I read the comments coming from Jaspal Singh. There is hardly any substantive information enclosed that requires another reply or continuation of discussion on the Biblical God (BG) with one exception and that is the issue of slavery. Jaspal added the following paragraphs:

”Firstly the criticism raised shows the complete absence of any iota of understanding of the Bible. The Bible first and foremost is a spiritual book. Jesus said, the words he spoke were “spirit and life”. GB Singh and Co fall into the same blind alley the Pharisees did two thousand years ago, when they thought he advocated cannibalism when he said they should eat his “flesh and blood”.

“Likewise with over literal goggles on they actually thought he would re-build the temple in 3 days, when in fact he spoke of his body, not the physical temple. As Jesus said, the body profits nothing (John 6.63):

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.“

”Secondly, Jesus did indeed come to set slaves free, but not the physically bound slaves in the physical world, but spiritually free, which follows on from my first point that the Bible is above all a spiritual book.”

It is evident that brother Jaspal and I think differently. By giving a quote from the New Testament the problem of slavery doesn’t go away. Come to think of it, my brother Jaspal agrees with me when he admits that Jesus didn’t touch the institution of slavery [physical slavery]. We are in agreement on this important point. I wish he were in open agreement with me to denounce Jesus’ father, the BG, for commanding and approving the institution of slavery. I wish Jesus himself had agreed with me. Whether Jesus freed people from “spiritual slavery” (whatever that means) needs to be examined when we open the pages on him.

Brother Jaspal thinks of the Bible as a “spiritual book.” I don’t. Much of the Bible is non-spiritual. Because of the restraints on time we, in all probability, will bypass examining BG’s commandments on genocide. Also we might bypass stories that relate to incest, rape, indecent exposure, pimping, adultery, bigamy, homosexual assault, ritualistic circumcision, prostitution, baby-making by proxy, fornication with devils, husband-swapping, and so forth. In this, the Bible resembles some Hindu scriptures.

With this reply allow me to continue my discussion with Reverend Zekveld. I look forward to discussing Jesus Christ and the New Testament with him in the next issue of SikhSpectrum. I am open to revisiting the Hebrew Bible, if it is deemed necessary, as we open the pages of the New Testament.


Copyright ©2006 G.B. Singh. About the author