Can a Christian, Agnostic, Atheist, Muslim or Jewish person Answer these questions?

Question

These are questions about Christianity. Im not picking on anyone, I am just confused.
If Christianity is based on the new testament, why do Christians quote from the Old?
Which leads to my next Question:
If your answer is because Jesus was Jewish and it is therefore part of your religion, How do you account for the contradictions between the testaments?
Please don't say there aren’t, there are many, I could write a book bigger than the bible on it.
Why is god perceived as intolerant and vengeful in the Old testament, but loving and tolerant in the New?

So forgive me if I offended you, so many different people within religions believe in so many different things. It's hard to understand conclusively why people believe exactly what they do.

That is what i thought.. No one knows..

Answer 1

It is the contradictory nature of the bible which seals its fate for me, it can only lead to two deductions: 1) God changes his mind contantly, goes back on his word, contradicts himself repeatedly, yet expects his creations to follow his word correctly or suffer in hell for eternity. 2) The bible was written by men, each with different ideas, and has nothing to do with god.

Answer 2

"If Christianity is based on the new testament, why do Christians quote from the Old?"

The old testament provides both the historical and the prophetic basis for the new testament.

The books of the law, of the prophets, and the psalms collectively paint a literary picture of the one who was to come, the messiah, and the savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ.

"How do you account for the contradictions between the testaments?"

God gave mankind a few thousand years to experience life "the hard way" largely on their own, before he sent his son to give us the new covenant, which is based on faith in the goodness and mercy of God, instead of the need to keep a strict code of laws.

The four Gospels chronicle the important parts of the life and works of Jesus Christ.

The Epistles provide instruction and guidance on what the Gospels truly mean.

The Book of Revelation gives us a prophetic glimpse of how everything will someday "wrap up".

It also gives us more insights into the meaning of some of the old testament books, on which much of the Book of Revelation is based.

But the Bible without the Church is incomplete.

Only when we understand the scriptures in the light of the sacred and apostolic traditions of God's universal church, which was founded by Jesus Christ, and which preceeded the Bible by several hundred years, can we begin to truly understand the "big picture".

Things appear confused only because, since about the 15th century, some Christians decided to break away from the original Catholic Church and go it alone, teaching and practicing whatever they thought might be best.

Now, there are 31,000 different versions of Christian "truth" to reconcile.

Answer 3

Q- "If Christianity is based on the new testament, why do Christians quote from the Old?"

A- Christianity has its roots in the Old Testament. Jesus was born Jewish.

Q- "If your answer is because Jesus was Jewish and it is therefore part of your religion, How do you account for the contradictions between the testaments?"

A- It is the difference between fearing the Light of God and Living in the Light of God.

Q- "Why is god perceived as intolerant and vengeful in the Old testament, but loving and tolerant in the New?"


A- In the old testament, fear was a great motivator.
In the new testament, love-unconditional is the motivator.

Answer 4

The short answer to your questions is that the bible is a confusing mess. People have been struggling for a long time to paper over the more appalling and ridiculous parts, as well as the numerous contradictions. It boggles my mind that people can read the bible and believe it to be the "word of God." So, an omniscient, omnipotent, omni-benevolent being could do no better than the bible? Get real! I think Thomas Paine had it right when he wrote that the bible reads more like the word of a demon than a God.

Answer 5

Christianity is based on following Christ
Differenece between old and new testement. In the old testement that was the "old" covanent where they had many rules and sacrifices
New testement is the new convanent. One major differenc is that sacifices are no longer required. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.
Just because we are under the new covenant does not mean we still should't follow rules like the 10 Commandments which are in the old testement.
God is view by YOU one way in the old and different in the new testement. Why couldn't they just be different sides of GOD? Since you didn't list any specific contridictions I can not address this issue. I am not offended by your questions. The fact that you seek reminds me of a Bible verse Seek and yea shall find....

Answer 6

(responses in caps)

If Christianity is based on the new testament, why do Christians quote from the Old?
JESUS AND HIS FOLLOWERS REFERRED OFTEN TO THE WRITINGS IN THE JEWISH BIBLE, AND IT IS COMMON TO REFER TO JESUS AS THE MESSIAH THAT WAS PREDICTED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. USING THE OLD TESTAMENT IS A CHRISTIAN WAY TO INDICATE THAT JESUS REPRESENTS A CONTINUATION OF GOD'S REVELATION. EVEN THE FIRST CHAPTER IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (MATTHEW 1) CITES THE LINEAGE OF JESUS ANCESTRY TO GIVE CREDENCE TO HIS BEING IN THE BLOOD LINE OF KING DAVID, A PREDICTION MADE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.

If your answer is because Jesus was Jewish and it is therefore part of your religion, How do you account for the contradictions between the testaments?
YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK TO SIMPLY THE CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS. EXAMINE THE CONTRADICTIONS WITHIN THE TESTAMENTS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CONCEPTS OF "ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED" AND "FALLING FROM GRACE" ARE BOTH SUPPORTED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, DEPENDING ON THE AUTHOR YOU QUOTE.

Why is god perceived as intolerant and vengeful in the Old testament, but loving and tolerant in the New?
THE CONCEPT OF GOD CHANGED OVER THE COURSE OF THE 2000 YEARS IN WHICH THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN. THE BIBLE IS A HUMAN BOOK, AND SO THE HUMANS WHO WROTE IT INCLUDED THEIR PERCEPTION. IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHANGES IN PERSPECTIVE ON A VARIETY OF TOPICS (WOMEN, CHILD-REARING, SLAVERY, ETC.), YOU WILL FIND THAT HUMAN VALUES AND PERCEPTIONS CHANGE OVER TIME. SINCE GOD EXISTS ONLY IN THE MIND AND CULTURE OF HUMANKIND, IT MAKES SENSE THAT GOD WOULD GO THROUGH TRANSITIONS AS VALUES CHANGE.

Answer 7

The Old and New Testament go together.
God doesn't change, but people do. And He understands
human beings, and THEIR contrary natures.
If we knew how powerful we are as physical/spiritual beings.
Along with human nature to be jealous, envious, and want
revenge. We would have destroyed ourselves by now. So things
have been kept in the "dark".
But we are living in a time of spiritual significance. And our Creator is opening up our minds. The Earth will undergo a cataclysmic geological upheaval, and it will have
spiritual repercussions. What we accept, and how we use the
knowledge. Will determine our reality.

Answer 8

Christianity isn't based solely on the NT. Christ is the fulfillment of the OT prophecy. There are parts of the OT law that were done away with when Christ came. Other parts of the OT law are still valid today. I know you are not going to like this part but the truth is all the so-called contradictions between the OT and NT can be reconciled if you study them out. The OT established what was to come and details the history of the world. The NT brought forth the fulfillment of the OT prophesies and completed what the OT started. That is what was meant when Christ said in John 19:30 …it is finished…

Answer 9

Catholic here. As a Christian, we follow both parts of the bible because in order to fully understand the Majesty of God and why Jesus came to earth, we must first read the Old Testament. It has the beginnings of our religion in it, the teachings that Jesus followed and the prophesy of His coming. To ignore the Old Testement is to ignore part of our roots. The early Christians followed the Old TEstament because it was a large part of who they were.

Contriditions happen because of human perseption and error. God seemed intolerant because of the times. There were a lot more fighting, more tribes trying to gain land. God is like a father who must sometimes punish out of love. Has your own father never grounded you for your own good after you've done something really bad? He still loves you, right? You learn from it.

Answer 10

God in the OT wasn't really Intolerant or Vengeful, in some very specific things... on a very shallow temporary basis, sure, but..

remember there was no eternal hell in the OT. no devil. you were *NOT* eternally screwed for not believing in God.

how is the NT god Loving and tolerant, when it so readily punishes 2/3 or more of the human populus to eternal torment for even minor crimes committed in a mortal life?

and how christians say he doesn't change... yet obviously is dramatically different between the two (though, in the greater scheme... more tolerant and loving in the OT.

Answer 11

Very good question mate...I gave you a thumbs up for it...now allow me to answer, hopefully I can give you a pointer.

Christianity is based on the New Tetament, yes...but it is also based on the new. Let us not forget that the Old Testament was the period that God was preparing for the Coming of Christ who institutes the New testament. Therefore, Christianity is not a tool to abolish judaism, but a continuation of it. The jews always knew the Messiah was coming, but many did not recognise Him when He came, thus they are still waiting, the rest went on to become our Christian forefathers.

Secondly, in reference to your assumed contradiction between the Old and the New...Yes, you are right, there can be so many instances where one can assume contradictions...But even Christ Himself recognised that and gave a very good explanation, and that was in the instant where He spoke of divorce and people questioned Him on it, he answered
"He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."" (Matthew 19:8)
and on that principal He based another teaching which is "“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." (Matthew 5:37-39 ).
So you see, it is not a contradiction, but a continuation of teaching. Because of man's corupt and immature nature, God's actions and teachings were suited more to our spiritual level in the old testamnet, and it changed as we grew with him from the old testament to the new...
The easiest way to think about it, is imagine you are raising your own son...When he is about 6 or 7 and says a bad word, you come down hard on Him and may even smack Him or punish him in someway to teach him a lesson...but as he gets older and knows right from wrong, it is pointless and even harmful to punish him in the same manner, but rather you might get upset with him, be disappointed in him, if it is even as bad as insulting you, you might just simply let him go and not talk to him...
Exactly the same way God deals with us, His children...

I hope this answers your question, and no, there was no insult taken...as I said, extremely valid question, I just pray that my answer is somewhat helpful

God Bless.