Ignored Teachings?

Question

One of the clearest expressions of selective morality by biblicists is shown in their approach to the Old Testament. They leap in and out of the Old Law like a porpoise in a ship's wake. If they like it, they quote it; if they don't, they won't. Among the scores of verses they enjoy and employ are those which teach the following:

* (a) Contact with mediums or wizards is forbidden ("Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God"--Lev. 19:31 RSV, see also:Lev. 20:6, Deut. 18:10-12);
* (b) Infanticide is prohibited ("...for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods"--Deut. 12:31, see also: Lev. 18:21);

# (c) Neither sex should wear the other's clothing ("The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God"--Deut. 22:5);
# (d) People are not to worship celestial bodies ("And beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them...."--Deut. 4:19 RSV);
# (e) People should give one-tenth of their income to the Lord, which biblicists equate with church ("And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's...And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord"--Lev. 27:30-32);
# (f) Homosexuality is corrupt ("Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with woman: it is abomination"--Lev. 18:22, see also Lev. 20:13 and Gen. 19:5;

But despite all the above, the crucial question remains lingering in the background. What about the O.T. laws that are conveniently ignored, but of equal weight? Biblicists act as if many did not exist. The following examples are typical:

* (a) Money cannot be lent at interest to your brother, only to foreigners (Deut. 23:19-20);
* (b) Eating pork is forbidden (Deut. 14:8);
* (c) A man must marry and have relations with his dead brother's wife (Deut. 25:5-6);
* (d) A seducer must marry an unengaged virgin whom he seduces (Ex. 22:16-17);
* (e) A raped, unengaged virgin must marry her rapist and they can never divorce (Deut. 22:28-29);
* (f) Trials for adultery are to be by ordeal (Num. 5:28-29);
* (g) Eating rare meat with blood is forbidden (Lev. 19:26);
* (h) Beards can't be rounded (Lev. 19:27);

# (i) A newly married man can't go to war or be charged with business for one year (Deut. 24:5);
# (j) A guilty man can be beaten with as many as forty blows (Deut. 25:1-3);
# (k) A garment composed of wool and linen can't be worn (Deut. 22:11);
# (l) Punishment shall be administered on the basis of an eye for an eye (Deut. 19:21, Ex. 21:24);
# (m) One's nation can lend to other nations but not borrow from them (Deut. 15:6);
# (n) Bastards can't enter the Lord's congregation (Deut. 23:2);
# (o) First-born children should sometimes be sacrificed to the Lord (Ex. 22:29); and
# (p) Debtor brothers shall be released from their obligation every seven years (Deut. 15:1-

Is there a passage somewhere that tells Christians which passages to ignore and which not to? What about the 10 commandments?

Answer 1

Nope. It's all selective. All Christians are selective. They judge when the Bible tells them specifically not to judge. Remember the Golden Suggestion (since Christians obviously don't consider the words of Jesus to be a rule) "Do Unto Others As Ye Would Have Others Do Unto You"? No Christian anywhere actually believes that.

Answer 2

Interesting term, "biblicists". Here is what I see. Your question has the same underlying presupmtion that those you term as "biblicists" that being "sola scriptura". You are looking at it in the same way that they do. The problem is, our God did not choose to be known through, or revealed only through the written word (and think about when it really was written down in relation to the history of the Jewish people). The Christian faith looks at things from the perspective that Jesus brought all things to perfection. That means some things are exactly the same, like the 10 commandments, others things have moved on to a higher form, such as sacrifices for atonement. Christ was the ultimate fullfillment of such requirements of the Old Testament. So how do we know what's it, what's out? Jesus selected Apostles to continue His work on earth and gave them His authority to do so. If you can, that chain of authority has never been broken and exists today in the legitimate Bishops of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Look there and find some sense out of things.

Answer 3

The new Law (the New Testament) supersedes the Old [Testament]. So unless the specifics of the O.T. are reiterated by Jesus, or one of the writers of the N.T., Christians no longer have to abide by that particular "rule". (See Romans 7:4-12, esp. vs. 6, or Mark 7:19--for where a law was specifically un-made). See also Matt 28:18, for who makes the "rules" up, and The couple places where Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God (with all your Heart/Mind?Soul), and #2, to love your neighbor as yourself. If you are doing these two things to the best of your ability, you are already obeying the 10 commandments, when you think about it.
We will never be perfect in all of this (1John 1:8-10), but give it our best shot, and turn to Him & other Christians in confession when we fall short, it is all gonna be O.K.. We do not need to nit-pick and split hairs--even pagans know when they have done wrong--proving that the law is writen on their hearts [conscience]--see Romans 2:14-15-- and therefore universally agreed upon as good.

Answer 4

Have you read the New Testament?
The Laws were given to the Jews before Christ cam to free us of the Law. He came to set us free and be the final Lamb sacrifice for all sins.
Therefore, we are no longer saved by following all of those laws, we are saved by accepting Christ and His Holy Spirit will guide us into doing what is right and what is wrong. There were reasons for those laws atthe time they were written. And some still stand now. I try not to eat pork products, or any of the other unclean foods, although some say the NT says we can now, I still feel that God had reasons for us not eating those things. If they are unhealthy....it may not be a sin any longer to eat pork, but it is unhealthy. So there are choices we make that affect us mainly here, and there are choices we make that affect our eternal life. If you havethe Holy Spirit, you will know when you're doing something wrong, because it will convict you if you are.

Answer 5

Many of the laws in the old testament were done away with when Jesus came into the picture.

The 10 commandments, animal sacrifices, marrying your dead brother's wife (which was meant to continue the lineage that would eventually produce the messiah), were all part of what is called "the old covenant".

When Jesus died, the old covenant was done away with. The old covenant with the Jews was done away with since they had rejected Jesus.

Christianity was introduced and new "principles" were introduced that were better than laws because they caused a person to have to actually think and make conscious decisions.

Try reading the bible instead of quoting anti-religious web sites.

Answer 6

For someone who is trying to slam biblicists by asking and answering his own question, you sure do tend to interpret the Bible like one. What if...I know this might be a stretch for you, there were certain parts of the Old Law perfectly suited to humanity before the coming of Christ? What if there were certain things that were essential to the race/tribal religions that really don't fit today? What if Christ embodied the essential law of God, being a law unto himself, internalizing the commandments like the ark of the covenant while putting to death the law of the pharisees? How would that change your question? Maybe there is something to that "if they like it..." bit that you aren't really accepting.

Christ clearly states that there is a higher teaching than an eye for an eye. I suggest you run those old testament laws through the "Love God and Love thy neighbor" principle and see which ones pass muster.

"Porpoise in a ship's wake" is really lame metaphor btw.

Answer 7

The Law protected and guided the Israelites in every facet of life. For example, the regulations on diet, hygiene, and quarantine spared them from many of the diseases that ravaged other nations. Only after the discovery of bacteria in the 19th century did science begin to catch up with God’s Law. The laws on land ownership, repurchase, debt release, and usury brought social benefits in Israel by promoting a stable society and a just economy. (Deuteronomy 7:12, 15; 15:4, 5) God’s Law even helped to preserve the health of Israel’s soil! (Exodus 23:10, 11) Commandments against false worship safeguarded the people spiritually, shielding them from demon oppression, child sacrifice, and many other evils, besides the demeaning practice of humans’ bowing down before lifeless idols.—Exodus 20:3-5; Psalm 115:4-8.

We are no longer under the Mosaic law, it was made inoperative by God through Jesus’ death: “He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document against us which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us, and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.”—Col. 2:13, 14.

Instead of a code of laws, Christians have a broad range of Bible principles to guide and safeguard them. Laws may have a limited application and may be just temporary. However, Bible principles, being fundamental truths, usually have a broad and permanent application.
Learn about how the Bible can benefit you...
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2000/12/1/article_02.htm

Answer 8

Some of those rules are proof that it was written by a mortal, such as the clothing rule. Why would god care what we little mortals wear? Heck, Adam and Eve were naked at first. And the man marrying his dead brothers wife. That's so she can be taken care of and not be a burden on the village (not that the same would happen today because women are independent now). And as such the rules were written within the mindset of that era and they do not apply today.

Answer 9

Sorry I don't follow the Old Testament as some do. My life started in Jesus Christ and will end as such. I prefer studying the New Testament that tells us we become a new creation when we become born again and all the old will pass away. This includes the very laws you are speaking of. God said I shall have me a new people they shall be my people and I will be their God, my laws shall be written in their hearts. You will know to follow the goodness of Jesus Christ not the evils.

Answer 10

Ignored Answer



Jesus and the Mosaic Law


Many Christians are perplexed when they confront the issue of the Mosaic Law. How binding is the Law on the Christian? Some have said that Jesus abolished the Law of Moses. I would have to disagree, based on the following passage spoken by Jesus Himself:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17)
Some have suggested that by "fulfil," Jesus meant "abolish." Indeed, "abolish" is one meaning of "fulfil," but it is also the only meaning of "destroy." So if He had meant "abolish," He might as well have said, "I am not come to abolish, but to abolish." We can assume, therefore, that Jesus meant, "to develop the full potentialities of" when He said "fulfil."

So why then do Christians not observe the Mosaic Law? The answer is that they do observe parts, but not all of it. Some parts of the Law were meant to be temporary, while others were intended to be permanent. This is seen in the fact that before Moses, the ancient Jews were not bound to the ritual commands (except circumcision). If the Mosaic Law was not meant to be temporary, then either God changes or the God of the righteous men and women before Moses was a different god. But this is absurd. We know that the God of Abraham was the God of Moses, and that He is our God today. The coming of Christ made parts of the Mosaic law unnecessary.


In order to understand this, we must realize that the Law is made up of three parts: ceremonial, civil, and moral.


The ceremonial law related specifically to Israel's worship. Since its primary purpose was to point to the coming Savior, Jesus made it unnecessary. He did not abolish it, in the sense of destroying it; He fulfilled it. Nowhere do we read that Jesus thought that the ceremonial law was wrong. The principles behind the ceremonial law are still applicable to us today, that is, the principles of worshipping and serving a holy God.


The civil law prescribed rules for the Israelites' daily living. These laws separated the Jews from the Gentiles, and gave the Gentiles the example of how a holy people should live. Since much was given to the Jews, much was expected. But God gave a new covenant in Christ, and there is now no distinction to be made between Jew and Gentile. We are still to follow the requirements of this law as God's people, but the punishments are not for any nation to impose on its people, because we are no longer separated by nations but by God's grace (Christians and non-Christians).


The moral law is basically the Ten Commandments. We are still bound by these laws, not for salvation, but to live a holy life. Jesus not only desired that His followers adhere to these commandments, He wished that they would go above and beyond them. He said, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment..." He desired not only an outward observance of these laws, but an inward observance as well.


So we see that the parts of the Law that have been rendered obsolete are those that contain ordinances. An ordinance is either a memorial of something that has already passed or a type of something in the future. The Old Testament laws containing ordinances were not meant to be permanent. There are no ordinances in the Ten Commandment Law.


Now, we must remember that following rules and regulations will not get us into heaven. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we can see heaven. But if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.