Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli is about as secular a politician as you’ll find in Israel. And on Sunday her disdain for the Word of God was on full display during a session of the Knesset Law Committee.
For Israelis like Michaeli, the Bible is little more than a collection of national fairytales, similar to the verbal and written folklore that many nations and peoples pass on from generation to generation.
During the committee debate, Michaeli was explaining in her words how democracy is different than other outdated forms of government.
“One of the things that characterizes a democracy is that everyone is equal under the laws of the state,” she said. “What differentiates a democracy from an authoritarian regime like what existed in the Middle Ages or in your Bible is that the law obligates everyone, from the top to the bottom.”
Her derogatory use of the phrase “your Bible” was directed at religious coalition members, who opposition lawmakers like Michaeli see as “messianic” because they want to govern the modern State of Israel according to biblical precepts, with an eye toward a “messianic age.”
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One response to ““In Your Bible”: Israeli Lawmaker Dismisses the Word of God”
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Ahem, the laws of nature and holiness cannot be changed by majority voting. Mankind often changes moral laws to suit the desires of their fallen natures, but time and again adjustments take place that restores a reasonable degree of righteousness. The bible sets out laws relevant to running a society that are consistent with the other laws of creation, sensible lawmakers come to realise this. The deviations we see in many societies that debase mankind and destroy the family unit should alarm Israeli lawmakers against copying them, “to be like other nations” (1 Sam 8:5) Liberal secularism makes all gods and lifestyles equal, which makes all laws subjective. Michaeli’s shortcomings are the common shortcomings of all humanity. Like Jeroboam, when lawmakers depart from objective law the people get lost. That makes those lawmakers irresponsible. Orthodox lawmakers undermine the law by enforcing the letter and disregarding the spirit.