To you find it unfortunate that the O.T. is part of the Bible. What I mean is if you've read the Bible, there's a lot of questionable behaviour associated with God. From God wiping out almost all of humanity, to Egyptian kids, to basically endorsing slavery, sexism, racism and homophobia.
The N.T. while encouraging repentment, has a softer tone if you will. While Revelations seems a little bleek the general feeling I get from Jesus is of love for humanity, unlike the O.T. God who by name is Jealous, comes off angry, and vengeful.
Now of course it's impossible to discount the O.T. as it prophecizes Jesus, and also gives us important insight into the character of God.
But my question is, as a Christian, would you rather just do away with the majority of the Old Testament and have people focus almost solely on the New Testament, or do you feel they are equally important texts?
2007-05-23 04:57:48 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
They are equally important text. The Old Testament just about tells us what it will be like when Christ rules the earth.
God destroyed the wicked and the sinners in the Old Testament and God will destroy the wicked and the sinners when He rules.
How many chances did God give Pharaoh to let His people go? God knew the Egyptians would only let their Hebrew slaves go if He killed what they loved the most. God knew the heart of the Egyptian because God created everyone of them.
Slavery was only endorsed for 7 years by God. After 7 years the slaves debt was to be paid in full and the slave was to be released.
Sexism - I'm a woman and God did more to free women than all the Kings and Pharaohs of the world.
Racism - God wanted His people Israel to stay pure and to not marry into the idol worshiping people. God knows that sin rubs off on people if you stay around sin long enough. God had cursed Canaan the grandson of Ham because Ham saw his father Noah's nakedness.
Homophobia - homosexuality does not prosper a nation and many times God said Noah go and multiply. Two guys together can't produce children. Two girls together can't produce children. God calls homosexuality an abomination and God clearly states "man shall not lie with man" and "woman shall not lie with woman." You cannot misunderstand the Word of God when it comes to homosexuality. God says don't do it and if you do I'll destroy your nation, your state, your city and your people and God proved it by destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. God proved it by destroying the first world with Noah's flood. And He just recently took out New Orleans the city well known for homosexual parades.
The Old Testament and The New Testament are equally important texts. They are the Word of God.
2007-05-23 05:21:17 · answer #1 · answered by Jeancommunicates 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would rather have people focus on the New Testament because I believe everything in the OT but I think we may be misinterpreting some of it. Those OT books were written by Jewish men thousands of years ago and the way they talked and worded things must have been really different from how we speak today. I think it is likely that we are reading a lot of it all wrong. I believe that God can get angry and is still quick to forgive and very merciful at the same time.
2007-05-23 06:44:41 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I believe they are equally important. It teaches us the history of our God at work in the world since the time of creation. When I first became a Christian, I too thought that the Old Testament God was portrayed as harsh but as I came to know Him more and the Holy Spirit moved in my life, I began to understand what a loving God He is. He protected and shepherded His people and yes, sometimes they needed His rebuke. If He had not intervened, all mankind would have been lost for eternity. We, as humans, judge everything by our life span and we forget that eternity is exactly that. In our mortal bodies we don't see the spiritual damage to all creation and just 'live for the day'. Sin is eternally sin and God is eternally God. I just thank God that when the weight of sin became too much for creation to bear, He sent His Beloved Son to redress the balance and to win the final victory.
2007-05-23 05:13:11 · answer #3 · answered by lix 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think the OT is bad but i do think the things in the NT are better. This is how i look at the OT and the NT the OT is like windows 95 it works its not wrong its just not up to date. The NT is like XP it works and it better then 95. You can still use you 95 but XP is just so much greater. As a Christian i don't think we should just get rid of the OT because its always good to go back in history also there is still a messege in Gods word
Hope that helped
2007-05-23 05:07:06 · answer #4 · answered by Reshonda P 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are 'cults' who say they are christian yet because of the fact they have not got self assurance Jesus is God they do no longer look to be Christian. Christianity is the thought that there is ONE God in 3 Divine individual. he's a Triune god. the 1st individual is the father, the 2d individual is the Son who's Jesus and grew to grow to be guy and died to restoration our fellowship witht he Father after Adam the 1st guy sinned. The 0.33 individual is The Holy Spirit who replaced into despatched to the earth to be our conselor, comforter and instruction manual after Jesus arose into heaven as quickly as he replaced into resurrected from the tomb. a number of those religions say they suspect in God yet they do no longer honor Jesus as God yet in basic terms because of the fact the son of God. This separates them from real Christianity. you may desire to have self assurance that each and every person 3 persons of the Trinity are God in 3 divine persons, father, son, holy spirit so which you would be a real christian. it extremely is extremely not the only element that separates you from being a real christian vs a cult. I certainly have an internet site under which you will examine which will clarify a good type of different techniques that the assistance of churches makes a decision no count if a team is unquestionably following the Bible or changing its real beginning place for their very own ideals and desires.
2016-11-05 03:07:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think since we are under Grace the New Testament applies to us more. The Old Testament is interesting and has alot of history. The two go hand and hand and I love the old and the new. Prophetic scripture in the old Testament was Fulfilled in the New Testament. I use them both in my studies. Gotta love them they both are Gods word.
2007-05-23 05:05:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Most "Christians" only exhume texts from the OT when they're trying to make it impossible for homosexuals to exist. Otherwise, the "Good News of Jesus" exempts them from having to sacrifice oxen to IHVH, shun menstruating women, sell their daughters into slavery, and all the rest of the programme endorsed by the savage OT God.
Incidentally, the OT does NOT "prophecy Jesus." Nearly all the "fulfilled prophecies" in the NT are either based on mistranslations (see the "Virgin Birth"), are obvious literary flourishes or vague coincidences, or are the sorts of "fulfillments" that you or I could manage today if we chose. How hard could it have been, e.g., for Jesus to find a donkey and ride it into Jerusalem, thereby fulfilling Zechariah 9:9?
2007-05-23 05:02:22 · answer #7 · answered by jonjon418 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The Old Testament never mentions Jesus, never suggests that God would have a literal son.
The Christian manipulation of the texts is even more ridiculous than the Mormon claim that Native Americans are really the Lost Tribes of Israel.
2007-05-23 05:02:18 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
The old testiment is exactly that a testimony by those who lived in those times and its purpose is for people to realise that god hates evil and evil doers and also gives people the chance to repent but there is a time where the option to repent will be taken away. I think the old testiment should be left as it is.
2007-05-23 05:06:15 · answer #9 · answered by trini princess 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No it is a very important part of the Bible. Depends on how you read it. You have to pray before you read and ask God to lead you, God Bless
2007-05-23 05:03:57 · answer #10 · answered by channiek 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋