Stand tall, Family!

The Family, an endangered species...  Have you ever wondered how it could come this far? 

Once upon a time, everybody knew from experience that a strong family was essential.  The very survival of its members depended on how many members a family had, how well they could work together, how committed they were to the same goals.  Having lots of children was not only normal, but necessary, and grandparents played a vital part in the family economy.  Everybody was needed, everybody was valued, and if the house was united, the family survived, grew, thrived.  Today, we see nothing of the sort anymore - well, yes, we do, about as often as we spot a specimen of an endangered species. 

Aren't you tired of not having support from people who are of your own flesh and blood, rather than "friends" who are here today and gone tomorrow?  Aren't you tired of having to fend for yourself, start at ground zero, blaze your own trail, without so much as a break?  This is not how women are supposed to live, you know.  We are not meant to be loners, neither voluntary nor forced, but members of a loving family that sticks together no matter what, that sees to it that the next generation can build on the work of this generation, that family progress is made over the next couple of centuries.

Stand tall, Family!  You are not dead, not matter how much the forces that be wish for your demise.  Stand tall, and be of good cheer, for the worse the economy gets, the better off are those who believe in and rely on family values.  Stand tall, Family, and do not fear to take in those who wish to be part of you.  The more you can grow, the stronger you can be.  Stand tall, Family!  Your time will come again.

"And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”  In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel." (Isa 4:1-2)

Ignorance is Still Rampant

Recently I had to read yet again that "it's wrong for a man to lust after a married woman.", which was immediately followed by "But it is NO LESS ADULTERY when a MARRIED man lusts after a SINGLE woman." (capitals are not mine). Sadly, capitalization doesn't make what is said any more true. If something is wrong, it remains wrong, no matter how much stress one might wish to put on it.

Well, I am not going to argue this very, very common misconception here, but will rather link you to the respective article on our main site where we explained at length why this particular statement is a wholly modern concept and not at all reflected in Scripture. Jesus would not have had the above mindset when he said what he said in Mat 5:27. See, had he thought so, what he said would translate to it being sinful if a man, married or unmarried, lusts after a woman, married or unmarried. This would have made every attraction between man and woman a sin.... Well, I know that those who use the above argument can wax very romantic about their spouses and go on at length about how they met and fell in love with each other, which, following their own logic, should be a sinful thing they should be ashamed of and repent for.

No no, people. If you approach Scripture from a modern day perspective, you always end up in a pickle. You need to get used to the Hebrew mindset in order to understand.

If you are interested, please read more here:

The Biblical Concept Of Adultery

Defining Terms - "Holy" and such

I was made aware of this problem this morning: That I need to tell you, esteemed reader, how we define our terms.

When we at Joshuah's House, which is our main website, talk about anything referring to Scripture, we are careful to let Scripture define the terms used. Scripture explains itself, and we make use of bible software and bible dictionaries to recapture the Hebrew mindset, and to find out what the Greek expression for one term or another would have been, in order to discern the Scriptures rightly.

We had to explain at length at one point, for example, why the biblical definition of the word "adultery", which is different from the more modern definition, is important to know when trying to understand what Jesus says about adultery. According to the biblical definition of adultery, polygyny cannot be adultery because the marital status of the woman defines whether or not adultery is committed. If a married woman lies with a man other than her husband, they are committing adultery. If an unmarried woman lies with a married man, they are not committing adultery, but they have just married. Of course modern definitions are different, but when you look at other bible dictionaries, you will find that they tell you what the Hebrews had in mind when they used the term "adultery". If you wish to read the respective article on Joshuah's House, let me refer you to the Apologetics.

So, of course I also did some research on the word "holy", and the article I posted here recently is based on that research. If you wish to read more about holiness, see the results of my word research, and learn a little more about the concept of separation, please have a look at
"By Way Of Remembrance" (2Pe 3:1) - Holiness in the Bible