So, according to Christianity, Jesus was crucified to 'free' us from 'the original sin'. What about people who came before it? Didn't they need someone to die for them so that their sins will be forgiven? Or is it just people who came after that are the lucky ones, and people before it (Let's say people who followed Jonah's teachings, for example) are not? According to Christian beliefs the earth is 6,000 years old, so people stayed about 4,000 years without anything to help forgiveness of their sins?! That's very unjust! Or is it that The Trinity decided to change their mind, and decided for Jesus to die on the cross and change the law?! I mean by the law: Ask for forgiveness sincerely and you shall be forgiven (No need for someone to suffer). Seems this law applied before, and later it doesn't!!
2006-09-02 04:44:23 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
dave_83501: And suddenly lambs and animals are not enough, so it was decided that "Why don't we sacrifise a person?"
2006-09-02 04:56:37 · update #1
lefftylucy: There MUST be blood shed? That's voilent! And read my reply to dave!
2006-09-02 04:58:13 · update #2
chris p: I'm not a selfish person.
2006-09-02 04:59:09 · update #3
niaflower: That's makes my point even more clear, people were not lucky, and their only fault that they came before the crucifixion?
2006-09-02 05:01:27 · update #4
rita j: "rolled forward"? What's that? A time machine? They DIED so that means their sins and good deeds go down to the grave with them!
2006-09-02 05:04:00 · update #5
Remember, the Bible and rational thinking aren't compatible. You have to choose one or the other.
2006-09-02 04:53:28 · answer #1 · answered by Gallivanting Galactic Gadfly 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The idea that sin was unforgiven for 4000 years is rediculous! Temple Judaism tradition dictates that sin would be forgiven with an appropriate scrificial offering. Anything from grain or a loaf of bread, to a blemish free bull or lamb. That is not to say sacrificing something was the only way to gain forgiveness. Judaism to this day teaches that a sin committed by one person against another person can have the sin forgiven by the victim, but only God can forgive a sin against God. THIS is the basis for the rift between Judaism and Christianity. The whole divine/messiah thing is secondary. Christianity teaches that a man (priest) can forgive any transgression as long as the sinner truely feels bad and wants to be forgiven. Judaism says it's not so simple.
And anyone who thinks you can have faith in something that comes after your existence are just being reidulous. The myriad of humanity that lived before Jesus had no need to believe in his "divinity" to recieve salvation. They had thier own system of redemption.
If you Christians can get over the whole "We're right because our book says we are, and therefore everybody else must be wrong" kick the world would be a whole lot better place.
2006-09-02 05:01:23 · answer #2 · answered by mindar76 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
That's a good and well thought out question. In the Old Testament days prior to the arrival of Christ. The High Priest would make a blood sacrifice each year for the sins of the people. They most always used a young spotless lamb or a young bull was killed and burned. There were also other offerings. Refer to Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers in the Old Testament on the subjects of the Priests, the temple, the alter, the ark of the covenant etc. The Bible will better answer this question.
2006-09-02 04:49:15 · answer #3 · answered by dave_83501 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
God didn't change His mind; He knew before He made the Earth that He would send Jesus 2000 years ago.
Methinks you should go and read the Bible a bit; your "facts" are not quite correct. So many people think they can quote a book out of context and then challenge it.
That's like a movie critic saying "You wll not laugh at all while watching the extremely crappy comedy. If you want to spill your guts laughing, don't waste your time watching this movie.", but being quoted as saying "You will...spill your guts laughing...watching this movie."
There is SOME truth in what you are saying: Christians, and the Bible, freely admit that the God in the Old Testament is a more wrathful and unapproachable God than the compassionate God in the New Testament. It is also the fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity. The Jewish God is the Old Testament God. Christians believe in the Old Testament God (He is, after all, the same God), but believe in the Trinity of the New Testament.
2006-09-02 05:03:27 · answer #4 · answered by Jack Of All 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It started in the Garden of Eden by God's own hand something innocent dying in the place of the guilty. Then there was the temple sacrifices. At this time this was for the jews, then Jesus came, the promised messiah along with the apostles teaching also thru Paul that Jesus was Lord and Savior for all. Reading scripture you can conclude that God is a fair and loving deity, so that everyone will have a fair trial before Him .
http://www.carm.org/doctrine/100truths.htm
2006-09-02 05:04:22 · answer #5 · answered by rapturefuture 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All who have ever been saved have always been saved the same way - by sincere faith in what God said as proven by a sincere desire to obey Him.
Genesis 6:8 - But Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the LORD.
Genesis 15:6 - And he (Abraham) BELIEVED in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Salvation has always been by belief in the truth about what God has said, and has always been demonstrated by conforming ones actions to belief in that truth - faith and repentance.
The entire sacrificial rites given to Moses were merely a picture of what the Messiah would do when He came, and all those who believed in the truth of the coming Messiah would be forgiven. Just as all who today look back in history and believe that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) already came and made the payment for their sins. Jesus did not come to change the Law, but to fulfill the Law.
Matthew 5:17-18 - Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
I hope this clarifies your misunderstanding of the Bible.
2006-09-02 05:15:18 · answer #6 · answered by Preacher 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It also says in the bible that we are not held accountable for the things we do not know. That is why there is a coined saying that "Naivety is bliss" or "ignorance is bliss". Pre-Jesus people were saved through their sacrifices to God, which was more of a temporary green card to a foreign people. After Jesus, the law wasn't changed, it was better defined. It told everyone that the necessity for the previous kind of sacrifice was obsolete because of his perfect sacrifice. Jesus suffered as an example of total willingness to surrender to the will of God. His subsequent death, which is actually God's reward or rest from Life's toils, took all sin with it. It was as those our faces had been buried in mud and he picked us up and wiped it from our eyes. We're still dirty and there is still more mud puddles, but at least you can see more than the mud, you can also see the road in front of you and that at the end of it, it leads to someplace worth the travel.
2006-09-02 05:06:25 · answer #7 · answered by Anthony L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, Jesus did not change the law, he fulfilled the law. It is sad to think that there are Christians out there that believe that all those people that came before Jesus, they cannot get saved. If they read their Bibles, in the book of Revelations, they will see that everyone gets a second chance.
2006-09-02 04:54:29 · answer #8 · answered by kepjr100 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In the OT people had to go to Priests and offer up blood sacrifices...the best of the flock sheep rams etc..
They were also bound by the "Law" the ten commandments.
They did have forgiveness but it was much harder to attain it.
Now Jesus is our blood sacrifice. No man can come before God without Jesus.
2006-09-02 04:52:25 · answer #9 · answered by niaflower 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You have to go back to Adam and Eve to understand what happened
to peoples sin.The people that would sacrifice a lamb on the altar and
God would put the peoples sin on hold until God sent his Only Begotten Son to shed his Blood to redeem back mankind.Everybody
knew what to do(Believe God and sacrifice a lamb)and God would
forgive them until next year at which the one that believed would do it
again. We can see what happened to Cain and Able the one that did
what God told them to do(BELIEVE HIS WORDS) were accepted and
forgiven untill the Lamb of God came (Jesus).They were saved by BELEVING GOD WOULD SEND MESSIAH TO SAVE THEM[credit]
We are saved the same way EXCEPT we believe that Jesus was the
Lamb of God that takes away our sin perminately.
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
In Christ in Love,
TJ57
2006-09-02 05:44:04 · answer #10 · answered by TJ 57 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Before God sent His son Jesus into the world to be born people offered sacrifices to God from there herds and it was the best of there herds that were given unto God not the ones that were not of value. Thank God for Jesus, because this was done to bring people closser to God since the fall of Adam and Eve. And therefore we dont have to make sacrifices of animals any longer. Yes, Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. Ask Him into your heart to save your soul and for forgiveness of your sins. God just wants to have a relationship with us. He is Love and loves ALL people but we must repent so our eternity will be with Him.
2006-09-02 05:00:04 · answer #11 · answered by bugjuice 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋