[NeedKarma]

But if ones reads the Bible in its entirety it does not stop the fact that those laws and nasty bits are still there. Yet people recommend that the Bibke in its entirety be used as a life guide. Do they really just mean the NT?

[NowWhat]

I have always thought of it this way - The old testament is before the coming of Christ - the new testament is during and after Christ.
Like I have said, I am not as educated on the Bible as I would like. I would love for someone to explain the stark contrast of the old and new testaments.

I know that when I have asked - they tell me not to start reading the Bible from the beginning (Gen.) but start with John. That it would make more sense to me.

[Skell]

I have always thought of it this way - The old testament is before the coming of Christ - the new testament is during and after Christ.
Like I have said, I am not as educated on the Bible as I would like. I would love for someone to explain the stark contrast of the old and new testaments.

I know that when I have asked - they tell me not to start reading the Bible from the beginning (Gen.) but start with John. That it would make more sense to me.

I understand what you are saying but wouldn't that be like telling someone to start a crime thriller from the bit where they catch the murderer because it makes more sense?

Maybe a bad analogy but I really don't see anyone answering NK's quite legitimate questions! Surely one can't pick what bits are to be taken literally and which bits aren't to?

[ActionJackson]

I have always thought of it this way - The old testament is before the coming of Christ - the new testament is during and after Christ.
Like I have said, I am not as educated on the Bible as I would like. I would love for someone to explain the stark contrast of the old and new testaments. I know that when I have asked - they tell me not to start reading the Bible from the beginning (Gen.) but start with John. That it would make more sense to me.

We've all read a good book. I used to like to read books by Mark Twain. You know, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. There was a beginning a middle and an end to the book. There were calm moments, scary moments, exciting moments, romantic moments, etc. There were parts of the book that affected us deeply and parts that were a bit dull. No matter what we thought of the overall book, it was what it was. The book, in its entirety came from the heart and mind of the author.

The Bible is a story. It's His Story or history (that's what history means, His Story). It has a beginning "In the beginning, God"; it generally goes in chronological order; it has a middle; then there are parts of the story that we don't know about somewhere between the Old and New Testament; then comes the New Testament. If we really think about it, we should call it the Old Testament and the Older Testament since what we call "New" is more than 2000 years old. I prefer to call it the Whole Testament because it is the Word of God from start to finish. It comes from the heart and mind of God.

Yes, the Old Testament had blood and gore, but wasn't Christ's death on the cross a bit bloody and gory, albeit, glorious? From the moment Cain slew Abel in the very first book in the Bible, Genesis, to the bloody wars spoken of throughout the "Old" Testament to John the Baptist's beheading to Christ's crucifixion to the blood and mayhem that occurs in the book of Revelation (things that haven't even happened yet), the Bible has had its moments of tears and pain. But if you research the Old Testament, there were times when God was very kind and loving and giving to His people. Read the Psalms of King David.

To start reading the Bible from Matthew or John would be like reading a Stephen King novel from chapter 12.

[NowWhat]

Okay. Fair enough. Like I have said (and will continue to in a thread like this one) I am not as well versed in the Bible like I would like to be. The person who actually told me to start at John was my Pastor. What you are saying makes sense to me.

[ActionJackson]

okay, Marily... I, as a Christian, sincerely have a question. I admit that I am not as educated on the Bible as I would like. Sometimes I get confused. NeedKarma did bring up a question for me. Alot of the things that were brought up in the old testament confuse me. How things were handled, etc.
Did Jesus, in the New testament explain things. Like, having more than one wife in the old and only having one in the new. (that is what readily comes to my mind)
That is something that has always confused me.

I'm not going to say that I agree with polygamy but there really isn't much said in the New Testament banning the practice. I don't believe that Christ banned it and it's not mentioned in the 10 Commandments. I'm certainly happy with one wife. It does say that a bishop or leader in the Church should have one wife. I believe that it was permissible in the Old Testament because it was necessary to be fruitful and to multiply and to subdue the earth. Also, Christ was and is our Example. He will be the Groom and His people will be the bride (in a spiritual sense); one bride and one groom. On the other hand, if a bomb exploded and wiped out the majority of human beings on the planet, then I see no reason for people not to do what is necessary to replenish the earth with more people. An interesting topic in and of itself.

[NowWhat]

In the 10 commandments, doesn't it say "thou shalt not commit adultery" ? Wouldn't that cover it? Or by having more than one "wife" it isn't adultery because it is a wife? If you had a wife and then just a girlfriend - would that be considered adultery in the Bible?

Sorry. I do believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that He is the one true saviour. But, sometimes, things like this confuse me.

[Marily]

I see that you have a lot of questions about the bible, I can tell you what I think but since the bible is of no personal interpretation allow me to give you the web address of the prophet for the Laodicea age. You might find something helpful. I may not have revelation upon the entire bible but I know the author real well. www.williambranham.com

[NeedKarma]

Marily,
That man may have issues: he sees a ring shaped cloud and professes it to be a revelation of seven angels to him (link). Elsewhere he suffers from verbal diarrea (just look at the length of this page!).

Action,
That is one book I would never allow my children to read. I'd rather they learn morality from their parents than read about killings, sacrificing, polygamy, incest, etc.

[Marily]

I am glad that you have visited the site, and I appreciate your comment.

[ActionJackson]

Okay. Fair enough. Like I have said (and will continue to in a thread like this one) I am not as well versed in the Bible like I would like to be. The person who actually told me to start at John was my Pastor. What you are saying makes sense to me.

Your pastor isn't a bad person for telling you to do that. The books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, etc. can have some very dry and dull sections (you will find out that even those dry sections have great meaning). Some people might get bored and give up reading the Bible altogether. Your pastor wants you to be excited about reading the Bible so his intentions are good. However, if you really want to have a deep, deep understanding of what is going on in the New Testament, you will short-change yourself if you don't read the Old Testament. It would be like building a beautiful house on sand. There would be no foundation.

[ActionJackson]

In the 10 commandments, doesn't it say "thou shalt not commit adultery" ? Wouldn't that cover it? or by having more than one "wife" it isn't adultery because it is a wife? If you had a wife and then just a girlfriend - would that be considered adultery in the Bible? Sorry. I do believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that He is the one true saviour. But, sometimes, things like this confuse me.

In the book of Romans chapter 13, we're told to be subject to the civil authority. Fortunately for us, our civil laws (assuming you're in the U.S.) ban bigamy and polygamy.

[ActionJackson]

[QUOTE=
Action,
That is one book I would never allow my children to read. I'd rather they learn morality from their parents than read about killings, sacrificing, polygamy, incest, etc.[/QUOTE]

So allowing your children to learn some truth but not all truth will be your approach to childrearing? Okay, fair enough. You will probably have to take out your black marker and cross out the sections of the New Testament where John the Baptist lost his head; cross out Christ's crucifixion; cross out the stoning of the Apostle Stephen; cross out anything and everything that might present itself as violent or bloody. You will also have to shield their eyes from what they see as you drive down the road to the local grocery store as well.

When you endeavor to pick what truth your children will learn, you run the risk of distorting their overall perspective. How can you teach them that something is wrong if they don't know that wrong exists?

[ActionJackson]

But if ones reads the Bible in its entirety it does not stop the fact that those laws and nasty bits are still there. Yet people recommend that the Bibke in its entirety be used as a life guide. Do they really just mean the NT?

Are you saying that the following laws are "nasty bits?":

Thou shalt not steal
Thou shalt not kill (murder)
Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother
Thou shalt not put other gods before Me (God)
Thou shalt not covet

Interesting.

Read the Whole Testament.

[NeedKarma]

Why did you completely skip over the post I made earlier and only mention the 10% good bits in the OT?

As for those things you mentioned, I don't need a book to tell me to honour my parents, not steal and not sleep with my neighbour's wife, I was raised with those morals from the get go.

[NeedKarma]

How can you teach them that something is wrong if they don't know that wrong exists?

Are you saying that the only solution to learning about wrong is to read the bible?

BTW we do teach our children to tell the truth, like any good parent. I'm not sure what 'truth' you speak of.

[Retrotia]

Are you discussing morals (moral relativism) here or Christianity? Christianity is about faith. Faith in the Old Testament & faith in the New Testament. My denomination is Christ. It's pretty simple. I don't let" denominations" keep me from visiting their Church. There's a couple of denominations that I won't look into because I don't agree with books added to the Bible.
BTW-
Much of the wrath (especially in the Old T) could have been prevented if the people kept commandments #1 & #2.
Love the Lord , your God with all your soul.
Thou shall not have any strange gods before Me.

[ActionJackson]

Why did you completely skip over the post I made earlier and only mention the 10% good bits in the OT? As for those things you mentioned, I don't need a book to tell me to honour my parents, not steal and not sleep with my neighbour's wife, I was raised with those morals from the get go.

Those morals orignated in the Old Testament.

So we know that if something is only 10% good (how you reach that particular number, I don't know) that it is not good enough to teach your children. Please indicate when something IS good enough to teach your children:
A) When it's 20% good?
B) When it's 30% good?
C) When it's 40% good?
D) When it's 50% good?
E) When it's 51% good?
F) When it's 100% good?

1)Would you let your children watch a nature show where a lion eats a gazelle? Too much death and blood?
2)Would you allow your children to see two people in bed, French kissing on television? Premarital sex or adultery or prostitution?
3)Will you allow your children to learn about evolution in public school? Opposite of God's Creation?
4)Will they be allowed to put a condom on a banana in sex ed? Practice for future activities?
5)Will your children be allowed to watch the evening news with bombs exploding in Iraq or the World Trade Center towers crumbling to the ground? Bloody truth.
6)Does the books of Psalms and Proverbs fall into the "good" part of the Old Testament?
7)How about the story of God's creative power as found in Genesis? Does that fall into the "bad" section?

Out of curiosity, what books would you allow your children to read?

[ActionJackson]

Are you saying that the only solution to learning about wrong is to read the bible?
BTW we do teach our children to tell the truth, like any good parent. I'm not sure what 'truth' you speak of.

Reading the Bible is certainly a good start to learning right from wrong. If you don't allow your children to read the Bible because there are disturbing truths found there then what book will they read from? From what I have gleaned from your recent statements you must believe that there are books that are better than the Bible from which you shall teach your children. I'm glad that your kids tell some truth (except for Bible truth because they aren't allowed to read it). Quite a unique approach to life. Question: Do you wear rose colored sun glasses? No need to answer.

[poppa0777]

Marily,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law and that we should follow the bible in its entirety.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Hey need karma,
Your ignorance, immaturity, and obvious lack of the fear of God is so plain for all to see. Since you seem to be so intent on "bending" the Scripture with you childish actions,I will caution you about this by sharing a scripture with you... Galatians 6:7,8.. Be not deceived, God is not mocked:for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. I fear for you when you don't have the sense to fear for yourself. You need to repent and beg the forgiveness of a merciful God.