginations.

Another item in the "Anytime you think you've seen it all, you ain't seen nothing yet" department: I've been living in this area nigh on to 50 years, and this is the first I've heard about tourists routinely being lynched around here. From an article in our local paper: "Before long, we will see the hanging baskets taking their rightful place on the lamp posts along with tourists, and summer is going to be here before we know it."