Jews, Christians, Atheists, Anyone...?

Question

Now, I've heard that the Christian OT is the Jewish Bible...or Torah, now...most of the "bad stuff" that happens with God is in the OT, you know, the stuff that Chirstians say no longer applies to them...so, I was wondering...with no ill intent to the ones being asked this...but do Jews still have to make animal sacrifices, marry the man who rapes you, and then have to pay money to the father? Just to name a few. Because by the way some Christians put it, you guys have to...if the OT is your Bible, maybe I was misinformed but...what do you have to say about that? Let the bloodbath begin...^_^

I don't have any problem with Jews..Hell, I'm PART Jew (Great Grandmothers side) And it's only the Extremists who strap bombs onto children. My main thing here is to ask what I asked, nothing anti-semetic about it.

Answer 1

The Xian OT is nothing. I don't say this to be mean or disrespectful, but it is not a Jewish anything because it has been translated so many times everything is pretty different. If there existed a Xian Bible that was translated from Hebrew to English directly, then the Xian Old Testament would be the Jewish Tanakh, which is half of the Jewish holy book set. The Jewish holy books are the Tanakh and the Talmud. It's all referred to generally as Torah, although this is technically incorrect, as only the first five books of the Tanakh are the Written Torah. The Oral Torah is half the Talmud. But anyways--I hope I haven't gotten too confusing.

We as Jews do not do sacrifices (animal or otherwise, since most sacrifices were a mixture of flour and oil, NOT animals) because we have no Temple to do them in.

The marrying the man who rapes you, you'd have to find me the scripture on that. I only know it vaguely because it's a passage anti-Semites use to say how evil the Jews are--in reality, I think it's talking about something completely different.

And no offense, but I wouldn't listen to anything Xians have to say when it comes to Judaism. Most of them simply do not know. Like even in this answer, many of them will give me thumbs down because they think I use "Xian/ity" to be offensive, when I don't. If you want to know something about Judaism, you ask a Jew.

Again, nothing in here is meant to be offensive, just honest.

Also, you can't be part Jew. We're not a race. You either are one or you're not.

Also--the Torah is G-d's law given to the Jews. Gentiles aren't required to follow it. Non-Jews only have 7 laws in the world. But you're right, it is a little annoying to see people claim they follow something and then not do it.

Peace

Answer 2

There is so much more to Judaism than the Old Testament
Thats why I don't like SOME Christians, they scream at me when I remind them there sects made up their own laws because they had such a hate for the Jews (and vice versa) they ignored the Jewish Laws. Does that make any sense to you?

**Answer to your question
I'm not a Bible scholar but I am almost certain that those things listed are not rules but instead just descriptions of what people did because they where rituals of their country.
The Jews that I know DO NOT sacarafice animals but themselves (not suiside) they don't eat on some holidays and they can't eat what they want only what the Bible says (and other Jewish books)

Please buy some Jewish books or go to a Synagogue I'm a Christian who finds Jewish faith really interesting and I think you would too

Answer 3

The idea that the NT renders all of the rules in the OT obsolete is a Christian misconception.

I am an atheist, so you can take this for what it's worth. I don't have a pony in this race. But in the NT Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." -- Matthew 5:17

There are 613 Mitzvahs in the OT. Among them, no sex with women on their periods. Blow the ram's horn. No shellfish. No cutting your side hair. No indoor plumbing.

If you are ignoring these things, then you are in violation of biblical law even if you are a Christian. Not that it matters. Spirituality and faith are not necessarily married to an ability to follow dogmatic decrees. Obviously, there were health reasons why "God" commanded the Jews to avoid pork, and these no longer apply. But if one chooses to follow the rules, this has more to do with tradition and maintaining a connection to the orthodoxy of the faith.

Again, I'm an atheist. I was raised Catholic. I occassionally go to church with a woman I date. While there, I genuflect, kneal, and regurgitate the liturgy. It's comforting because it is familiar even though I see it as purely symbolic ritual. I do not, however, take communion, but only out of respect for "rules." Actually, it might be comforting to again walk the line and take the host like I remember doing as a pre-teen.

So, anyways, that's my take on it. By the way, here's a story about a guy who as a social experiment spent a year following all of the biblical mandates he could find.

ADDING: The old Testament book does not command that women marry the man who raped them. It commands that the man who raped or seduced her must marry her if she or her family wants him too for the sake of her family honor. But only if she was an unbetrothed virgin, and only after paying the father his sheckles.

Answer 4

It is how it is interpreted. I am Jewish. Our Torah is what Christians call "Old Testament". We do not make animal sacrifices since the end of the second temple. I am not familiar with the "marry the man who rapes you". There was (and in some Jewish sects still are) arranged marriages. The brides family paid money to the grooms family.
Christians believe that Jesus coming made some practices obselete. However, he is quoted as saying he came to take nothing away from the Torah not add nothing to it (to my understanding this is in the Christian bible but I could be wrong)
Some Christians interpret what we have to do for themselves. We go by the Torah and how our Rabbi's etc interpreted it.
I have no bad feelings for people that say we are going to hell etc but I wish people would understand we all interpret things differently. What Jews have to do is different than from what non Jews have to do and some of what Jews have to do cannot be done without the Temple in Jerusalem being rebuilt.

Answer 5

I am a Christian and I have no idea what the Jewish people are supposed to do. I know Christians are no longer under the law and so all those laws in the OT no longer applies to us. I assume they are still trying for the most part to keep the laws they can. It is a mystery to me. Why athesist celebrate Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving has always been a mystery to me too.

Bloodbath??????what bloodbath....Christians and Jews get along quite well, thank you. We serve the same God.

Answer 6

The Jewish that do not know Jesus think that they do, to some extent, because for them, Messiah has not yet come.
Some were done in the temple, no temple, can not do. The festivals they still do, I believe, as some apply to their own history with God on a personal level as a Nation and People, God's chosen people.

For one who bleieves on Jesus as the Messiah, as I do, regarding animal sacrafice and other sacrafices:

Animal sacrifices served as reminders of sin, but they could not forgive sin or cleanse hearts. Spiritual cleansing comes only through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. No one needs to offer animals as sacrifices for sin.

However, the old covenant system had not just sin offerings but also many other sacrifices, such as fellowship offerings, grain offerings and thank offerings. Did Christ also fulfill the symbolism of these offerings? These sacrifices are no longer necessary. The food and drink offerings and ceremonial washings were "external regulations applying until the time of the new order" (Heb. 9:10). Jesus Christ brought that "new order" — the new covenant, the new agreement we have with God.

The first Christians continued to participate in temple rituals for several decades, as long as the temple existed, but the point made in Hebrews is that these rituals were not necessary even when the temple stood and the Levitical priests were offering sacrifices. By his death on the cross, Jesus Christ had abolished those ritual commands.

Regarding Rape: Translation misinterpretations:

EXAMPLE
The true translation from the original Hebrew of DEUT 22:28 is:

If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, that is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;

The two Hebrew words used here are: 'taphas' - to lay hold & 'shakab' - to lie down with, which have been erroneously translated to 'sex-attack' in some English translations of the OT. This is not a case of rape.

The word for 'sex-attack' used extensively and almost exclusively in the Hebrew OT is 'chazaq' - forces to lie with in DEUT 22:25 (recieving death as punishment)

and GENESIS 34: - The translation in verse 2 is - And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her; and he took her, and lay with her, and humbled her. - this not so much by force as by surprise.

Answer 7

Ya know the Muslims revere Father Abraham too and I would point out that they kill people who do not believe as they do. They can kill a woman if she has "dishonored" a man. Fathers can kill daughters. Women can not appear in public without being covered, women can not drive and these lovely people strap explosives on children and send them into restauants.

And your problems with the Jews are?

Answer 8

In the OT, there are commandments, rules, practices and events that applies and transpired for and only for the Jews. In the NT, Christ himself did not practiced them, like the Sabbath. Christ told His disciples to get the cow that fell into a pit, it was on a Sabbath day!

Answer 9

I think that Jews adhere to certain particular parts that are of their covenant with God -- circumcision, eating only what is "kosher", etc. I believe (but I'm not sure) that things like marrying a rapist were the rules of the Israelites' society, and aren't necessarily part of their covenant with the Lord.

Answer 10

What you don't understand is that Judism is obselete. That's why their is a new testement. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for mans sins thats why their is no more sacrifices and temples. etc. The way to be saved is found in the book of acts 2:38