Please help me with a confused friend.....

Hey Runninhorn... (what does your username mean by the way?)... anyway, just want to say hello and welcome to the forums. About your friend's letter... hmm... I don't want to ignore this... but give me some time reply ok... 'cos at the moment my time has been spent... but I will definitely try to help you out here... k? see you later then...

That was actually quite funny... hmm... anyway... I guess we should be taking this seriously... anyway....

I can't tell you what you should do because I don't know the situation. How good of a friend is this? It sounds like he is just trying to get a rise out of you. I personally would ignore this. He is just poking fun at you. I have had athiest friends who would say stuff like this to me to see how I would respond. If you respond in love or ignore this I believe he will respect you more. Keep one thing in mind you have little chance of changing his mind about God by getting offended or trying to convert him. You have a better chance of impacting him by responding in love to him and maintaining the friendship.
Hope this helps.
Take care.

These are quotes are similar to an episode of The West Wing that aired last year I believe. I heard Hank Hanegraaff on the Bible Answer Man broadcast address these questions as they are easily refuted. It's a little long but here is a good explaination from CRI's web site on this very question:

WILL THE REAL DR. LAURA PLEASE STAND UP?

The impact of this encounter between Dr. Jenna Jacobs and President Josiah Bartlet can hardly be overstated. More than 11 million homes3 tuned in to watch the drama unfold as NBC’s Emmy award-winning The West Wing used Dr. Jacobs to caricature Dr. Laura Schlessinger as a rude and bigoted religious talk show host. The president (played by Martin Sheen) was hardly original. It seems his tirade was lifted in large part from a widely circulated e-mail that appears on a multitude of gay/lesbian Web sites, in which many of the same questions are posed to Dr. Laura.4 Millions of people sat in their living rooms and applauded. Right wing bigots such as Dr. Laura and, by extension, orthodox Jews and evangelical Christians had finally been put in their place. Millions more, no doubt, wavered in their faith. They wondered whether the Bible they had put their trust in had been exposed as antiquated and absurd. Does the very Bible that condemns homosexuality really commend slavery? Let’s take a closer look.

SLAVERY

When confronted with the issue of slavery, NBC’s version of Dr. Laura was left speechless. In real life, however, there is an answer.

First and foremost, it should be noted that the Bible does not commend slavery; rather, it recognizes the reality of slavery. In the ancient world where slavery flourished, the Mosaic Law thus stipulated stringent guidelines such as a year of Jubilee in which slaves were released (Lev. 25:40). In fact, it was the application of biblical principles that ultimately led to the overthrow of slavery, both in ancient Israel and in the United States of America. Israel’s liberation from slavery in Egypt became the model for the liberation of slaves in general. In America, many are beginning to wake up to the liberating biblical truth that all people are created innately equal (see Gen. 1:27; Acts 17:26–28; see also Gal. 3:28).

Furthermore, slavery within an Old Testament context was sanctioned due to economic realities rather than racial or sexual prejudices.5 Because bankruptcy laws did not exist, people would voluntarily sell themselves into slavery. A craftsman could, thus, use his skills in servitude to discharge a debt. Even a convicted thief could make restitution by serving as a slave (Exod. 23:3).

Finally, we should note that far from extolling the virtues of slavery, the Bible denounces slavery as sin. The apostle Paul goes so far as to put slave traders in the same category as murderers, adulterers, perverts, and liars (1 Tim.1:10). Indeed, slavery is so abhorrent to God that in the final book of the Bible, He condemns the evil systems that perpetuate it.6

SABBATH

Using hyperbole, the president suggests that the very Bible that condemns homosexuality mandates that he kill his own chief of staff for violating the Sabbath. Answering this question may pose somewhat of a challenge for orthodox Jews such as Dr. Laura or Senator Joseph Lieberman, but it poses no problem whatsoever for Christians who recognize that Christ is the substance that fulfills the symbol of the Sabbath.

To begin with, as the president of the United States would surely know, America is a democratic republic and not a theocratic form of government; thus, Sabbath-breaking may have had serious ramifications within ancient Israel, but it is not a warrant for executing people today. Not even Joseph Lieberman, who is still looking forward to the first coming of Messiah, would suggest killing the President’s chief of staff for violating the Jewish Sabbath.

Furthermore, there is no more warrant for killing a homosexual today than there is for killing a Sabbath breaker. In fact, the mechanisms required to carry out the death penalty under Mosaic Law are no longer extant. Ironically, the very Jews who believed that Christ was worthy of death for violating the laws of Moses had to convince the Roman authorities to crucify Him.

Finally, while Schlessinger and Lieberman have a hard time explaining why Mosaic penalties no longer apply (at least in spirit), the answer for Christians is found in Christ. As the apostle Paul explains, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” (Gal. 3:13–14). This redemption from the curse of the law is available to all regardless of ethnicity or gender. Paul continues:

So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:24–29).7

SWINE

The president makes his biggest blunder by addressing the subject of swine. Sarcastically, he suggests that players for the Washington Redskins, Notre Dame, or West Point may become ceremonially unclean by touching a football made of “the skin of a dead pig.” Ironically, the president has just dressed down “Dr. Laura” for not having a Ph.D. in psychology, theology, or medicine. By implication she therefore is not qualified to speak on matters of personal faith and morals. It appears, however, that the president has not been properly briefed; and, thus, despite his Ph.D. in economics, he appears less than qualified to pontificate on this subject.

To begin with, the fact that Dr. Laura’s Ph.D. is in physiology rather than psychology is no warrant for intimating that she is ill equipped to properly interpret literary documents such as the Bible. It appears she has a better grasp of biblical hermeneutics than that displayed by the president. If, indeed, the president had an adequate understanding of the rich tradition of biblical Judaism, he would no doubt have been far more restrained in his diatribe against the Scriptures. At best, he proved himself a master at rhetoric and emotive stereotypes rather than reason and evidence.

Furthermore, we should note that the footballs used in college and the professional ranks are not even made of pigskin. Rather, they are made of cowhide8 — the skin of a kosher animal. The president of the United States should blush with embarrassment for overliteralizing “pigskin” and for using an out-to-lunch appeal to demonstrate that the Bible is out of date.

Finally, there is a quantum difference between enduring moral principles such as those regarding homosexuality and temporary ceremonial practices relegated to a particular historical context. The distinction between clean and unclean animals symbolized the distinction between that which was holy and that which was unholy within the context of a theocracy. As we have already noted, however, the ceremonial symbolism of the law was fulfilled in Christ, who makes the unclean clean. As Scripture thus declares, we are not to “call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15).9

There was more to this thread but I couldn't post it all in one post.

I hope this helps.

God Bless

Thanks Apologist...! I Appreciate your input!!

Well if your friend is serious I think you should point out that all of the references made were Old Testament Sacrificing Laws and other laws that man at the time was to follow all of these laws in order to please God. We are now no longer under the law but under the Grace of Jesus Christ. This is not to say we are not to follow a lot of the Mosaic Law but the part about sacrifices and giving your daughter's as slaves (another form of slavery) was cancelled by the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross of Calvary. I can give you scripture references to back my claim up, but I am at school at the moment and about to go into class. I will write more later ;O) I hope this will be of some help.

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