Law #3

       While the Islamic believe in the Shari’ah Law, Christians believe in Divine Law. The Divine Law states that “any law comes directly from the character of God” and that God has revealed Himself through nature (286). On the other hand, the Shari’ah Law does not say that God revealed Himself through nature. The Islamic view of law involves politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, social issues, and much more. Basically, it is involved in every part of everyone’s life. Not following the Islamic laws in an Islamic society has very bad consequences; most involve being killed or having great physical pain inflicted on the person. The source of the Christian view of law is the Bible. Christian law reflects the character of God, shows us that we are created in His image, and does not exclude anyone from following its laws. One major difference between the Shari’a and the Bible is that the Bible teaches forgiveness.  Unlike the Shari’a which promotes drastic consequences for breaking the law, the Bible says that we are to forgive one another. However, this does not mean that we are simply to let a murder go free. We still need to deal with their crime accordingly. Another difference between Islamic law and Christian law is that the Islamic law does not promote individual freedom within its religion. The Christian perspective of law “respects both human dignity and human depravity” (296). The Islamic law focuses on the society, and making sure that everyone follows the rules, and if they do no, there will be consequences. Also, their view of law does not involve a personal God who knows and understands the struggles they go through, or who offers them forgiveness for the wrongs they have done. The Christian law on the other hand does involve accountability for the individual, but it also involves forgiveness and a personal God who knows and understands His people and everything that troubles them.

Law #2

      No they are not. It does not make sense for legal standards to be up to the individual’s interpretation. It could not really be considered a standard if everyone gets to make up their rules. Also, if everyone did make up their own standards, then the world would be in total chaos. That is why there must be some form of legal standards that cannot be determined and interpreted by the individual. Ultimately, God is the one who has made all of our legal standards. We may not always like or think that His standards apply to us, but they do. As much as we may wish that we can get around God’s standards we cannot. These standards apply to everyone, and there are no exceptions. For example, God says in the Ten Commandments that murder is wrong. Even if someone thinks that they have a very legitimate reason for killing another person, there is no way that their killing another human being is a good thing. God has set the standard; murder is wrong, and there is no way to justify that it is right. God has made many standards for man to obey. While it is impossible to obey them all, for we are all sinners, God still expects us to obey these standards. He knows that there is no way for us to do this, and that is why He sent Jesus to die for our sins. By doing this, He created a way for us to be forgiven for disobeying His standards. However, this still does not mean that we don’t have to obey God’s standards, and that we can simply do whatever we want. As followers of Christ, we are to strive to obey His standards, and to hold our fellow believers accountable as well.

Who is the Ultimate Authority for Creating Laws?

        No, the government is not the ultimate authority for creating laws. God is the ultimate authority for creating laws. God has made all of the laws of morality for man to follow. He has also made laws for man to follow in everyday life; these are commonly known as the Ten Commandments. The governments of today’s world may make the laws that everyone is to obey, but this does not mean that God is no longer the highest authority. A Christian leader is to make rules that are obedient to the commandments that God has set in place. There are plenty of societies that believe there is no God, or that they have higher authority than God. While they might think this, it is in no way true. God is still in control of all the earth, and He is still the ultimate authority; even when it comes to creating laws.

The Christian View of Femininity

       The foundation for the Christian view of femininity is first given in Genesis. Both men and women bear the image of God, but in different ways. God calls women to be helpers. This does not mean that He wants them to be slaves. He wants them to be able to help their husbands as well as others through hard and difficult times, as well as keeping the, on track when they stray away from what is right or what they need to be doing. Woman is also called by God to be the completer. Woman was created by God to meet man’s relational needs, which God himself could not do. That is also why women want relationships, which is a feminine quality. Another characteristic of women which is shows in Genesis is that they are life givers. This is not just giving birth to children; this also includes giving emotional life to everyone and everything that they meet. This is the view of femininity that Christians are presented with in the book of Genesis. God has called women, in their own way, to bear His image.  

Does the Bible teach us to be sexist and homophobic?

        Despite what some people may think, the Bible does not say that as Christians we are to be sexist or homophobic. God does not say that we are to hate homosexuals and feminists. However, He also does not say that homosexuals and feminists are in the right. God did not make man to live this way. When God made male and female, He made them both to bear his image, but in different ways. God wanted both the male and female to rule, fill, multiply, and subdue. Along with these general rules for the male and female, God also gave more specific roles to each gender. God wanted the man to be the more dominant ruler over the earth, to name everything on the earth, and to teach the woman what God had taught him. Man was supposed to be responsible for the earth as well as the woman. God also gave specific roles to the woman. She was to be the life giver, helper, and completer. By being the helper, this did not mean that she was to be a servant to the man. This went that she was to be the rescuer of man, and to save him from his mistakes. These characteristics and responsibilities are still apart of God people today. Neither man nor woman is more important, in God’s eyes they are of equal importance. That is why the Bible does not promote sexist beliefs. It also does not promote homophobic beliefs. While the Bible does not promote homosexuality, it also does not promote the hatred of it. However, God did not create man to be homosexual. He created both man and woman to complete one another. After all, God created man and woman to take care of the earth and to increase in number. If God had created man to be homosexual, then there would really be no way to increase in number. So, the Bible does not teach us to be homophobic or sexist. It tells us the roles God intends both man and woman to have, and how these roles are important to life.