Inherent Human Behavior

I am having a hard time. I was introduced to a article about there not being a rapture and started talking to my wife about it. We ended up with a dispensationalism conversation. We see four basic divisions, not in God but in how people see what God is doing. Pre-Law, Law, Grace, and finally paradise/punishment. This may not be right, but it works for now. The problem I have is the evidence in the Bible that shows that there was an inherent understanding of right and wrong before the giving of the Law. And this in light of the passage in Jeremiah(i think it's there) that tells us that in the new era(Grace) the Law will be written on our hearts. This has been a hard part of scripture for a while now seeing as many people now seem to not have the Law written on their hearts. Maybe that was only believers, but I still don't see evidence of that short of myself and a few others I know. I do live in the most unchurched state in the union, but it still seems few and far between.

So what I am talking about is the passage in Genesis where Judah, the son of Jacob/Isreal, has a daughter in law and is not doing right by her. He sleeps with her unknowingly and she reveals herself to him. She has some of his stuff, important stuff i guess, and in the end he says she is doing what is right. I think she keeps the stuff, or has a baby by him, can't remember but here it is:


Gen 38:1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
Gen 38:2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
Gen 38:3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
Gen 38:4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
Gen 38:5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
Gen 38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
Gen 38:7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
Gen 38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
Gen 38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
Gen 38:10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
Gen 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
Gen 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
Gen 38:13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
Gen 38:14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
Gen 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
Gen 38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
Gen 38:17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
Gen 38:18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
Gen 38:19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
Gen 38:20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.
Gen 38:21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
Gen 38:23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
Gen 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
Gen 38:25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
Gen 38:26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.


So Judah knew she was doing good, even though the law about preserving a brothers line was not yet given. I will probably never understand how women in the bible behaved, but i would expect at least to understand the men some. How he knew she was doing right by her dead husband, but he was going to temple Prostitutes, this I don't understand. maybe someday, but for now i will simply believe what is writtten as the word of God, usable by someone for teaching and reproach and preaching the Gospel.

Prayer

I like praying. I like being able to converse with my Father in heaven, even though it often seems one sided. I am glad He always listens to me. I can tell. I am glad that even when I am not giving him all of my attention, like while I work or drive or as I fall asleep, He is giving me all the attnetion I need.

I am not a great orator. i often slur my speech, or stammer or repeat myself. I find this fasinating as I am being called in the direction of a worship leader. I am not called for right now, but it may come someday, and I can see some of the prepwork God is doing in/on/for/around me. I guess it may never happen, there are other ministries and works that require the same prepping, but for now, this is the most obvious.

Many times I am praying, and I am fairly casual. God the Father is my friend. Jesus, God the Son, is too. The Holy Spirit of God dwells within me, also a friend. I do fear God, but most of that fear diminishes greatly when I realize I am in the presance of God by personal invite. He loves me so much and I love Him. Maybe someday I will pray more formally, but not now. Even out loud, in a group I am fairly simple and to the point when I pray. Those around me can go on and on with a few simple requests and praise, but without praise I have very short prayers. I can and sometimes do praise God for hours, but I seperate that out from supplication, both sub- and consciencely. Not always good, but it is me.

Too much to say, too little time. I don't know you but I love you. If you don't understand why, respond to this post, I will make time to explain it.

What I learned

Today, I guess it was, a judge in Penn. struck down a schoolboard decision (by a board that was already voted out) to teach intelligent design. The judge saw right through the veil and was looking at Creationism. He knew it even if the backers of the "board's ruling" refused to admit it.

They made us look stupid and weak. They simply took creation textbooks and replaced every mention of creation with intelligent design. They didn't even have the guts to write a new book.

I am glad the judge struck it down. I hope someday that Darwinism is also struck down, but for now our biology understanding relys on it. At least that is what I have been told. Must have to do with classification of species or something like that. I really don't care.

My understanding of where the world came from does not rely on what a school teacher tells me. It also doesn't rely on what my Pastor tells me. I, appearently unlike the masses, care enough to read up on the subject myself, and evaluate the evidence given to me with a critical mind. I can read my Bible for myself, as well as looking at the current theories in the scientific community.

I am just getting tired of people not thinking. Too many people just listen and agree. The only way to persuade them is to get to them first. How stupid is that!?!

I am glad the judge made the decision he did for another reason. I know some people think that the courts are taking the anti-establishment clause of the Constitution too far, but it is better than the government coming up with a religion for us. don't think it could happen? U.S. pop. growth is from immigration. U.S. citizens don't make enough babies. When(cause it will happen eventually) hispanic are the majority, what do you think they will vote in, anything other than catholisism? not too bad you say? what if indonesia starts an immigration invasion? they could be the ruling party in a couple of decades, far outnumbering christians with muslims. scarry enough? Or communist/Buddhist china or hindu majority of India? What would america look like with them ruling?

Point is, at least we can see where the country is going now, and there are far worse alternatives. Besides, persecution is good for the church. It weeds out the fake believers for the most part, so you know just how big a mission field we really live in. It also strengthens those who really do believe, because it is in our weakness that God's power can shine through.

Things are easy now, and for that I thank God, but it will not always be that way and it is nice to see the broad way to destruction is well marked.

Thank you God for the prep time.

First Post

I am so bad at this that I had to have my wife set it up! Ha, she is even typing this first thought...