Stapelia Interview Transcript

Stapelia

Questions:

1. How do you identify yourself, religiously?

I believe in Jesus; I believe the words he said.  Ergo, I and My Father are 1, I do not say anything unless My Father gives it to me to say, and also where His Father says I do not change -in Malachi 3:6.  I call myself a Hebrew, but what that means is I believe the whole Bible and I do not see any contradictions or replacements.  “A whole Bible Believer.”

2. What is your relationship status?

I am married.

3. What, if any, questions do you have before we commence the interview?

Does anyone who has answered these questions or who will read these interviews really know what their culture is, and how culture affects personality?  Does anyone have the ability to look at what they believe, why they believe it, and whether they believe it because that is what they were raised in, or because they have truly examined it?

4. What is your general reaction to what you listened to?

I think they said a lot of things about Eastern vs. Western culture which seemed pertinent to me, and also they came with a lot of verses.  I think this is the best path, because if you are not saying your own opinion, but simply quoting the word, then you can not actually be refuted.  Also, I have not done all the Biblical and etymological research into all the words to really be able to discern the original meaning.  That being said, my general reaction is that I like when people support their arguments from the Word.  Oh, and that Naysayers are often not Naydoers, the ones who hate often are on the outside looking in, instead of being on the inside and speaking out.

5. Do you believe women are unable to understand men, and therefore unable to judge their actions?

I think this is pretty darn likely.  I know that as a man I really struggle to understand women, and even the understanding I do (think) I have is probably at most, at MOST maybe 75% valid.  So, Yeah, I think if a woman is trying to judge why a man did something, they will most likely be incorrect about their judgement as to that action.  But, anyone can take the Law of God and judge anyone else’s action against it.  Look at what this person did, then compare it to the examples given from the Word.

6. React to the statement, “women are a possession”.

This is a true statement.  I saw a very good teaching from Matthew Van Der Els entitled “The Place of a Woman.”  I went to this so I could make sure I was not placing my wife in the wrong, lesser, place than I should have been.  He made some comments at the beginning joke-chauvinistically, about “heh heh the place of a woman is the kitchen” or some such nonsense, but that was not the thrust of his teaching.  He was explaining about in the ancient near east women had rights, and also how they were the most valuable possession a man had, the thing they cherished the most of all their things. The men protected their daughters until they found the right man whom they trusted to take over protection and care of their most valued possession.  Consider this:  If Shalomo (a made up person) was sleeping in his house, woke up, and it was fully engulfed, he only gets to take one thing at all from all of what he has, what will he save?  If he is a real man, he will save his wife as everything else is consumed.  That is a harsh example, but serves to illustrate how a wife is the most valued possession a man can have in this world.  Consider the Proverb in 18:22, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and favor from the Lord.”  

Also, this goes to the whole Eastern vs. Western understanding. We are really messed up in the USA with our understanding of humans as property because of ye olde southern slavery--this was in the Roman style, not the Eastern style.  Slaves had rights under the Biblical Law.  Women are a possession but not in the “Dredd Scott Case” sense of the word.

7. How do sex slaves, like Bilhah and Zilpah, prevent “the lust of the world”?

I am in the tribe of Napthali, so Bilhah is my ancient mother.  I think this goes to the understanding again of East vs. West.  Is a Biblical concubine the same thing as a modern sex slave chained up in Bangkok or deceived and smuggled from Eastern Europe to some underground brothel in NYC?  I do not think so.  I know that there are some things I don’t understand about concubines, like the whole deal with the Levite in the end of the book of Judges.  He had a concubine with him.  This Levite is also a pattern for Jesus, so what is that all about?  These women were given to Jacob by his wives so that the wives could claim the children of the concubines as their own.  If I had to guess, maybe a concubine is like a common-law wife?  To prevent the lust of the world, I think I am starting to feel sorry for Jacob, he has the Nagging wife whom he loves pestering him about babies, and he responds, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Gen. 30:2.  I think this coitus was a burden, a job for him.  I doubt he looked at his household servants with a lecherous eye and did a secret dance when she said “do her, and give me children.”  Also, remember this whole children-with-servants situation was thrust upon him by his wives.  

8. How do you define “love”?

I define love as a perpetual commitment, a decision to face all things with this person, no matter what.  With others, you can reach the point where you just cut ties and walk away, but to the person you love, this is not even an entertainable option.  The only option is to keep going and work together. That is an unromantic definition, but when all the things are going well, that is when all the Western notions about romance come into play.  

9. Does love create crippling, unmanly weakness in men?

Not in this man.

10. React “the American woman is the enemy of a man”.

“American woman, stay away from me-eeee.  Mama let me bee-eee.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkqfpkTTy2w    A vast majority of American women are the enemy of a man today.  The women whom walked across the plains with their husbands en-route to Oregon, maybe giving birth on the trail? They were not the enemy of a man.  “The Real Housewives of X” and all their ilk, yes they are the enemy of a man.  Maybe Tupac said it best when he said “fake hair fake nails fake eyes too, so you bound to (mess) with fake guys too” etc.

11. From this podcast, what is a “Biblical” marriage?

I don’t remember what they said specifically about it.  
A Biblical marriage is on that is sanctified by The Most High, in His model.  It is based on mutual dedication, and on WORK.  Not on warm and fuzzy feelings.  Look at the fruit to see if it is Biblical.  Do they have children?  Are they well-behaved?  Does this person have an Ashley-whatever account?  Do they keep the Laws of the Lord in their home?  A Biblical marriage is one where the husband loves the wife and the wife submits to the husband, à la Eph. 5:33.  

12. From this podcast, what makes a man? What makes a woman?

I don’t remember

13. What makes a good marriage?

A good marriage will be in the form and spirit of Genesis 3:16-19. “...And your desire is for your husband, and he does rule over you.  And to the man He said, “because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘Do not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground because of you, in toil you are to eat of it all the days of your life, and the ground shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you return.”   The wife will desire her husband, and hearken to him.  The husband will provide for the wife and family, and earn bread by his labors.

14. (If married) how does your marriage work?  

My wife is a piece of my body, just like Eve was taken from Adam’s ribs.  So, I take care of her and myself, and I listen when we make decisions, but ultimately, I make decisions.  When your body is talking to you, you listen, but sometimes you have to do the hard thing.  Consider fasting, or physical training.  That is the unromantic nuts and bolts, in general, my marriage works where we have lots of fun with each other, eat delicious foods, and have the occasional adventures.  

15. How do you think this makes Israelites appear to non-Israelites?/ How does this make you feel about this religious sect?

I hope it makes them think Israelites tag their beliefs to the Word, and not to the mores of US and now increasingly global society.  And maybe they will think that this religious sect is gun-toting Torah zealots, as opposed to Christian churches with openly gay ministers and members, Christian churches with divorce or cheating going on behind and in front of the pulpit, Boy Scouts with openly gay leaders, and public schools with openly gay teachers.  Compared to the increasingly liberal example shown to us today by the “Churches” of America, a Biblical perspective is a breath of fresh air.  However, Jesus did say that the world will hate you for His name’s sake, so if they get more hate from the world because of the beliefs they have and hold, good.  

16. Any closing thoughts/comments?

Anyone reading this should know that no one at Straitway is in a plural marriage.  Oh, and P.S.,  what about that long-running show about the Mormons in the plural marriage?  “Big Love” maybe?--where they ended up moving to Las Vegas?  What do Christians and Americans think about that?  Have any of your readers watched that show?  Did they watch it, or did they curse the tv and turn it off?  My wife just told me there is another one called “sister wives”--where is all the outcry about those shows, where are the response articles written about that?