Kay

Mark,
When is the last time you “greeted the brethren with a holy kiss?”
If not, then you must be headed down that “slippery slope” to a complete rejection of Biblical authority as well!

1Thessalonians 5:26 — “Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.”
1 Peter 5:13-14 — “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.”
The fact that the “holy kiss” is a command of two different apostles within the inspired New Testament Scriptures does not necessarily prescribe, however, that the expression or implementation of this command is forever frozen in a single form. In other words, what exactly is it that is really being commanded of disciples? Is it a literal placing of one’s lips upon the face or head of another disciple, or simply the visible, physical expression, in whatever form may be customary to one’s time and culture, of peace, affection, harmony and unity among brethren? The same question has been asked of the command by Jesus to wash the feet of others [John 13:14]. Must we literally wash the feet of our brothers and sisters in Christ, or was Jesus seeking to impress a deeper truth upon our hearts. The fact that many legalistic patternists seek to impose a literal fulfillment of certain commands and examples, but dismiss other commands and examples as “culturally irrelevant” to our modern times, smacks of “cherry picking” theology, and at best shows the inconsistency of that approach to biblical interpretation and application.