Warning: ADVANCED LEVEL

I started writing this piece a few days before I heard Ben Shapiro make the argument in one of his commentaries that the family structure is the primary institution for determining public morality. I've had this opinion for years, and will show you the basics of my Biblical reasoning below. Of course, Shapiro made his point as a Harvard-Law-educated, Jewish multi-millionaire media mogul would. Though he didn't use the Torah to establish the foundation for his convictions, I could smell it...

What had originally triggered the subject for me was Jordan Petersen's discussion of the Gospels with a panel of intellectual giants from a range of religious and scientific perspectives. In contrast to the panel members' mountain of gravitas and acclaim, my arguments come from a Missionary's Heart with a Lawyer's Mind. And the Bible. Pretty simple stuff. I don't reference other people's opinions to prove my points.

I'm not claiming that I have the authority to critique Peterson's crew of intellectuals. My hope is to influence you toward the BIBLE, not toward my opinions, or theirs. Still, I recommend that you follow Jordan Peterson's thought process concerning the Bible. Peterson uses psychological analysis of the Bible, which can be annoying, and a little pretentious at times. But I'm sharing with you, from my perspective, that his insights are often VERY deeply implied in the text. Believe it or not, I see Jordan Peterson's work as evangelistic. Peterson is showing that Christianity is rational, knowable, and powerfully good, and by doing so, he is reaching an audience of intellectuals that the church has failed to meet on those terms for decades.

Of course, I would also like to influence you toward supporting my own work. Please like and subscribe if you find the following analysis entertaining...

I was fishing at the time this article was born. I was also yelling. In particular, Dennis Prager's contribution to the Gospel discussion had me yelling the loudest.

(Yes, I was listening to Jordan Peterson while I was supposed to be spending quality time with my son, and yes, I yell out loud at podcasts like an old codger. And by the way, my 9-year old son caught four fish that day, and I caught ZERO, so I should probably try a little less of the yelling.)

Prager was clearly the fish out of water in this panel discussion of the Gospels. It even seemed at times that the atheists and Christians were teaming up against him. Really enjoyable. But Prager is a true Boss, and can handle the pressure. What he was concerned about was that, in the Sermon on the Mount/Beatitudes of Matthew 5 and 6, Jesus says the entire Law will be fulfilled, and then Jesus goes on to condemn people to Hell for not obeying the Law in the way Jesus interprets the Law. I said Law three times there. Prager's observation was that today's Christian church seems to have jettisoned "the Law" entirely. His very reasonable challenge to the panel thus was 'Why aren't we listening to Jesus' clear teachings about the Law?'

I thought it was a great point.

I heard NO cogent explanations from the panel. And these guys are all genius-level. I have to look up half of the sources they reference. They hemmed and hawed and made references to other philosophical hemmers and hawers, yet gave Prager no clear answer. Perhaps it was the setting. Perhaps some of the guys knew the answer to Prager's questions, but weren't able to squeeze their opinions in between competing smart-guy egos. I was genuinely gob-smacked. These guys really didn't understand how and why Jesus handled the Law? These guys?! This is basic stuff.

That's when my yelling began. My son just thought I was mad at the non-biting fish.

My dream someday is to have a sit-down/throw-down with guys like Prager and Shapiro. Who wouldn't? My delusional dream would be to "Dig for Truth from the Roots" in the Garden of Eden with those two mensch. They'll have to read the Hebrew for me, of course, and they'll have a thousand interesting rabbinic opinions, I'm sure. But I'm open to learning some new things from my Big Brothers in the faith.

The "Garden Heart Treatment": NT --> OT--> the Garden--> NT--> Today

Step 1. NEW TESTAMENT

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is amazing. The Beatitudes are beautiful. I wouldn't call the amputated eyes and hands part beautiful, but they are certainly powerful. And I think they are simple. There is so much complicated scholarship surrounding the Beatitudes that it can be frustrating to get down to Jesus' intended message to His audience. Jesus' message must have been simple, or you're probably missing the point. I also find it VERY frustrating to listen to "Progressives" invoking the Beatitudes as a "Biblical" foundation for their beliefs about the role of government. Makes me throw up in my mouth a little, and then I'm yelling again...

Jesus' teachings on the Sermon on the Mount elevate the Law, but with a very specific purpose. (This subject is worth its own series of videos!) For this limited discussion, just read Matt 5 and 6 and note that Jesus is rebuking the Jews in order to reform their misunderstanding of the Law, and to correct their resultant misapplication of the Law. To me, that's simple. Jesus accomplishes His intent by humbling them.

Jesus shook them and hooked them right at the beginning, by saying the poor and the meek and the lowly had what His audience's pursuit of the Kingdom of God was missing. This claim would have made no sense to His audience. Deuteronomy 28 was likely the foundation for their moral math: your obedience to God will earn you His Blessings, your disobedience, His Curses. The Curses in Deut 28 look a LOT like poverty, defeat, and humiliation. It sounded like Jesus was esteeming the Cursed instead of the Blessed.

Jesus turned his audience's world upside down. His teaching tactic? SHOCK TREATMENT. Jesus used shock treatment all the time, especially in his parables. Today, we would call it trolling.

A key that unlocked my understanding comes from the Luke 6 version of this teaching. In the "Sermon on the Plain" version of Jesus' lecture circuit, He even adds woes/curses. But they're really weird. Jesus proclaims "curses" on His audience for activities like eating, and laughing, and having a good reputation. None of those activities are sinful. In fact, those three examples can be inferred from God's promised Blessings in Deut 28:1-14. Jesus is trolling again.

Jesus is NOT creating a New Law in the Sermons on the Mount and the Plain. He's fixing His audience's misunderstanding of the Old Law. Eating, laughing, having a good reputation, calling someone a fool, or looking a little too long at a member of the opposite sex DO NOT send you to Hell, people. Humanity has already earned their ticket to Hell.

Jesus gave these absurd examples to show that the Law points to a PERFECT standard, the Image of God standard, which I will explain below. By that Image Standard, everyone deserves judgment. If Jesus' teachings are a "New Law", then sorry, everyone except Jesus goes to Hell. What Jesus was fishing for in the hearts of His listeners was a fitting response to God's graciousness. The fitting response to being Blessed by God should be HUMILITY, and GRATEFULNESS, not pride. The Jews of His time obviously weren't handling the application of the Law to their communities with God's grace in mind.

Again, Jesus was fixing their misunderstanding of the Law. Jesus had zero problem with the Law. You shouldn't either.

(That's what I would tell Prager in my fantasy argument. Then I would sit back, smugly, and eat some bacon.)

James

I am VERY confident in the above interpretation, not because of psychosis, but because Jesus' younger half-brother, James, steals Jesus' material in James 2:8-13. The little thief. I challenge you: Read the Sermon on the Mount, then read James 2:8-13, then the Sermon on the Mount again. James is preaching the sermon that Jesus was implying. Their logic parallels, point by point. Here, look for yourself, with my analysis in [brackets]:

"But if you fulfill the royal law [the Image Standard] as expressed in this scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show prejudice [a mindset, followed by a deed], you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. 10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it [in other words, everyone is a sinner, deserving of judgment]. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law [The Image Standard is perfect, and you are not that]. 12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law [acknowledging YOU ALSO deserve judgment] that gives freedom [righteousness is His Image, a gift from God, freely given]. 13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy [because you don't understand the law you are enforcing against others]. But mercy triumphs over judgment. [judgment isn't the goal- His Image is!]". James 2:8-13 NET

James 2:20 really trips people up, but hopefully you can see that it shouldn't: “But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?” ‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭NET‬‬. Don't be an "empty fellow!" Keep going with me to the Garden to see how faith is first, AND how faith and works are indivisible partners. The Image of God explains it all.

John

1 John is a twisty pretzel of logic. If you spin in circles while reading the book it will make more sense. John is doing his own version of shock treatment for his Greek-minded congregation. Check out this theological jiu jitsu:

“Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments. The one who says “I have come to know God” and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person. But whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has been perfected. By this we know that we are in him.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NET‬‬.

The first sentence of this quote sends people's faith spinning, again, for no reason, in my opinion. The Garden will help.

Don't let anyone tell you that this verse teaches Salvation by Works. Totally ignorant, and maybe even dishonest! Only a few verses earlier, John says that if you claim to be sinless, you're a liar (1:10). John was clearly dealing with people who were claiming to be sinless, implying they had "worked" their way to salvation.

Look at 3:6-8: since everyone, saved or not, is a "sinner" to some degree, John says that the difference is that the "saved" no longer "practice sin", and instead "practice righteousness". This segment isn't long enough for me to explain the worldview challenge that John's congregation faced--"Cosmological Dualism" (do an AI search on this topic)-- suffice it to say that they believed the spiritual/heavenly could NEVER mix with the unspiritual/earthly. John blew that lie out of the water. Though humans were indeed earthly sinners (physical), through Jesus we can know Light, Love and Eternal (spiritual) Life. We can be Children (earthly) of God (heavenly), through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Look at 2:1-2 to see that John says that Jesus is the ONLY BRIDGE over the gap between spiritual and physical, between faith and works:

"(My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world." 1 John 2:1-2 NET

Cosmological Dualism, WREKD.

This is why John says all sorts of stuff about keeping God's commandments. Over and over. In 3:15 John does his own plagiarism of the Sermon on the Mount by saying that if you hate your fellow Christian, you're a murderer.

“Everyone [on earth] who has been fathered by God [spiritually] does not practice sin [spiritual + physical], because God’s seed [Jesus, the perfect Image] resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin [not only are sins forgiven, but he doesn't even WANT to sin], because he has been fathered by God [in Jesus, we are restored "image-bearers"]. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are revealed: Everyone who does not practice righteousness – the one who does not love his fellow Christian – is not of God.” 1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭9-10‬ ‭NET‬‬

The WORKS REVEAL the truth of one's beliefs. The physical/earthly REVEALS the spiritual/heavenly Standard. An "image bearer" desires righteousness at an identity level. John had to make this fact clearly, because he was fighting against fake Christians in the Greek church who were claiming the spiritual status of salvation while rejecting the moral, physical expressions of Jesus' Image on earth.

As you can tell from my above analysis, the Image Law of the Garden totally unlocks the Sermon on the Mount, James, and 1 John for me!

Walk through the Garden with me, below (fully clothed, please) and I hope you'll catch on for yourself. Then come back to these New Testament sections with new eyes and understanding

Step 2. OLD TESTAMENT

I'm chomping at the bit to get to the Garden, but I will make one point in the OT that people often miss: Deuteronomy is all about salvation by grace. Anyone who claims the Law is "legalistic" makes me wonder if they have studied the book at all.

Not only does God spend the entire "Book of Law" reiterating that HE is their only Protector, He is their Provider (29:8-9 for a sample), several times He reveals that they will inevitably blow it and HE will be the One who saves them (30:1-3, Moses' Song in chapter 32, esp. 32:39!) How does Israel "earn" His salvation in all of those sections of Deuteronomy? Repentance. A change of heart. Believe the Truth. Trust His Word. Just "cry out". Then my God's gracious lovingkindness, He will relent and Save.

God doesn't say: "OK, if you have perfect Sabbath attendance for seven years, or seventy years, I'll take you back." Or, "1,000 fattened calves, with a nice sauce, please..." Or, "50 Our Father's, 50 Hail Mary's and 100 burpees, and I'll let you back into my good graces..." Israel was to be saved BY FAITH. Faith is a willingness/desire to obey. God does the saving. Just like the Gospel in the New Testament. The purpose of the Laws in Deuteronomy were to provide post-salvation (so to speak) guidelines for Israel's future national success.

OK. That's enough of that.

Step 3. GARDEN: THE IMAGE OF GOD IS EXPRESSED BY BOTH INDIVIDUALS AND THE FAMILY

Up to this point, I've been talking about the struggle between Faith and Works, right? What does that theological swamp have to do with Individualism v. Communalism? Everything, and more (wait...can there be more than everything?) Below, see if you can follow how I made the logical connection...

Transition #1. Faith and Works are both expressions of the Image of God, because the source of spiritual belief (the Image) is to be fleshed out on Earth (you and I are Image Bearers, not the Image).

Transition #2. Faith comes first, as the Image preexisted Creation. Works come second, as all Godly works are the expression of the preexistent Image. For us at least, the two are permanently, inextricably linked.

Transition #3. In Genesis 1 and 2, the Image of God is perfectly expressed on Earth by Adam first, then, also perfectly, by Eve.

If your brain followed my logic easily, I'm sorry for your suffering, but maybe we're on to something...

Have you ever wondered why the "One God" created His image in TWO humans (Gen 1:26)? The answer in not that God is some kind of hermaphrodite, having both sexualities (you should red card any Christian who tries telling you that). It says the opposite. God is NOT a sexual being, either way. There IS no heavenly sexual drama in Jewish/Christian Monotheism, in clear contrast to the El/Baal/Asherah heavenly family of the Canaanites.

SQUIRREL!!! Let's chase this for second and come right back...

We talk of God as "Fatherly", because that's the best way we can understand Him. He doesn't have sex in order to populate multiple layers of a "Celestial Kingdom", ala Mormonism. God's nature and character applies to men and women equally.

Jesus is now a Man, the Son of God, because He put on flesh, and man-flesh is the kind of flesh He wanted to put on (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus, once incarnated, could have had a human family because He was a real man (He didn't have a physical family, btw, and you should yellow card any Christian who tells you otherwise). We can't explain exactly how Jesus existed before His incarnation, even though there are interesting clues in the Old Testament. John says that Jesus was the Logos, but I don't want to dive into that deep pool right now.

For me, I think of Jesus' pre-incarnation identity as "Sonly". That's the best way humans can conceive of His role in the Godhead. "God the Father and God the Son" is the same as saying "God the Creator, and God the Image". Please, let's leave it at that.

OK. I probably missed that squirrel, but let's get back on point...

God created TWO humans to function as His 100% sinless Image Bearers on Earth. Thankfully, God made Adam and Eve male and female reproductive creatures. We resulted from their sexual union, inheriting God's INTENTED 100% Image Bearer role. Every individual you will ever meet.

Genesis 5:3 makes this thinking plain: "When Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth." Adam and Eve passed on the "image" they received from God to their children, through physical reproduction, and so on to each of us.

That is, if you're a Christian or a believing Jew. Most of Greek culture at Jesus' time thought slaves were lower life forms, like dogs, tools to be used. Margaret Sanger, the pioneer of abortion "rights", plus other early 20th century "Progressives" were proponents of Eugenics, the idea that moral superiority was the result of proper breeding control. Some deserved to be reproduced, and many others didn't. The Nazis embraced that idea and ran with it.

How about we do a better job of "Conserving" the Biblical notion of individual Image-bearing? Without the Bible's Garden Narrative, Human Rights don't have a foundation to stand on. That being said, let's get back to the Garden.

God could have simply created every individual, individually, to pursue his/her/its own individual interests. He didn't. As we noted above, you and I are the fruit of a Family of Image-Bearers. God could have created Eve from dirt, just like Adam. He didn't. God made Adam out of earth dirt (it's what the name Adam means), but Eve was born from Adam's body. Male and female. husband and wife, are "one flesh" (see Adam's song, below). In that sense the ENTIRE FAMILY of Humanity is "one flesh". That's God's intended revelation of true Love. Jesus' expression of Love was greater than that, because Jesus didn't have to do what He did. But if sin had never happened, Human Family would have been God's eternal expression of complete and true Love.

My primary point: God had set Humanity up for Family from the Beginning! Without Familial Love between Adam and Eve, not only would you and I not exist, but God's Image-Bearing role in both Adam AND Eve would have been missing something. Family is an essential aspect of God's nature and character that you and I would never experience (on earth) without our own human families around us.

It might help if I say it in the other direction: Our human families point us toward a blessing that derives from God's own nature and character, one that we otherwise would be unable to ascertain. I'll say it a third way, in the negative: If a human lives without Family as an essential component of their every day life, they are NOT experiencing the fullness of God's intended blessing for their life.

I am NOT SAYING that being single, or even married and childless, is a sin. The Apostle Paul would rebuke me fiercely if I did, because he teaches that some times remaining single is the BEST thing (1 Cor 7:7-8).

I AM SAYING that I think the "math" is pretty straightforward: the monotheist God- who has only One "Image"- chose to express Himself as TWO Image Bearers. That's exactly where we must begin our search for the balance between Individualism and Communalism. The Image of God was fully "bearable" by Individuals, yet it got MUCH BETTER when it was shared with others. It is my opinion that God called the Sixth Day of Creation "VERY good", instead of just "good", because of the birth of His Image-bearing Family (Gen 1:31). To reject this reality is to reject God's Creation narrative itself. As we learned from the 20th century, that's not a good thing...

"Only I matter!" = idolatry.

Extreme Individualism is a rejection of the Family aspect of God's Image. Extreme Individualism is NOT God. Rejection of Familial duty and responsibility is NOT Love. There are no Christian Anarchists.

"Only the family/church/commune/state matter!" = idolatry.

Extreme Communalism- survival of the "commune" at the expense of the Individual- is also a rejection of God's Image. For any Family/Commune to be an expression of God's Love, it must preserve God's balance for the value of each Individual. There are no Christian Communists.

Genesis chapter 2 reinforces that principle: God created Adam in His image first. Adam was the only Image Bearer in all of Creation- the King of the World! (insert Titanic meme) In the first few verses of Chapter 2, Adam is living the Individualist Dream, bearing God's Image like a champ! He was nurturing life by working the orchard that God had given him (Gen 2:15). He was learning about the animals over which God had given him domain. Adam was even naming his beloved critters like he was their Daddy (2:19). Everything was "good" in Adam's Individualistic image-bearing career.

Or was it? Verse 2:18 says it was "NOT GOOD" for Adam to be alone. What's "alone" mean? Adam had dogs and budgies and kitties and manatees- who was alone? Adam had complete dominion over a perfect environment for eternity! How could Adam's perfect image-bearing be "not good"?

What Adam's image-bearing was missing was familial love- specifically, marital love. Even more specifically, marital love that could create more Humans! My conclusion: Individual Image bearing is perfect, but the fullness of Image Bearing is incomplete without Family. I've said this a few times now. I still can't explain how Individual Image bearing can be 100% complete, and at the same time, not as good as Image-bearing as a Family. Maybe the answer is found Jesus' Incarnation... yes, I just said that, and I won't explain it.

Why the gap between Adam's Individual creation and God's revelation of the Family aspect of Image bearing? Why torture Adam with a desire he couldn't even understand? It's my opinion that God wanted Adam to suffer the absence of Adam's perfect mate so that Adam could meet Eve with a proper perspective. And Adam definitely got the message. He felt it. Read Adam's Song when he woke up from his surgery:

“Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”" Genesis 2:23 NET

It's the AT LAST part that jumps out at me. God had created something MISSING in the image-bearing capacity of Adam that was driving Adam crazy. He felt it, but had no clue how to fulfill it. With Eve's completion of Adam, his suffering finally ended. (What Adam didn't know was that he died to himself during that surgery...)

Step 4. Back to the New Testament and Today

Which brings us full circle to today.

Individualism is Reality. There is no way for us NOT to be Individuals. Everyone has always been and will only ever be "themselves". Faith always and only comes to Individuals, one-by-one, and will never function otherwise. You and I are intended by God, first, to be Individual Image-bearers, even in our Fallen state, by the intercession of Jesus and activity of the Holy Spirit. You will never be judged by God for anyone else's deeds. You will also never be rewarded for anyone else's righteousness. Other than Jesus' atonement, of course. But even Jesus' atonement pays the price one Individual at a time. The gates of Heaven are one shoulder-width wide.

The mistake is to leave it there.

Some believers and churches neglect-- or may have forgotten entirely-- that we are also created with an ESSENTIAL need to experience more of the fullness of God through Familial human relationships. We are ESSENTIALLY called to good works.

Titus 2:14 says: "He [Jesus] gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good works." NET

Good works require other Humans to do it to. Without the Family of Image-bearers, no "good works" can be done. Go back to 1 John now and I hope you will see that John's reasoning makes perfect sense.

Good works complete God-given faith. Faith without works is "dead", just like James says. "Living" faith is faith in the Image of God, and the Image of God finds its highest expression in the Family, which is His framework for the love of others.

It's both/and, not either/or. That's the balance that mature Christians need to demand from themselves and from their churches.

Let's take it all the back to Jesus' teachings.

In Mark 12:28-34, Jesus taught that the entire Law--which means ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS (I'll explain below)-- can be summed up by, first, "Loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind..." That's from the Shema in Deuteronomy 6. Jesus says the Second necessary law is "Loving your neighbor as yourself" from Leviticus 19. One law is first, and the other is second. FAITHFULNESS to the Image is first. That's Individual Image-Bearing.

But Jesus taught that the first MUST be partnered with the SECOND. And "Loving your Neighbor as yourself" requires a neighbor! In order for "the Law" to be fulfilled, as Jesus stated in Matthew 5, our "Image-Bearing" MUST include the Family. Not just our own families, as even the Gentiles do (Matthew 5:43-48), but we should be responsible for the care for the ENTIRE Family of Humanity.

But you already knew that, didn't you?

Still, my hope is that you can now understand Jesus, John, and James better because together, we have dug up the roots of their thinking in the Garden.

I also hope you noticed that I NEVER MENTIONED HUMAN GOVERNMENT. The fulfillment of the Law that Jesus promises will ONLY be accomplished by YOU and I, Individually honoring our Family of God Image-bearing duties.

You can't vote for someone else to bear the Image of God for you.

If you think that's a solid interpretation of the Garden Narrative, you might want to apply it to your views of civlization.