Philly Cops: Elderly Man Stoned to Death for Allegedly Making Unwanted Sexual Advances

 Published March 18, 2011 | Associated Press

 MEDIA, Pa. — Authorities in suburban Philadelphia say a 70-year-old man was stoned to death with a rock stuffed in a sock by a younger friend who alleged the victim made unwanted sexual advances. According to the criminal complaint, 28-year-old John Thomas of Lansdowne has told police he killed 70-year-old Murray Seidman because the Old Testament refers to stoning homosexuals. Delaware County authorities announced Friday that Thomas was arrested and charged with murder. Seidman died in his Lansdowne apartment in early January. His body was not found for days. Lansdowne police say Thomas is the executor and sole beneficiary of Seidman’s will. It was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.

     The response to this will be interesting.  How will secular thinking deal with this? Will they completely denounce the Bible as silly and antiquated or will they once again affirm the teaching of Jesus without acknowledging His claims of being God? Therein lies the problem for anyone who comes to the Bible in order to do nothing more than use it to defend their position: they end up doing the exact same thing this murderer has done. 

     The only way that we can appropriately come to the Bible is open and authentic, with questions and an exposed spirit, not to use it. It isn’t a tool as much as a  source of transformation.