Blessed Love,

I give thanks for your reasonings...such thoughts of Love and Inity must remain prevalent throughout InI meditations...lest we live like Pharisees. However, instead of viewing the "corporal punishment" that the Torah demands that the Isrealite commence upon a breaker of a Law as bigotry or indiscriminate hate of another nation or people of different views, perhaps you should think of it as TOUGH LOVE. I must admit that I have had certain problem with the four "canonized" Gospels, in that the Son of Hashem, whom we are supposed to believe is the physical incarnation of Hashem, could possibly contradict what he stated roughly a millenium before. Isn't Hashem omnipotent? Does it not say in the Torah that these laws are to be upheld throughout all ages and all generations? Now I am not going to cast stones until I have completely cleaned up my livity; I rather proposed the question as a means of getting other perspectives upon the Divine Law. However, I refuse to accept that what Hashem told Moses that InI are to follow can simply be discarded because it does not "fit" with modern thinking. If it were meant to not be followed today, would not have such an "escape clause" been added? And as far as dismissing it as laws created by man who figured that if they said that they came from God, it would be followed more enthusiastically; or to disregard it as misinterpretation or human translation error or WHATEVER your conscience comes up with to free you from the obligation of following what may seem like hard-to-execute laws....if you take that perspective than I fail to see how you can support Selassie I's divinity with the Bible, as any nay-sayer or disbeliever could make the same assertion about the prophecies. One could say that its the theme of the Bible that is important...not the literal interpretation. If that is the case, than prophecies regarding Christ and his coming again have to be dismissed with the same breath that dismisses the Law. If you do not believe that Hashem killed the first-born sons of every Egyptian, then how can you believe that the Exodus occurred? How can you believe the 10 commandments and not rest of the Torah's laws? How can you believe that the Isrealites crossed the Jordan if you don't believe that Hashem ordered Joshua to kill every Canaanite (both statements of history are in the same book)? How can you accept the existance of King David or Solomon? And if you refute this history as the works and words of men, or refuse to take them literally, then how can you accept the Kebra Negast? How can you accept Christ? How can you accept HIM? The comparisons of Christ and Moses (and the similarites in what Christ did) are not ignorable. So much of Christ's statements and pearls of wisdom are rephrasings of statements throughout the Old Testament. It was PAUL who decided (without the consent of Peter or Christ's brother James) that Gentiles need not convert to Judaism (or more accurately, the following of the Mosaic convenant) in order to be Christian. Well I'll trust and follow the words of Moses before the words of Paul. I believe that the Laws of the Torah were divinely dictated to Moses, and passed down throughout all generation until compiled in the form that we have come to known it (the Torah), and the Torah states that these Laws are to be followed FOREVER. It is only when you put the Law before acts of charity (such as is shown in the parable of the Good Samaritan) that you become like a Pharisee...which is an abhorrance in the sight of Hashem. Now I am not saying to my Idren to pick up stones and start throwing them at the sodomite...all I'm saying is to prepare for the day when you may be required to. I see the only salvation for man is a theocratical order- a nation which is governed by the rules of the Torah. InI have our King who I must believe shall rule this order, and rule it according to the Law that the Father, Hashem, has given InI to follow, for it is the only Law that can ensure a clean, safe, and righteous life for InI and our children in these perilous times. If there were no Gentiles among you...no idols, no false teachings...then you would need not worry about your children going astray; so it was with the Wisdom that only Hashem could have that demanded that Joshua slew the Canaanites. How can you be sure of the cleanliness and safety of your life and your offspring when murderers, kidnappers, rapists, sodomites, homosexuals, magicians, witches, blasphemers (especially those who would speak the divine name with irreverance), those who would sleep with animals, those who would commit incest, and all the likes of those whose wages of sin are death according to Torah are allowed to walk the same streets and live in the same land as InI? I can not reject the Law as I have not been told to do so. FEAR of Hashem is the ultimate wisdom, and to fear Hashem (and it is a loving fear) is to uphold his laws and statutes, knowing that it is out of love for humanity and yes, for the GREATER GOOD. Now I will not cease to LOVE those who refuse the Law, but like proverbs says (and I am paraphrasing here), "a good father does not spare his child the rod". The seemingly harsh punishments that Hashem decrees that InI inflict upon those who would break his laws is simply out of love. Pay the wages of sin in this life and perhaps have another chance in the next. I'm not throwing stones yet, but I am aware that the time will come when I will have to stay outside of the gates of Zion until I am clean again (for I have a bad habit of sleeping in the same bed as my Empress when she is menstrating, not waiting the required number of days after her flow before engaging her to make love, and sitting in this computer seat that I know she sat in during menstration). I pray that myself and my Idren will become perfect followers of the Torah before it is too late. I do not see the Bible as the Old Testament and the New Testament...that is how Paul would have it viewed....rather it is ONE TESTAMENT, which, as HIM said, should not be broken up into parts.

Give thanks.