There Are Certain Things You Touch AT YOUR PERIL

" So I want to start with a story from the Old Testament. 

There’s a scene in the Old Testament when the ancient Hebrews are moving the Ark of the Covenant. 

The Ark of the Covenant was a device that was manufactured in order to contain 

The Word of God. 

OR

"A Radio for Talking to God"
(if you're into that)

LIKE STAR WARS

And there was a rule among the ancient Hebrews which was 

“You are not to touch the Ark of the Covenant. 

No matter what.” 

LIKE STAR WARS

And there’s a story in the Old Testament where the bearers of the Ark of the Covenant (they used to carry it), the bearers of the Ark of the Covenant trip and a man reaches out to steady it and when he touches it, 

** SMITE !! **

God strikes him DEAD. 

And modern people look at a story like that and the first thing they think is  

“That seems a little bit harsh on the part of God given that the man was attempting to do something that he believed was good.”

 Don't Judge GOD !!!!

But what the story was designed to indicate, in my opinion, is that 

There are certain things that you touch 
at your peril, 
 regardless of your intentions. 

LIKE STAR WARS

And those things that you touch at your peril, regardless of your intentions, most cultures regard as sacred, as untouchable.

I want to make a case for you today  

That those things exist 

and also 

Why they exist 

and 

Why it’s necessary for you to know that they exist. 

I would also say that if you’re educated  educated in a university, especially with regards to The Humanities 

(which are in some conceptual trouble at the moment), 

what essentially happens to you is that you are introduced in a relatively secular way to the concept of the sacred. 

You are here, in the university, to learn about the eternal values of humankind.  

And I think that 

People who tell you that those values 

do not exist 

or that 

They’re Endlessly Debatable, 

do you an unbelievable disservice."