Ok, to be fair the exact phrase “I think children who disrespect their parents should be put to death” does not come out of the mouth of crazy “Pastor” Steve.
HOWEVER, the argument he is clearly making is that Levitical law should be followed instead of “secular law” because it is “God’s law” and therefore better than the secular law of 17th century England.
Which is obviously an air tight argument.
According to “Pastor” Steve under “God’s law” there are 11 crimes punishable by death. Among them: murder, rape, adultery, bestiality, being gay, idolatry, witchcraft, blasphemy, and…..disrespecting your parents. (Those were the ones he mentions….turns out violating the Sabbath was also punishable by death.)
While I would like to believe/hope that “Pastor” Steve doesn’t really think children should be executed for disrespecting their parents, there is no way around the fact that what he is preaching is the idea that America needs to “get back to her biblical roots” like it was in “the good ole days” and start following “God’s law” as they supposedly did in 17th century Massachusetts.
You know who else wants to replace secular law with a fundie version of religious law? The Taliban. And we all know how well that little experiment in Afghanistan worked out.
I’ve never understood fundie preachers who yell and scream about the blood of Jesus that “establishes a new covenant” and gives them freedom from the law, but who then also try to lift up the “old covenant” violence of the Old Testament as a shining light to be followed.
Why do they not understand that Jesus’ act of the cross was His response to violence? And if I remember the passion narrative correctly, I don’t remember him beating up the Roman soldiers and smashing up the cross.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
(Matthew 5:38-39 ESV)