freemonkey

I have some questions about what Christians believe about the bible, namely the New Testament vs. the Old.

It seems to me the Christians I know either disregard or are even unaware of the "bad" stuff in the bible (esp. the Old Testament) and focus on the "good" stuff. At the same time I'm told that the entire bible is the Word of God.

So I'm curious about what various sects of Christians believe about the matter. Can anyone enlighten me, or know of good sources I can get the information from?

freemonkey

It occurs to me that i haven't been specific enough in asking what it is I wamt to know.....

Do Christians generally disregard much of the Old Testament (except for the more palatable stories), in favor of the New Testament? Do they view the Christ philosphy as a replacement or as an extension of the Old Testament?

Amaleq13

I think you should change "disregard" to "reinterpret" with the understanding that Christians would replace it with "reinterpret correctly".

Both depending on the particular passage in question.

Christ offers a new covenant to replace the old but still represents a continuation of the original tradition.

freemonkey

OK, so, in Deuteronomy, for instance, the warnings and details of how God will surely punish those who do not follow the Commandments could be reinterpreted to signify something about God's love & power?

I've been told numerous times that many, many Christians haven't really read a whole lot of the bible on their own, are there any statistics on this, I wonder?

Can anyone who's been to bible class tell me what is studied? Do they focus more on Old or New? Do they gloss over the more gruesome, shocking bits? Is there a patent explanation?

I have not been to a bible class since I was a young child and I don't remember even hearing about the ugly stuff.

I have a feeling I'm gonna have to do a lot more reading to understand the nuances?

Are there any biggies you can tell me about? I think I'm curious about how believers resolve the dichotomy (I think that's what I mean) of a jealous, seemingly cruel, almighty god and who is also all love, light and goodness.

popeye1

My friend who is a Christian answered me this way about the Old Testament and about gods supposed cruelty by drowning innocent children in the flood "They were probably taken right into heaven and were better off than growing up with cruel people" of course that was God's judgment he said that we can notunderstand.


Copout of course
He also said that there was evidence of a worldwide flood at that time.I don't think so

motorhead

It seems to me that Paul struggled with the overall question of what about the Jewish Law in the OT in light of the new convenant which pretty much said the Jewish Law no longer applies. Read some of his authentic letters in the NT to get an understanding of this.

Paul knew he had to resolve this somehow because the OT and the Jewish people clearly believed the Jewish Law was applicable forever. There are more than a few references in the OT to the Jewish Law being in force for all Jews for all time.

Paul basically explains the Jewish Law served a purpose in the whole plan of salvation which is ending with Christ. In other words, Paul reinterprets the purpose of the Jewish Law in light of Christ.

ecco

I occasionally browse www.worthyboards.com. I raised the question about why they thought old testament laws did not apply today (e.g. Send the menstruating women off by themselves). The answer: The teachings of Jesus in the new testament absolved mankind of having to follow the old testament laws. However, these people also believe in the literal interpretation of Genesis. Hypocrisy? Sure! But that’s religion for ya’.

As far as sources – go to the aforementioned website and get it straight from the horses mouth. You won’t be banned as long as you don’t get too far out of line.

freemonkey

Ah, so basically, there's a BEFORE and an AFTER? Hence, one of the basic differences between Jews & Christians...., other than the obvious?

Generally, do most Christians accept the same dividing line? Does it differ among the various sects? I wonder, then, how they choose the things they want to keep, like the creation story, the flood story, Moses, etc..., but not other stories.

freemonkey

Thank you.

judge

The old testament is before God became a Christian" (quote from 9 year old girl
when asked to comment on the differences between OT and NT versions of God.)