Treating Others Biblically

Today, we're going to talk about a very important subject, torture. And by torture, I don't mean watching the long-running show, The View. Although, that's awfully close to it. Instead, we answer the old Shakespearean query, to torture or not to torture?

That is the question. Now, at the outset, we all need to recognize that as a nation, we are seriously divided on this issue. There's people on the left who believe that we should not engage in torturing human beings.

And there's people on the left who believe that we should, say, torture suspected terrorists. And those people are Jack Bauer fans. And then, there are people on the right who believe that we shouldn't torture.

And some on the right who believe that we should torture, also Jack Bauer fans. Now, what's even more peculiar, given that we have God's law in front of us to answer this particular question, is we have Christians who are on both sides of the issue.

And some haven't even thought through it. They're too busy worrying about the rapture, or stuck in the rapture, like David, no last name, and the heart stopper in the blink of an eye. No, we just talked about this, guys.

Now, streaming now, by the way. Now, of course, some could care less, because they're too busy trying to figure out who the Antichrist is, or to even bother. Speaking of the Antichrist, did you guys hear that Cecile Richards is retiring from Planned Parenthood?

Good.

Defining Torture and Exposing Euphemisms

Now, it might feel better to ignore the subject at hand, but torture and the nation's policy on it is too important to push to the side. For instance, Gina Haspel, Jack Bauer fan and CIA worker who oversaw a secret prison in Thailand in which terrorism suspects were subjected to brutal techniques, is Trump's pick for CIA director.

Now, thankfully, we have a man like Rand Paul who says he will filibuster as long as he has to in order to stop her from becoming director. But if you didn't know about that, you would hear about Trump and Gina Haspel and think, Gina Haspel?

Is that another porn star that got paid off by Trump? Sadly, no. Now, the first problem we have to overcome is figuring out the definition of torture. The word torture can often be very subjective. For instance, if you ask me what torture is, I'll tell you about having daughters who listen to Frozen so many times that I've actually wondered if it's actually possible to waterboard a cartoon character.

I can tell you, by the time I had to listen to an entire lecture from Bernie Sanders on the merits of socialism. Or I can tell you about how I feel about the Christian movie In the Blink of an Eye. Now streaming, by the way.

Now, some people think that music is torture. For instance, some believe that Iron Maiden is the best band of all time. And wait, it's like this, right? That's what you do, right? Now, others would rather be put into an actual Iron Maiden torture chamber than listen to that band.

To certain people, having Donald Trump as president is torture. And for others, watching evangelical leaders abandon meaningful commitments to Christian ethics in order to make excuses for Trump's behavior is torture.

Sorry, guys, that came from a very personal place. Now, as an example of the problem of definition, listen to our president, Donald Trump, talking about the well-known method of torture known as waterboarding.

So waterboarding used to be used because they said it really wasn't torture. It was the one step slightly below torture. That's why waterboarding was legal. I mean, torture is real torture, OK? Waterboarding is...

I'm sure it's not pleasant, but waterboarding was just short of torture.

One step below torture. Now, let's talk about waterboarding for just a minute. Waterboarding is the method in which a victim is usually restrained with their hands and feet handcuffed or tied up. A breathable fabric is put over their heads and they're forced on their backs.

The victim is then subjected to having water poured over their face, into their nostrils and mouth in an effort to give them the, quote, sensation of drowning. Now, here's an example of what that looks like.

Those are the rest of the Saudi group. Give me one email and I will stop this. Who's in the Saudi group? What's the target? Where was the last time you saw bin Laden? Where was the last time you saw bin Laden, huh?

You know, when you lie to me, I hurt you. This is what defeat looks like, bro. Your jihad is over.

Now, as you can see, waterboarding is a method that is meant to cause extreme suffering and pain in another human being by essentially drowning them for extended periods of time while keeping them alive.

Now, if that's not torture, then Game of Thrones isn't porn, Scientology isn't a cult, and Hillary Clinton doesn't lose her emails. A recent CIA report detailed other techniques like keeping someone awake for 180 hours, mock executions, and rectal feeding in which food or water is force-fed by a tube into a victim's rectum.

Think about that for a second, guys. No, don't. Don't worry, guys, that's not actually torture. It's just a new book teaching a diet fad popular among vegan hipsters. It's called Beyond Gluten-Free, Mastering the Downstairs Mix-Up.

You can find it in your local bookstore next to the new book written by the CIA called Don't Ever Cross Us or We'll Stick a Tube in Your Butt Because We Work for Satan. It's weird that both books are in the same section of the bookstore, and just so we're clear about how our president feels about waterboarding.

They asked me, why do you think about waterboarding,.

Mr. Trump?

I said, I love it. I love it. I think it's great.

He's not just for waterboarding, he loves it. Sure, that's a strange thing to love, but then again, this is a man who loves a lot of strange things, guys.

I love war.

I love fighting with banks.

I love that Russia is dropping bombs all over ice.

I love it.

I love protests.

I love the Second Amendment.

I love construction.

I love great generals.

I love open markets.

I love General MacArthur.

I love the United Nations.

My boy, I love you.

Come up, Eric. Come up.

I love you, my boy.

I love these comeback people. I love what I'm doing.

His love for waterboarding isn't so strange now, is it? I think you all owe Trump an apology, guys. You can, of course, make it better by staying a night in a Trump hotel and getting a spa. Just don't choose the waterboarding package.

Now, more on the point of definition. Another difficulty is in the attempt to minimize what actually takes place with these methods of torture. Obfuscation via euphemism is very popular among those in government when discussing these methods.

Now, here's an example of what that looks like from the 2012 presidential race.

I don't see it as torture. I see it as an enhanced interrogation technique.

Enhanced interrogation technique. That sounds lovely. I think I want some of that myself. You see, we seem to do this a lot in our culture when talking about moral issues. We do it with abortion. It's not a mother paying an assassin to stick sharp instruments into her vagina to tear her little boy's arms, legs, and head off, crushing the skull until his brains come out, and then putting him back together like a puzzle piece on a tray so as to not leave any pieces behind.

No, in the modern vernacular, it's reproductive freedom. It's not murder, it's pro-choice. It's not a baby, it's a fetus, even though fetus is actually a Latin term that means baby. You see, it's not torture.

It's enhanced interrogation techniques. Now, can you guys imagine the Roman centurions calling crucifixion modified tree decoration? Or the fine people on the thin blue line calling police brutality amplified heavy petting?

Or large mixed martial artists, meatheads pounding one another into bloody stumps? Wait, that's actually a good one. That's true. Now, we should be willing, all of us, to have integrity when describing what we're doing.

Call things what they are. For example, abortion, murder. Abortionists, murderers. Cecile Richards, tyrant. Taxation, theft. There's no applause for that one, guys. We have a lot of training to do here.

House hunting for more than a year, living with your parents indefinitely. Now, doing this bit and thinking about the old MasterCard commercials, priceless. You see, we have to ask ourselves a fundamental question.

God's Law as the Standard of Justice

By what standard? What's the standard we will use to make judgments on any moral issue? Early on in American history, the fundamental assumption was that we would use the word of God as the final arbiter.

It's the very breathed-out words of the eternal God. Therefore, it has the final say. This is why our first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, appealed to it in laying down the foundation for our case law system in the United States.

And it's why George Washington placed his hand on Deuteronomy 28 at his inauguration, invoking the very curse of God upon our nation if we depart from God. The Bible says that God's law is good, holy, true, and perfect.

When God gave his law to his people, he said, see, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it.

So keep and do them for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on him, Deuteronomy 4, 5 through 6?

You see, if you wanna get a fix on how God feels about his law, take a look at the longest chapter in the entire Bible, Psalm 119. If you wanna get a fix on how Jesus felt about God's law, read Matthew 5, 17 through 19, where he tells people not to even begin to think that he came to destroy it and that whoever teaches people to disobey even the least commandment in God's law would be called least in God's kingdom.

By what standard? That's the fundamental question. Today, in a nation that was once a Christian republic, we're lost in a sea of utter confusion. What is truth? Is there any such thing as truth? Who decides what's true?

Is morality even a meaningful thing to talk about in a world created by time and chance acting on matter? Do African apes and evolved pond scum have any moral obligations to one another at all? Why can't one African ape torture another?

Why not? They behave like this all the time. You know, right after that, the grandma said the one thing that no senior citizen has ever said, just take me back to the nursing home. The truth is we can use God's word to come to conclusions on this point.

To torture or not to torture, it turns out that the Bible does have an answer to this question. So first, yes, we can inflict physical punishment upon image bearers of God. It must be done with witnesses and evidence and due process.

This can include capital punishment and physical beating. The Bible absolutely forbids in the strongest terms possible any punishment of an image bearer of God without due process. There must be two to three independent lines of evidence and witness.

There must be a trial. No accusation was even to be received by anyone without two to three independent lines of evidence and absolutely under no circumstance was someone to be punished in any way without a proper trial and a verdict based upon independent evidence.

Another point of the biblical standard of justice is that no accused person was required to help their accuser in any way. If someone is truly guilty based upon witness and evidence, then there's no need to have the accused provide any support or help.

They are guilty and it can be proven. Further, under biblical law, yes. In this fallen world with sin and evil, the judicial system can inflict physical harm upon an image bearer of God, again, with due process.

Capital punishment is commanded by God for people who murder, rape, and kidnap, for example. Also, God commands that under certain circumstances with an official trial, judge, and witnesses that a person may even receive a beating for their crime.

This can be seen in Deuteronomy 25 verses one through three. There's even a limit to how much this could happen so as to not completely degrade an image bearer of God. Now, have to recognize that some confused, bleeding hearts may have forgotten that we live in a sinful world with evil people plotting and engaging in the most heinous acts and may be wondering why such a sweet, gentle, needy surfer Jesus would ever command someone to receive a beating for a crime.

So let's take a look at this footage from a store in which a man punches a pregnant woman in the face and then steals the money from the cash register. Now, I just wanna say before we start this, I have to warn you here, give you a strong warning.

What you're about to see is horrible and it's very difficult to watch.

What do you want? Don't shoot me.

Now, under biblical law, we wouldn't punish citizens through coercive taxation and require them to pay for this man's food, medical, shelter, and security for years upon years. Under biblical law, there are judicial sanctions that could provide for actual punishment that fits the crime itself.

He could receive a beating and be forced to pay back double what he stole. Also, if he killed her baby in the process of committing this crime, God says that he should receive capital punishment in Exodus 21 -22.

So yes, there are circumstances in this fallen world in which we could have the judiciary meting out punishments that are physically harmful. And I'll make one more note on this, very important. Physical punishment outside of capital punishment was forbidden to maim.

There is absolutely no basis in biblical law for sadistic forms of torture. It was simple, justice. When the Bible uses the formula eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and life for life, it refers to equal justice.

The issue is whether we can inflict harm or torment upon another human being that is not specifically authorized by God. The issue is not whether or not we can inflict physical pain upon a human being.

God says capital punishment, lashes, beating with rods as punishment can occur after due process. See, the challenge facing us in the torture debate is actually twofold. Number one, does God permit people to engage in sadistic forms of human torture in order to force them to testify against themselves or to gain information?

Number two, does God permit us to inflict physical harm upon people who have not been given any due process, a trial, witnesses, a defense, et cetera? The answer to both of these is a resounding no. A good biblical point of number two, point number two is found in Acts 23.

See, the apostle Paul was trained in the law of God under the renowned teacher Gamaliel. And he was before a Jewish council. It says, and looking intently at the council, Paul said, brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.

And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God is gonna strike you, you whitewashed wall. Are you sitting to judge me according to the law and yet contrary to the law, you order me to be struck?

Paul was physically struck before he was convicted of any crime, no witness, no evidence. Paul appealed to the law of God itself that forbids any physical harm before a proper trial with due process. So the point, you can't touch another image bearer of God without due process, period.

That's justice. Now, listen to Ron Paul talk about some of the consequences of accepting anything other than this.

Yes, torture is illegal and by our laws, it's illegal by international laws.

How do you define torture, sir?

Well, waterboarding is torture and many other things. It's illegal under international law and under our law. It's also immoral.

See the audience there?

Now, hold on.

If the audience didn't seem to agree with this man, then why do you hear a crowd agreeing with him? We should get the answer out of them. I'm sure President Trump would be fine with the waterboarding of the audience.

Now, in the Kaiser commentary, Philip Kaiser lists some powerful and very compelling biblical points that are worth paying attention to if we're at all concerned with God's law and his standards of justice over against the constantly changing and tyrannical laws of men.

He wrote this.

Number one, Paul declared the slapping of a prisoner prior to a conviction under due process of law to be a violation of the law of God, Acts 23. If Paul was struck, quote, contrary to the law, then anything greater than a slap on the face should also be considered unlawful.

This would be true whether the person was a native born or a stranger who dwells among you, since there must be one law, the Bible says, for both, Exodus 12, 49. This principle would, of course, rule out waterboarding.

Number two, Nicodemus argued that judging either an individual or a crowd of being an enemy of the state without having been convicted in a court of law was contrary to the law of God, John 7, 47 through 53.

Torture assumes the guilt of an individual without due process. Number three, arguing from the lesser to the greater, cruelty against animals was forbidden in the Bible, Genesis 49, Proverbs 12, 10. How much more so cruelty against humans?

Number four, biblical law governing the treatment of captives does not allow for torturing or killing, 2 Kings 6, 8 through 23. On the field of battle, an enemy can be killed, but once the immediate conflict has ceased, the prisoners cannot be treated inhumanely.

Number six, witnesses were required of the prosecution, but not of the accused, Deuteronomy 19, Leviticus 5. This by itself rules out the use of torture because it is requiring a person to become a witness against himself.

Only the accuser was forced to testify. Next point, torture violates the biblical rights of the accused to remain silent. This law is implied in Numbers 35, 30, Deuteronomy 17, 6, 19, 15, and is explicitly affirmed by Christ's silence in Mark 15, three through five, Matthew 27, 14.

You see, this reinforces the previous point that the prosecution had the responsibility of bringing witnesses and that the accused did not. Next point, the accused is treated as innocent until proven guilty, Deuteronomy 25, one through two, Isaiah 43, nine.

And this was one of the gross violations of the law that occurred at the trial of Jesus. He was mocked and beaten prior to trial, Luke 22. But modern torture of captured suspects is a similar violation of the principle of innocent until proven guilty.

Next point, torture erodes the testimony and character of a nation. Deuteronomy four, six through eight, Lamentations 4 .3, Ezekiel 34 .4. God wanted the Gentiles to be jealous of the liberties that his law brought to Israel and declared his laws to be the perfect law of liberty.

However, through cruelty, Israel's reputation was destroyed. Lamentations 4 .3, Ezekiel 34 .4. In a similar way, torture was ruined, has ruined America's grand testimony. Next, many commentators have pointed out that the torturer himself is dehumanized and that quote, the cruel man does himself harm, Proverbs 11, 17.

Next, all men are made in the image of God and torture degrades that image. Even after a trial and conviction, this image of God and man meant that no one could be given more than 40 lashes and a beating because that would make him quote, degraded.

Now, next, even after capital punishment was inflicted, this is powerful, the body of a criminal under God's law had to be treated respectfully lest the land be defiled, Deuteronomy 21, 23. Certain forms of torture have flagrantly disrespected people's bodies.

Next, authorizing torture trusts government with far too much power. Since civil government is made up of depraved individuals, unrestrained power in the hands of such would be corrupting. We've seen what the power to torture has done to degrade governments in even quote, civilized countries.

Why would we want that in America? And finally, the New Testament says that every transgression and disobedience in the Old Testament received a just penalty, Hebrews 2, 2. To the degree that we deviate from God's law, we deviate from justice.

And of course, the golden rule, do unto others what you would have them do unto you. No one would wanna be tortured if captured by the enemy. Now, here's some final thoughts, everybody. History is sadly replete with examples of human beings being creative with and seemingly enjoying the torture of another image bearer of God.

From sawing human beings in half to impaling human beings, to the Judas cradle, to the rack, to of course, quartering, to crucifixion. You see, there seems to be no limit to the kind of trauma and pain we wanna inflict on other human beings.

Hopefully, we're all familiar with the torture and murder of Jesus. And I wanna humbly ask you all to consider just a few important last thoughts. First, what makes the suffering of Jesus so horrific is that he was beaten and tortured as an innocent man.

He had his beard pulled from his face, his face was smashed in, he had a crown of thorns smashed into his head, and he was whipped with a cat of nine tails, which would have certainly opened up his back and body, exposing muscle and perhaps organs.

Ultimately, he was nailed to a cross where he suffered with literally excruciating pain and suffocation. When we recognize that this was the greatest form of shame that humans could inflict upon another, it's so horrific because it was so unjust and so terribly evil.

Now, all of us recognize this. Jesus was tortured. He was even tortured before he had a proper trial, evidence, and a verdict. That's why it was so unjust. Number two, when Jesus was at these kangaroo trials with false witnesses, notice, and this is a well-known historic and biblical fact, that Jesus remained silent during his trial.

He was following the law of God. No accused person was required, under God's law, to help their accusers or give them any information. Those are God's standards, like it or not. No human being is required to testify against themselves, and no torture of any human being in an effort to have them give up potential information is permitted under God's law.

Jesus understood this. We need to understand it too. If we want a world filled with justice and righteous standards in society and in law, we need only to look at the law of God to discover where justice is truly found.

If we want a world filled with injustice, torture, and the degradation of the image of God, we will look to the trial of Jesus and begin establishing that sort of shameful judicial process as our own.

I say, may it never be.

Next week with Jeff Durbin, the late night show with the unpopular opinion. Tuesday, only on Facebook Live.