Thou Shalt Only Love Thy Jewish Neighbors?
It is sad to note that Mr. Baker has joined the ranks of Professor Richard Dawkins (biology) and Professor John Hartung (anesthesiology) in demonstrating that reading for context, even immediate context that would merely require the reading of a hand full of verses, may be too much work to put into pseudo-erudite criticism. Their treatment of the text of the Bible makes one think that they are not actually reading it but are basing their opinions on sources that provide quotations from the Bible which they, in turn, merely regurgitate without any scholarly research.
Dan Barker makes a claim that is tantamount to claims made by Richard Dawkins and Prof. John Hartung:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. For the Jews, loving your ‘neighbor’ meant loving your Jewish neighbors: it did not mean loving the neighboring tribes or other outsiders, as the intolerant and bloody Old Testament (and Christian) history proves.”1
Since I have already provided a detail response to this charge in my essay Planting God More Firmly on His Throne which responds to Richard Dawkins, I will provide highlights here. Dan Barker was quoting (without citation) Leviticus 19:18. If Dan Barker, Prof. Richard Dawkins and Prof. John Hartung were reading for context, if they were reading what the text states in the way it states it they would have read down to verses 33-34. The problem is that these verses would discredit their criticisms since the verses state:
“And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
A stranger is as one born among you (Jews), and you shall love him as yourself.
The Old Testament provides further reason for being empathetic towards the “strangers”:\
“You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21).”Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9).
The LORD “administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:18-19).
What of the Moabite Ruth? This gentile woman is the center character in the book of the Old Testament that bears her name. The Temple, the Jewish Temple, in which Jesus worshipped included Solomon’s Portico-a portion specifically dedicated for gentiles to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see John 10:23, Act 3:11, 5:12).
Just how did Richard Dawkins, Prof. John Hartung and Dan Barker manage to neglect the same verse in the same text and make the same fallacious criticism? Are they merely and uncritically plagiarizing one another? Did they really pick up the Bible and read it? Did they read it only to the point to which they were directed by other than primary source material and not one verse beyond? Are they purposefully manipulating their audience by stating, as it were, “Read these verses and no more”? One can only wonder since, unless they reveal them, we do not know their thoughts or inward motivations. However, what we can do is to be honest skeptics and put their accuracy to the test as the Bereans were praised for doing anytime Paul preached to them (Acts 17:11).