Satan's Same Old Tactics

     This week The Daily Mail published an article relating how two Dutch filmmakers recently conducted a social experiment in an effort to measure public reaction to — and obviously to excoriate — what they deem to be “shocking verses” in the Bible.  We've seen it before, but this time Satan's associates have taken it to a new level and produced a viral video that has garnered over 4 million views since it was released last weekend!  Therefore, that deserves a response.
     It is easy to see the dispute and friction that the filmmakers were seeking to cause.  The voiceover for the documentary film begins with this soliloquy:  "Muslims have been accused of following a religion that has no place in our Western culture ... This made us wonder — what about Christianity, a religion that has influenced our culture greatly?"

      See where it is going and what they hope to accomplish?  But it gets even better than this!  So the producers purchased a Bible and disguised it as a Koran before heading out and sharing select verses with passersby — scriptures that they said “are in great contrast with … western norms and values.”
     So, by now, if you are a Bible-believing Christian, you know that they headed straight for Leviticus to take some of the most harsh Scriptures out of context.  But they are not exactly genuine in providing their Scripture reference.  They begin with verse 15, citing:   if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul rejects My ordinances,  (while conveniently leaving out the part of the verse that says, and in this way break My covenant),  and then skip all the way down to verse 29 to combine it with Scripture that says, You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.
     Now, mind you, the interviewees think they are being read to out of the Koran.  So when they are asked what do you think the biggest difference would be between this Koranic verse and what the Bible tells us, common answers were that the Koran was "more aggressive", and the Bible was "more positive".  So imagine their shock and revulsion when they discover the verses are from the Bible!
     You might be wondering what exactly the filmmakers hoped to accomplish.  But you probably already have a good idea... Director Alexander Spoor said he carried out the experiment to put Christianity under the same scrutiny Islam has received since the Paris terror attacks last month.  First of all, to attempt to compare the Judeo-Christian faith (whose beginning was over 3500 years ago) with one of the youngest religions, Islam, (which is only 1400 years old) is a travesty; not to mention that radical Islamists deserve scrutiny for their particular violent and hate-filled actions.
     But as usual the Holy Scripture is distorted and taken out of context in an attempt to show that it is as equally violent as Islam, and that the God of the Bible seeks vengeance upon those who disobey Him.  But, of course, the filmmakers did not explain the historical context, and I'm pretty sure they do not even know it.  What they did not understand -- and did not explain to their interviewees -- was that God so loved the Jewish people that, in His sovereignty He blessed them beyond belief when they were in covenant with Him and obeyed Him; but when they presumptuously committed sin, and obstinately persisted in it, with no desire to confess and repent, then His curse was just as pronounced.  The part they left out (between verses 15 and 29) was that if they refused to turn back to God, He would destroy their places of idol worship; He would send the plague against them; He would break their pride in their own power; and He would send an enemy to besiege them, causing a severe famine... making them so hungry that they would eat the flesh of their sons and daughters.  
     First of all, to leave out 14 verses that explain exactly what God would do was wrong, but then to intimate that if they disobeyed Him, they would eat their sons and daughters is blasphemous and makes no sense, once you fill in the blanks and give them the full picture.
     Our God is such a Holy God that He demands obedience and exacts His Justice upon those who refuse to turn from their wicked ways.  When the Israelites followed His statutes, they lived in perfect peace and providence.  But He is a God who says what He means, and means what He says.  It's not as if they hadn't had ample warning, or many, many opportunities to resist the temptation of Satan.  Of course, the filmmakers didn't bother to explain any of this -- because they don't know our God!  They are just falling for the lies of Satan whose every desire is to diminish the Truth and the Blessings of living in relationship with God.
     Oh, and there were plenty of other verses that they corrupted and took out of context.  For instance, they stirred up quite a frenzy when they tried reciting the verse, 'I do not allow for a woman to teach. You will have to cut off her hand. Do not forgive her.'  First of all, the Scripture about not allowing a woman to teach comes from Timothy 2:12, and refers to a concern the Apostle Paul had about women becoming involved in false teaching and violent rituals.  (Please read my post on this this subject for the historical context and understanding.)
     Secondly, the filmmakers combined this admonition about women teachers with a portion of Deuteronomy 25:12, which tells us “If [two] men, a man and his countryman, are fighting and the wife of one approaches to rescue her husband from the man who is striking him, and she reaches out with her hand and grabs the aggressor’s genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity [for her].  It has absolutely no connection with 1 Timothy 2:12!
     These filmmakers should be ashamed of themselves!!  They have not only twisted and warped Scripture, but have totally misled the people they interviewed by providing biased and non-Scriptural references in order to falsely and negatively influence them against the Bible.
     I could give you many other examples, but you get the picture.  Our Adversary, the devil, knows his time is short, and he is pulling out all the stops to deceive and lead the people of the earth astray.  Sadly, the people on the street accepted their commentary as truth; they didn't even question it!  That's how easy it is for the Enemy to beguile and bewitch.  Once again, it is a simple picture of all who will perish for lack of knowledge.  Now is the time to strengthen your minds and hearts against the Deceiver and against those who do his bidding.  Stay in the Word and be able to defend it!

Colossians 2:8          "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception [pseudo-intellectual babble], according to the tradition [and musings] of mere men, following the elementary principles of this world, rather than following [the truth—the teachings of] Christ."