Christians - how do you square the Old Testament with the New?

Question

I'm not a Christian myself, but I'm someone who's very interested in the Bible.

The Old Testament is a good read, but it doesn't seem very holy, never mind the Word of God. But then I read the New Testament, and it's absolutely bang-on - Jesus seems to hit the nail on the head constantly, and he seems intent on overturning and replacing a lot of the previous OT teachings. He refers to the strict followers of these teachings very directly as hypocrites, whited sepulchres etc. And he preaches a new religion of compassion : "Turn the other cheek", "Let he among you who is without sin cast the first stone." (never fails to move me, that one - genius).

Now I can see the point in including the OT to give background to Jesus' place in history. But then some Christians seem to follow THAT teaching, instead of the teaching that Jesus put forward to replace it.

I was wondering how modern-day Christians look at the OT, as so often it seems to run completely opposite to the teachings of Christ.

Answer 1

I look at the New Testament as trumping the Old Testament. Partially because of what you said: it makes sense. It doesn't mean that the Old Testament is never helpful, but I think people that look to the Old Testament for social teaching without considering if the New Testament has said something to the contrary put themself in a very dangerous place.

Answer 2

the old testament pointed to the coming ministry of Jesus , everything in the levitacal sanctuary that the OT priests worked in had a meaning, the ark of the covenant, the show-bread , the candlesticks , you name it it all pointed to an aspect of Jesus earthly & heavenly ministry . also the levitical cleanliness laws- since it was a camp environment everything had to be clean for health
even mould & kosher food , they had no you beut spray on mould cleanser or refridgeration back then in the desert

fortunately the ceremonial laws were such as washing seven times , animal sacrifice & blood on the alter were discontinued at the crucifixion
( hence the curtain in the temple being mysteriously torn in 2 at precisely the time of christ's death)

also the book of danial fits like a glove alongside the book of revelation

incidently the OT bit about an eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth is cancelled out by jesus saying let him who is without sin cast the first stone

cheers :-}

Answer 3

I've been told that Jesus' birth fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament, and that it can therefore be ignored. Other Christians say that's not so. Though I don't see them measuring out a distance away from dwelling places before they dig a hole to use a a toilet, but I digress.

As always with religion, there is no definitive answer, and it will vary according to the level of 'fundamentalism' (for want of a better word) present in those answering your question.

Answer 4

Hello,
Christians generally seem to think about the Old Testament and the New Testament as entirely separate works. Specifically, it is generally felt that the God of the Old Testament was mean-spirited and quick to anger. In contrast, Jesus in the New Testament is the essence of Love, Tolerance, Patience and Compassion.
The difference seems so striking that many Christians (and countless non-Christians) generally think about the God described in the Old Testament and the God (Jesus) described in the New Testament as being two entirely separate Beings. But They weren't! God (the Father) and Jesus are simply different presentations of the very same One God. Later Christians (around 300 AD) developed the concept of the Trinity (One God Who appears as though having Three Personalities) in order to find agreement in these issues. Within that concept, God (the Father) and God (Jesus) are Two of the Three Individuals who make up the Trinity (with God, the Holy Spirit, being the Third).

As to a "relationship" between the God described in the OT and the God described in the NT, there is no doubt: They are One and the Same God. Some Christians, and many non-Christians misunderstand that, thinking that Jesus was somehow a "different" God. No, the First Commandment makes absolutely clear that there is One God, and nothing in Christianity challenges that.

The following discussion is simply considering that the descriptions in the OT seem very harsh and powerful, while the descriptions in the NT seem to emphasize Compassion and Love, but both descriptions are certainly describing the very same One God. They first appear so different as to seem to be completely different Beings! But the First Commandment tells us that they are One and the Same God.



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Did God change and become sweet where He used to be harsh? It sure seems so! But, think about that. God is all-knowing. He knows the past, present and future of everything. God is all-powerful. He is capable of instantly teaching or killing anyone or everyone.
How can we then reconcile God's apparent anger and harshness in the Old Testament and Jesus' Gentleness in the New Testament?

I think an answer might be in the types of people that He was dealing with at the time. During ancient times in the Old Testament, about the only thing that got people's attention was raw power. The most powerful warrior would conquer territories and become King. When a more powerful person came along, that King was killed and the new person became King. Authority was almost synonymous with power.

Given such a prevailing attitude, it makes sense that God didn't actually change. He simply presented a different view of Himself. He presented a spectacular Creation in Genesis, and He regularly "smote" whole armies in an instant to permit victory for His favored Tribes.

Consider a human father who finds the need to reprimand a young child. He might easily attempt to seem extremely harsh and powerful, in order to get necessary lessons across.

By the time that Jesus Walked on Earth, men's attitudes had advanced (a little). Jesus consistently demonstrated and taught Love and Generosity and Gentleness. We then had first-hand experience of the wonderful Lovingkindness of God. That Lovingkindness had always been there, even in the apparently harsh Old Testament God. But, during Old Testament times, such Gentleness would have been perceived as weakness, and God knew that. Therefore, even though He Loved His followers very much, it was not appropriate for Him to show it.

Jesus showed us that it was possible to display Lovingkindness without affecting the sense of incredible power that everyone knew that He had. Even during His trial and Crucifixion, most people seemed to believe that He could have instantly swept all that away, but that He knew that He had to suffer through those experiences in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecy.

Therefore, there is actually no distinction or difference between the attitude or the personality of the Old Testament God and the New Testament Jesus. Our One god just displayed different aspects of His personality as necessary for the people He was interacting with.

Answer 5

When I do a Google map search, I first use the "map" overview, then I use "satellite", and THEN I combine them, "hybrid".

Let me further explain because if I stop here, Yahoo Answers will delete it based on, they say, "neither a question nor an answer"!!! So let me spell it out, even if YOU don't need further explanations.

The Old Testament is my map: it give me the general picture. It is not complete. The New Testament is my satellite picture. It fills in the details. It cannot stand on its own, as you so rightly pointed out. Both are needed to complete the TRUE picture.

Answer 6

Oh my gosh, and my question aimed at Christians doesn't even get thru! FCUK Yahoo!!! I've gotten all my questions to Christians deleted, you're so lucky dude! Anyways, well, they do pay more attention to the New Testament more than to the Old one...that's all I can really think of now! But maybe the O.T. is just there to show the predictions of Jesus coming into the world!

Answer 7

This is how I see it. In the old testament, God was distant. God was up there and we were down here on earth. There was always a distance factor with the old testament. God punished us, when he got mad he caused floods and fires. The new testament shows God in a different light. Because Jesus died for us, it puts God closer to us because He was with us, walking and interacting with us face to face, and not from a distant light or through an Angel.

That is just my opinion. And I wanted to share! :)

Answer 8

Some Old Testament Laws are Not Applied to Us in this New Era.
but it is still important for Understanding better the Word of God.

Answer 9

The OT shows us our sin by giving the law. It also shows us the character of God - holy, loving, forgiving (just look at the sins of the main characters of the OT), etc. The OT also has a lot of prophecy about Jesus to show the Jews (and us) who they were looking for to redeem them. Jesus came to show the mercy of God. He came to fulfill scripture.

Answer 10

>>The God of the previous testomony is, for my area, a certifiable psychopath. He alternates between savage cruelty and extraordinary compassion at unusual durations, bearing a larger than passing resemblance to adult men like Caligula and Nero. the hot testomony God, on the different hand, is almost benevolent and actually seems to care regarding the welfare of the human race.<< And yet maximum R&S atheists evaluate Judaism to be extra ideal to Christianity...extraordinary. not an answer, basically an assertion.