Why do the commandments that came after the 10 commandments seem a bit fake?

Question

I've been looking into Christianity, and I might convert, so please don't take this as an insult against Christianity. But . . .

I was reading a Bible I purchased, and I flipped immediately to the 10 commandments (which I found in the index). I was surprised to discover that the commandments kept going, even after 10 of them. I read about God telling Moses a whole bunch of really insignificant rules - - which I really can't remember now without the Bible in front of me (they were in the nature of don't eat this with that). As I read them, they seemed fake. My reaction was, why would God waste time telling Moses these things? Am I missing something?

- I apologize for my use of the word "fake." It was a poor choice of words. But, I still don't understand why God would get into such insignificant detail.
- I started with the 10 commandments because it was the first thing that popped into my head. I will take suggestions on better places to read.

Answer 1

This what Jews calls the Law and what Jesus refers to alot in the New Testament. Basically, most of what is contained in the Law was really just for health reasons. Most of what was banned would have caused disease and sickness amidst a large encampent of people living so closely together. Certain foods that were deemed "unclean" were from animals that at the time and where they were carried infectious diseases.
Let me also say this, I am a christian, but don't take everything you read in the Old Testament as literal or from God. Sometimes God gets a bad rap for things done in His name or things said that are contributed to Him. Take when God calls for merciless killings innocent people for example (mentioned throughout the OT) I don't believe a merciful loving God would ever command such a thing. It is contrary to Jesus' teachings in the NT (and Jesus was God as christians believe) so God either changed or the qncient Jews understandably attributed much that they didn't understand to acts of God.
Even today christians do things they say God told them to do or God supports in the Bible and they are wrong. I think its great you want to convert, just be careful. I encourage you to read about Jesus in the first four books of the New Testament. He was quite a revolutionary. And try reading out of the Message Bible, its great, modern language and all.

Answer 2

The other commandments were instructions to the Jews for how to stay pure physically and spiritually and how to organise their society on religious and moral grounds. Many of them are mind-blowingly technical and dull.

You have to decide what, as a Christian (should you become a Christian), your view of the Old Testament is. Technically speaking the message of the New Testament is that the Old is to be superceded, that the Law is to be replaced by Grace and Truth. In the Gospels Christ breaks a lot of the lesser commandments of the Old Testament (although none of the Ten), suggesting that, in fact, true Christians are to leave these things behind.

Remember that the Old Testament was written for the Jews and was known as the Torah, the Books of David and Solomon and the Books of the Prophets. When they were written there was no notion that these laws would apply to anyone other than the Jews.

Christianity grew out of Judiasm but was supposed to supercede it. The controversy as to what the Old Testament's place is in a Christian's life is a complex one, then. The Puritans believed in a return to the Old Testament morality and this was the basis of the Christianity of the United States, which perhaps explains the fundamentalist nature of many US Christians. Other Christian movements believed that the New Testament wholly superceded the Old (such as Marcion's brand of Christianity or Benjamin Franklin's). Its interesting. In the end you have to decide what you think. What kind of Christian do you want to be?

Answer 3

Keep in mind the "Old Testament" is a translation of the Torah. Judaism adheres to these laws, Christianity does not because it's not necessary. Those extra laws were put in place specificaly for Judaism instead of everyone because being Jewish is not seen as a requirement for acceptance in "heaven" (which is perceived differently from Christian teachings so we won't even go there). Christianity sort of picks and chooses things from the "Old Testament", the New Testament is the part they concentrate on most. The two halves don't match up well. And oddly enough Judaism views a very positive and loving god which shows that either Christians don't know how to interpret the OT or a lot got lost in the translation.

Answer 4

I believe your problem like so many others starts with faith......and by the way the 10 commandments are not insignificant like so many would like you to believe because they are the corner stone of the Christianity.....God himself went before Moses to give the 10 commandments and Christ himself said in the new testament "I DID NOT COME TO CHANGE THE LAW BUT TO FULFILL PROPHECY!!!!!!!!!!! SO MANY PEOPLE GET THIS PART SO WRONG. While its true we cannot live up to this 100% of the time this is were the message and the love of Jesus comes in at. But that does not mean we dont try because thats part of our responablity to GOD and our fellow man as well as to our selfs.

Answer 5

Sweetie in the Old Testament in Leviticus you can find a whole long list of ways to eat, prep feed, and live every second but then you get to the New Testament there are only 2 commandments and they cover all the bases all the others did--Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and number two Love your neighbor as you love yourself--that pretty much covers every thought, feeling or action that would be sin--pretty good--don't ya think?

Answer 6

In the first five books of the bible, what the Jews call the Torah there are over 400 laws. God wanted to help the people become considerate, loving and caring. It was an agricultural society and he wanted the Israelites to be more humane than the tribes around them.

Answer 7

The Israelites told God that they would obey whatever He told them so God gave them a complete set of rules. The rules have never been kept. We find that in the book of Romans, Paul is clear that the Law is to teach you something. Rom. Chapter 10 tells us it leads us to Christ. When we fail in some point of the Law we discover our own weakness and then we repent, fall on God's mercy and receive the salvation that only come through faith in Jesus Christ and what HE accomplished on the cross!

Answer 8

Rules and ordinances for the Jewish people
They were oppressed for more than 400 years in Egypt and God wanted to break their ties with that way of living. They were a stiff neck people as are some today

Answer 9

I don't think anything is insignificant to God. When I read through the Old Testament, I'm always amazed at how he cares about every little detail, knows us all by name, etc.

Answer 10

Most of the 613 laws are details on the ten, which Jesus summarized as two. They are examples of how to interpret the ten within the culture of the day. All of the dietary and sanitary laws are quite valid... it's just today we know other ways of avoiding some of the problems...