To what extent has American culture been shaped by theology derived from the Old Testament?

Answer 1

Isaiah 33:22 says "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king." The US three-branch system, which replaced allegiance to an earthly king with government by a people which was, ideally, led by the Lord, supposedly corresponds to the three roles of the Lord listed in this verse: Lord as Judge, to the judicial branch, Lord as lawgiver, to the legislative branch, and Lord as King, to the executive branch.

John Wesley was an 18th century English Christian who tried to reform the (then) corrupt Anglican church (and ended up laying the foundation for the Methodist church, instead.) In his missionary trips to the American colonies, Wesley was very concerned about the patriots' plan to separate from the king, believing the rebellion was unbiblical, though, as a would-be reformer of the Church of England, he was no kow-tower to the throne himself. (He came from a family with very strong, if not consistent, political persuasions: John Wesley's father, an Anglican churchman, refused to share sleeping quarters with John's mother for awhile, because she sided with a British king whose authority had been usurped by another British king--she became pregnant with his child 4 months after the argument, so I suppose they worked it out!)

Wesley's warnings notwithstanding, some of the American colonists who advocated breaking from the throne were very much inspired by the Bible. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a devout Christian (who switched denominations frequently, depending on their patriotic fervor) and he practically held the hand of Thomas Paine (author of the very influential patriotic pamphlet "Common Sense") while he was writing. Incidentally, Benjamin Rush was one of the earliest advocates of abolition, as were quite a few of the founding fathers. For the sake of remaining unified with the Southern colonies against the Crown, the abolitionists gave in, though, hoping to address the issue after the war.

In the Old Testament, vanquished nations were brought into slavery, and Hebrews would sell themselves into slavery (otherwise known as bond-slavery) from which they could be freed after the end of the period of service--not unlike today's employment contracts. Abolitonists who read, believed and obeyed the Old Testament could find no moral equivalence between these OT-approved forms of slavery and the "manstealing" (explicitly condemned by the New Testament) of Africans and West Indians by the contemporary slave traders.

As a 21st century American Christian, I am deeply, deeply suspicious of politicians who make appeals to the Bible in order to justify unjust intervention in foreign affairs (and I don't believe America's founding fathers would EVER have approved of any American war after the one in 1812.)

I know my role is to be a peace-maker. As such, I can't get inside the heads of people who truly believe they are called by God to bear arms to keep the peace, and most of them probably can't get inside my head either. The more I read the Bible, the more I see that God uses both temperaments to "get the job done." He is a God of wrath against the unjust, and love towards the just. That isn't dualism--it is the employment of two means toward the same end.

Answer 2

no one. The old testomony is one hundred% suitable to the recent testomony, and to Christian theology. Jesus stated that it would want to by no skill bypass away (Matthew 5:17-19). Now, you do even ought to undergo in concepts that it extremely works any incorrect way too. the recent testomony is likewise one hundred% suitable to the old testomony. searching on the OT in gentle of the NT will tutor you why we now no longer stone people for his or her sins, and why we now no longer sacrifice animals. those parts of the OT did not bypass away, yet they were fulfilled through Jesus's suffering and shortage of existence on the go in which He grew to develop into our suited sacrifice for sin (rather of the animals) and took our lack of existence penalty for sin on Himself. that's portion of the 'substitute contained in the regulation' of Hebrews 7:12, that's consistant with what Jesus stated that the regulation would not bypass away, yet be fullfilled. yet absolutely everyone who tries to assert that the OT isn't suitable, or who pushes themes or verses contained in the Bible aside through declaring "that's basically old testomony!" is utilising an ignorant cop-out. some thing else they say about it you could oftentimes report lower than 'junk'. a majority of those transformations contained in the regulation from OT to NT are defined contained in the NT for each man or woman to envision and word. wish this clarifies issues. God bless!

Answer 3

Quite a bit. We were indeed founded as a Christian nation (though one also offering freedom from religious persecution)!

Answer 4

If you mean today, the wanderings in the wilderness is an example of what we have made America today.

Answer 5

america is like babylon in the old testement

Answer 6

most people still believe that it is wrong to kill.