God doesn't allow, reccomend or appreciate anything.

He created the principles governing this world and we live under them.

Men and women are like plus and minus. Like electricity and magnetism. The first is expandable and the second is the opposite. Now apply this fact and others we know about electricity and magnetism to men and women.

About the adultery and stoning, there is a wonderful line in Bible, where Jesus says that whoever is free of sin should throw the first stone at the woman, and of course nobody does it.

Is your question, "Why don't we unite for a greater good?"

Have you ever tried to herd cats?

I am unclear how the stoning of a woman (however abhorrent that might be) relates to saving the world, so let me offer a more mundane example.

America has an enormous trade deficit. This has been a problem for years. Part of the reason we have a trade deficit is because you can find cheap goods in other countries such as China. Pick up any random item in Wal-Mart, and chances are good it has a "Made in China" sticker on it.

There's a very simple solution to this problem. Just stop buying stuff from China, and convince all other consumers to do the same.

It will never happen.

<rant>

Why? Because we like our cheap stuff, and while we pay lip service to higher principles, all we really care about is our video games, our cell phones, and our 50-inch flatscreen TV's.

</rant>

Hello…

I apologize for the length of this post, but Gleam had 5 or 6 Bible-related questions to be addressed. Gleam, I merged all questions from the other post in this answer.

(1) Thoughts on Marriage

From a Biblical perspective, Adam was created first. Then, Eve was created from the rib of the man. Eve was supposed to be a “help meet” for Adam. When Eve was brought to him, Adam says:

“This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” [Genesis 2:23,24]

After the Fall in the Garden, GOD says the following to Eve:

“I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” [Genesis 3:16]

Therefore, the Bible defines the conditions for “marriage” as the man (the husband) joined as one flesh to his woman (the wife) within the context of the hierarchy of creation:

“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” [I Corinthians 11:3]

The hierarchy of creation exists because the man and woman were NOT created in the same fashion OR at the same time. The glory of the man is NOT the same as the glory of the woman, and they both had different roles in the Fall. Thus, men and women are different, which we should expect with the creations of the GOD of Diversity. However, the union of their uniqueness is what makes the marriage between the man (the husband) and the woman (the wife) so special.

Obviously, these Biblical facts on marital relationships do not conform to the beliefs of the world. When the world sees these types of statements, the false assumption is quickly made that wives are slaves, abused, down-trodden, manipulated, worthless, and despised by GOD. This is a LIE. Just because the husband is the head of the wife in a marriage does NOT give him any right to take ADVANTAGE of his position. Husbands who commit ANY form of violence against their wives have no fear of the Biblical GOD, and they will be HARSHLY judged for their error. Therefore, the recipe for a successful marital relationship is the following:

“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.” [Ephesians 5: 22-25,28]

(2) Thoughts on Polygamy

From a Biblical perspective, polygamy is a wrong practice. GOD never recommended it, and this is confirmed by Jesus Christ Himself:

“Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” [Matthew 19:4-6]

The first mention of multiple wives in the Bible was [Genesis 4:19]. It was a descendent of Cain(!) named Lamech. The man who becomes one flesh with a woman is totally responsible for her as a WIFE. There are all sorts of examples in the Bible where men CHOSE to have multiple wives. The result was always tremendous marital complications and unprofitable situations (for example Abraham, David, Solomon, etc). The woman who becomes one flesh with multiple men has no true “HUSBAND” either. An indiscriminate sexual encounter is fornication. Remember Jesus Christ and the woman at the well?

“The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.” [John 4:15-18]

Once again, we see that a man or woman will reap the consequences of the choices they make for themselves concerning marital relationships. The Biblical GOD’s wisdom advises the husband and wife to stay away from strangers and happily grow old together:

“Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” [Proverbs 5:18-20]

(3) Thoughts on Adultery

Again, the Bible defines the conditions for “marriage” as the man (the husband) joined as one flesh to his woman (the wife) within the context of the hierarchy of creation. From this point, if the husband defiles the marriage bed, then he is an adulterer. If the wife defiles the marriage bed, then she is an adulteress.

Under the Law in Israel, adultery was a serious SIN in the land, and judgment was DEATH for both the man and woman apprehended in the act:

“If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.” [Deuteronomy 22:22]

“And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” [Leviticus 20:10]

Even Jesus Christ acknowledged the seriousness of the sin of adultery:

“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.” [Matthew 19:8,9]

From Jesus Christ’s Words, we see that the only cause for dissolving a marriage was for fornication. This matches the provision which Moses made in the Law due to the hardness of Israel’s heart:

“When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.” [Deuteronomy 24:1]

At this point, we can now address the famous passage of [John 8:1-11]. Most people do not realize just how close the woman who was taken in adultery actually came to getting stoned to death. The Pharisees claimed that she was taken “in the very act” of adultery and that she should be put to death under the Law in Israel. This is TRUE! However, if she was taken “in the very act” of adultery, then WHERE was the man with whom she was committing the act? As mentioned above, both the man AND the woman were to be put to death under the Law in Israel. Logically, was Jesus Christ not writing the Law on the ground when He was stooped over? Was this not just a conspiracy on the part of the Pharisees to set up Jesus Christ as a law-breaker so that they might have to accuse Him? Yes, it was [Verse 6]. Having been exposed, the Pharisees depart, leaving Jesus Christ to warn the woman to “Go, and sin no more”. In other words, she was warned to quit her adulterous ways.

(4) Thoughts on Punishment for Adultery in Iraq

“@Citizen. Until I am waiting for an answer from you, it happens a bizare coincidence: I just received a new call from AVAAZ.com for a collective petition against the actually practice of stoning to death for adultery, in Iraq. I put this as separate question.Please, answer there, your opinion is truly important for me (and I hope, also for others)”. – Gleam

Gleam, this decision will need to be made by the people of Iraq and their government. Today, adultery is still a SIN in the eyes of the Biblical GOD. His moral perfection does NOT change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The only thing that changes is the CONDITION of judgment: Today, GOD is dealing with INDIVIDUALS within nations. He is not dealing with nations in the matter of salvation because there is NO nation on the planet comprised ONLY of BORN-AGAIN Christians. Also, GOD cannot be found in a specific Temple because He chooses to live in the heart of every person who decides to be BORN-AGAIN irrespective of their nationalities. This is why we see BORN-AGAIN Christians of many different nationalities all belonging to the invisible Body of Christ (the Church). The Apostle Paul confirms the three types of individuals that GOD is dealing with today in the following verse:

“Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” [I Corinthians 10:32,33]

Thus, the Law of Israel cannot be implemented by other nations with the same physical and spiritual results because the GOD of Israel is NOT the GOD of other nations and because the GOD of Israel is now dealing with individuals on a PERSONAL level and not on a NATIONAL level. There is coming a time, after the Rapture of the Church of GOD, where GOD will start dealing with Israel and the nations once again.

Presently, each individual nation is responsible for the laws that they choose to implement for their citizens. Governments should know the reasons for implementing their laws. Are the laws based on secular beliefs? Are the laws based on religious beliefs? Do the citizens have any rights? Do the laws conform to the rights of the citizens? I am afraid that the people of Iraq will have to figure this out and decide for themselves.

In the end, I do hope that the punishment for adultery which is chosen by the people of Iraq and their government will contain the opportunity for REPENTANCE and a NEW START for both the adulterer and adulteress. As a BORN-AGAIN Christian, the saddest thing for me to see/hear on a daily basis is the death of a man or woman who has not personally accepted the blood-sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the washing of their sins.

Thanks for reading.

Concerned Citizen