Modern Multiplication of Rules

[Nicodema]

Have you ever stopped to consider that we, as a society, and not necessarily only in the religious segment but as a whole, have multiplied rules just like the Pharisees did in their day?

We have the Ten Commandments before us; they are the Law of God. The rules God obviously made and cares about. But we are constantly adding to them to make them harder to keep and more encompassing than they read.

Take the ninth commandment for example: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Nowhere does it read that any representation of anything beyond the absolute literal pathologically obsessive truth constitutes sin. It simply says one should not speak falsely AGAINST ONE'S NEIGHBOR, meaning, in a manner that would harm ANOTHER or interfere with the truth ABOUT another. But we multiply rules on this to encompass anything from how a question is answered about ourselves and our feelings to whether or not fantasy or fiction might be evil.

And how about that third commandment? "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Excuse me, but where does this read thou shalt not use any expression considered to be vulgar or coarse? Sure, I know we can argue indefinitely that such expressions are unbecoming, but is it really God's rule or law against this, or is it man's? I think it is man's. I think the third commandment means we are not to swear lightly upon the name of God, nor represent ourselves as having "God on our side." If anything comes down to a point of personal speech habits, it might include not to use God's name as an epithet. But I don't read anywhere in the third commandment not to say words such as "[censored]" or even coarser words. They may be ugly or vulgar, but they are not prohibited by the Law of God. Again, another example of man multiplying the rules and calling it "how to be a good Christian."

Or what about the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery"? It assumes loving, commited relationships of fidelity to one another, but it does not directly state that marriage must be an affair conducted with a certain type of ceremony and vow, nor inclusive of particular financial arrangements, nor even registered with the state authorities. It simply states that partners must be fidelitous with one another, not permitting anything to taint or "adulterate" the bond. While there is nothing wrong with those celebrations, vows, traditional arrangements and formalizations -- and people are free to enjoy them and their benefits as they please, of course -- requiring them spiritually as fulfillment of the seventh commandment is purely an accretion of human invention. And this is not even touching yet the fact that neither does this commandment state directly how many such relationships may be sustained, given the Biblical record of polygamy and the ability of some people here in America today even to manifest what is known as poly-fidelity. We won't go there because for too many it is far too outré to even consider, but at least consider what else I have written as again demonstrating the multiplying of rules by man upon this simple command, which was meant only to ensure a fidelity bond for a relationship intended to last for life.

There are many ways modern society, particularly the religious segment but even in general, multiplies rules for being considered a "good Christian" thought to be serious about God and/or heaven-bound. Yet neither rules nor our obedience to them can ever save us. Ultimately all of us, rule-keeping or not, must meet at the foot of the cross to individually encounter and place our trust in the only One who CAN save ANY of us. That being the case, like the Pharisees of old, these multipliers of rules "bind grievous burdens heavy to be borne" upon others whose upbringing or manner of thought are not suited to them. And just as in days of old, I think I hear Jesus' voice reassuring me, with a scathing rebuke to those multipliers of rules, that I am not bound to observe them in order to be His.

Just my 2 cents.

Nico