Help on Christianity?

Question

When discussing Israel and it's rights some people, who I would describe as Christian fundamentalists, say things like
"The Israelis are Gods chosen people and we have to stand by them" also allot of references to the Old Testament.

I thought that Jesus came to tell us that the Old Testament was not relevant anymore, ie God was not vengeful but forgiving. He also seemed to have no prejudices over exactly who were Gods Children (ie all of use).
Are the fundamentalists therefore not Christians at all or is my interpretation of Christianity wrong?

Answer 1

When the bible spoke of "Israelites" it was referring exclusively to members of a goat herding tribe. It was not referring to citizens of the state the UN invented in 1947.

Israel fulfills no bible prophecies and most "Israelis" are totally unrelated to anyone mentioned in the bible.

Answer 2

They are correct when they state that Israel was "chosen" of God, and they were the "elect" of God. However, they were chosen for a purpose, and that purpose was to bring forth the promised seed... Christ.

Also, Christ did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. Further, He was the Messiah of which the Old Testament prophets spoke, and through Him, all mankind could come into fellowship with the Father. Thus, we could ALL become the children of God, not just Israel.

Therefore, I think that extreme fundamentalists confuse the Israel of the Old Testament with the Israel of the New Testament. They cannot see how we (as followers of Christ) look to the same Messiah only from a different direction. We have the faith of Abraham and a circumcision, not made with hands, but of the heart. We, as followers of Christ (the Messiah), are Israel.

Answer 3

First of all who are God's children is very clear....we all are but yes in the Old Testament the people of Israel are said to be God's chosen people. If one is a Christian you will follow God's teachings brought to us by His Son Jesus Christ. Now if you also take into consideration the Old Testament you come to a dilemma...is God forgiving or is he vengeful and is forgiving your fellow human being the correct way to act or should you take revenge upon him as the Old Testament said. Both obviously cannot be true at the same time. In my opinion the Old Testament was written for the needs of a whole different human society, a not very intellectually and spiritually advanced one. It's like a parent trying to raise a child that yet has no ability to make decisions on his or her own. You have to keep in mind the fact that human free will is something extremely strong and in a time when all sorts of deities were worshiped the only way to discipline and teach was through fear of being punished. When humanity reached a point when we could be shown the truth and be taught through compassion, love, understanding, empathy God sent His Son. To sum up Christianity believes in God, His teachings and those of His son Jesus Christ. A true Christian will never believe one nation is better than another based on religion since in the eyes of God we have been taught that we are all equals.

Answer 4

Finally, an astute observer asks a question!

And J T responds with a pertinent answer!

Hallelujah! There is hope!

Yes, why are the Israelis' not tagged as 'Christian fundamentalists'? What htey have done - murder, maiming, and theft of land, in the name of a peaceful and benevolent God, is beyond belief.
Why not have them relocate to America, and leave the middle-east to the Arab peoples?


Hey Mike * I have yet another example of the Bibles' self-contradiction. "Let a man at all times be supple as a reed, not rigid like a cedar."

Answer 5

Bible tells of the promised land and that will forever remain the promised land..that did not and will never change.

I still do not believe with my whole heart that all of the Old Testament was made irrelevant. Many historical events took place in those scriptures such as Genesis.

Christians with a true personal relationship with God know that we must stand by them.

Answer 6

God chose the Israelite people as the people who would lead the world to follow His laws.He made a covenant(binding aggreement) with them that he would never forsake them and that He would curse any nation that took up arms against His chosen people.Unfortunately a lot of the jews have not recognized Jesus Christ as Gods risen Son and so have fallen on tough times.Never the less they are his chosen people and He will punish those who try to destroy His people
ALL PEOPLE that recognize Jesus as the risen Son of God are Gods children and will get to Heaven

Answer 7

Fundamentalists are pretty screwed up. If you want a good approach to Protestantism, I'd recommend an older branch like Lutheran, Prebysterian, Episcopalian, Methodist. Avoid the Baptists though - they're way too cozy with the fundamentalists to be worth paying attention to anymore.

Answer 8

Your interpretation is incorrect. Jesus said he came to fullfill all the prophecies found in the OT. Jesus often quoted the commandments.


Whosoever commiteth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law." 1.John 3:4
In Malachi 3:6 God Himself assures us He is not like the weather. He declares:
"For I am the Lord, I change not."


"For I am the Lord, I do not change" (Malachi 3:6)

Answer 9

I think you do have the right view on Christianity.We are all God's children and I believe that our deeds/doings are more important than our religion.
I can't remember what verse it was that I once read, which tells us about an old man who is found sitting at church.In the story he is being ridiculed for only going on that particular occasion to church and on no other.However,in that verse,God tells us how he was most pleased with the man because though he rarely attended church, his heart was more pure than those who he was being ridiculed by. And they attended church every Sunday!
Remember this,religion is man made,yes, I do consider myself a Christian and wish I did attend church frequently but what is most important to me is what I do to help others while I'm on this earth.
M x

Answer 10

Wait a minute...HATE what God HATES? I thought we weren't supposed to hate anything?

I don't know about Israel. Like J.T. says, it has nothing to do with the biblical Israelites. It's a political state, not a biblical state.

My God doesn't believe in Hate or War, so I'm lost on this one. As far as " as Christians, we must stand by them", that's a load of crock, and one reason I'm not a Christian anymore. In my mind, Christianity isn't about standing by a horde of murderous thugs.

Answer 11

I think most faiths twist and use their religious writings to their own needs that is why I am an Atheist tho I must say I did at one time belong to a christian fellowship group but they used to do all the same things that my friends outside of the group did eg :smoking, drinking, fornicating etc etc !!!!!!!!!!!!!.But everybody has the right to their faith as I have to be an atheist !!! so leave me alone !