I have discovered something that seems to characterize some people.
Many of those who call themselves “believers” seem to believe in making many laws for non-believers to follow. Or another way to look at it: They believe they know how other people need to live their lives.
What do you think?
You raise a good point.....but I'd like to divide it into two separate issues because I believe that the Bible does this.
Firstly, to whom did God give his Laws? Did he enforce them on any other nation? If it was only to Israel, then what does that indicate to you?
It appears to me as if Israel was covenanted to God, (i.e. legally bound by entering into that agreement of their own free will. Exodus 19:7-8) then they were under obligation to abide by the terms of that covenant. I do not see God forcing any other nation to obey him...although some may have recognized him as the true God and joined themselves to his people. Then they would be under obligation to obey his laws.
I can think of a few occasions where God's response to the wickedness or immorality of a particular people moved him to take action against them....notably the people of Noah's day, Sodom and Gomorrah....and Nineveh. Each time God sent his servants ahead to preserve lives that deserved mercy. In only one instance did the people en mass take any notice of God's warning and repent. All three of these occasions were before the Mosaic Law was written. Still God had no toleration of their evil activities. Was God expecting people who were not his worshippers to obey his laws? Or were there standards of morality that should be held in common so that all humans should obey them? If we are created in God's image and likeness, then our conscience should automatically dictate to us what is right and what is wrong. But what happens when people ignore their conscience?....nothing good.
In Noah's case, God told him to build the structure that would preserve life through the end of that wicked world.
He sounded the warning, but not a soul listened. Only Noah and his family worked hard for their own salvation.
What about Sodom and Gomorrah? God's angels were sent after Abraham's plea bargaining with God over any righteous ones who might be found in the city......but only Lot and his wife and two daughters were saved.
And Nineveh? Jonah had a tough assignment too, like Noah he was to preach to a very wicked people whose activities were abhorrent to God. After a rough start, Jonah finally delivered his message....but to his amazement, the whole city repented. Jonah was devastated! Now he looked like a complete idiot.....but should he have felt like that? God gave him a lesson in humility by showing him that mercy can be extended when people hear his message and respond accordingly.
God always warns people of his intentions. Amos 3:7....
"For the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will not do a thing
Unless he has revealed his confidential matter to his servants the prophets."
Isaiah 42:9...
"See, the first things have come to pass;
Now I am declaring new things.
Before they spring up, I tell you about them.”
So should Christians try to force God's standards on people through the law of the land? Or is there just an obligation to tell people about God's intentions and allow them to make their own choices? What did Jesus do? His message was offered, not forced.
Free will means that our future is in our own hands. But in his instructions to Ezekiel who was to sound a warning to the wayward Israelites of his day.....God said...
"Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman to the house of Israel; and when you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them from me. 18 When I say to someone wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him, and you fail to speak in order to warn the wicked one to turn from his wicked course so that he may stay alive, he will die for his error because he is wicked, but I will ask his blood back from you. 19 But if you warn someone wicked and he does not turn back from his wickedness and from his wicked course, he will die for his error, but you will certainly save your own life." (Ezekiel 3:17-19)
What do you see there in that directive that gives us an obligation in view of the times we are living in?
Its not that we force people to listen and to act on the message we preach....but there is an obligation to sound the warning, otherwise we become accountable before God for not passing it on....if they respond, it could save their life. If we renege on our responsibility, it could cost us ours.....
Food for thought.
(I was a believer in 1966 when the Monkees wrote their song. Oops, now you know how old I am.)
Dang, now I can't get that song out of my head.....
Old guys now.....and only two left.
Davy Jones and Peter Tork both gone. I loved their wacky TV show.
Boy I feel old.