later he change it. Why? Wasn't he perfect enough to do it right the first time??
2006-11-24 04:23:36 · 11 answers · asked by Shadow 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Exactly.
Somehow it's OK that God was "war and punishment and revenge" for a while and then did a 180 and said "let's be rainbows and puppies and sugarcubes now!"
2006-11-24 04:28:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 4⤋
He did not change it- too many christians try to answer this without understanding and only bring more confusion and make God look wishy washy. There is no confusing OT law and NT grace- God is not schizophrenic and he did not change. Law and grace go hand in hand- you cannot have one without the other when talking about a God of perfect love.
The law says an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth- this is the penalty for sin, it was the penalty then and is now- the audience for this statement is the offender- you have stolen- you will repay what you have stolen. God did not remove the law, nor did he remove the penalty for breaking the law- Jesus however, satisfied the penalty by taking the consequences of that sin upon himself. In the NT Jesus said, you have heard and eye for an eye- he did not say this was no longer valid- here he is speaking to the offended- yes, eye for and eye, but don't go looking for it- He was saying that He was the sacrifice, he was the one that would remove the sin, look to Him and you do not need to look for retribution.
2006-11-24 12:40:10 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The imperfection is not in God but in man.
The whole history of the Bible is a gradual educating of man, so eventually he would be ready for the redeemer.
That is why He would tolerate things at an earlier stage that He wouldn't at a later stage in history.
To say "eye of an eye, tooth for a tooth" was not to promote revenge, but to bring justice into situations where there was none before.
For example, a slave could be killed for stealing $25 and a nobleman could be fined $25 dollars for killing someone.
So the "eye for an eye" command was a huge leap above that in bringing equity to the process of judgment where there was none before.
But when man was ready, Jesus wanted to bring us further by saying "turn the other cheek" and forgive, which was a quantum leap beyond that.
It is not that there are contradictions in the Bible, but that different commands are given for different phases in man's spiritual development and for different situations.
We have to look at the Bible as a progression of truths given over time, rather than a set of absolutes that apply everywhere and for everyone.
But the one absolute in the Bible is God's wisdom in rightly giving or permitting what happens in every given time or situation.
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2006-11-24 12:35:08 · answer #3 · answered by Catholic Philosopher 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The a priori assumption built into your question presumes that you don't believe God is "so perfect."
God IS perfect, and so any misunderstanding about any changes are our problem, not His. If you were to actually read the whole thing, you would understand the nature of the Covenant God of Israel.
It is not Him, but us, that are imperfect. He states clearly in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 that He would change the nature of the covenant, and change hearts so that they could be obedient to him.
2006-11-24 12:29:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
God gave a law to his people that was at their level. When Christ came, he presented the higher law. It's not that God made a mistake and corrected it. Instead, He provided guideance at the correct level for the people at the time. Kind of like attending first grade and learning to print, and then as you progress, you learn cursive writing instead. Does that mean your First Grade teacher made a mistake?
What God did actually PROVES He is perfect and knows what He is doing.
2006-11-24 12:30:52 · answer #5 · answered by Rainfog 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The phrase, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" is derived from the Mesopotamian King Hammurabi, who was the first to construct a rules--inventing law. The Mesopotamians were polytheistic--living in sin, therefore Jesus saved the nation, we Mesopotamians of today are the Assyrians. We were the first group of people to accept Christianity. God doesn't change his mind, He saw that the people were living in sin and therefore sent His Son to save mankind.
2006-11-24 13:08:00 · answer #6 · answered by ImAssyrian 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
eye for an eye was a limitation.
i don't think Jesus changed anything. he gave understanding to the law. for example if you want to have sex with somone and you don't get the chance is God going to be pleased with you because you never did it or will he be mad that you would have had you had the chance. that is why whoever commits lust in his heart is already guilty of adultry.
Mat 5:38 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
read carefully. he is not changing anything. he is just adding understanding that we are not to justify vengance using God's law. but aren't we still justified in an eye for an eye.
2006-11-24 12:31:09 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The words an "eye for an eye" were fine the first time and continue to apply to those following those words.There is a mistranslation of the hebrew word "tachat" that is used in "ayin tachat ayin", it implies a financial compensation for the eye not an actual eye. You will in fact find no such record in pre-Christian, ie. Jewish, writings and history that this was taken to have the meaning of a physical eye for a physical eye.
2006-11-24 12:31:03 · answer #8 · answered by David Botton 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because man created God in his own image to give a authorative voice to his beleifs and prejudices.
2006-11-24 12:39:54 · answer #9 · answered by Dawn G 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
God is only as perfect as we want him to be. Because that's the reason we create him.
2006-11-24 12:28:34 · answer #10 · answered by mshalar 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋