dubois@uwmacc.UUCP (07/11/84)
There are some six hundred commandments in the Old Testament
(the Hebrew Bible). Christians follow some of these while
rejecting others. For example, Christians do not observe the
Sabbath on Saturday, nor do most refrain from work on Sunday;
on the other hand, adultery is a sin. In this newsgroup the
question has been raised as to whether this isn't somewhat
inconsistent (when put nicely) or a pick-what-suits-me-and-
throw-out-the-rest attitude (when not put quite so nicely).
My question: what *is* the basis for selection of those
commandments that will be observed by Christians and
those that will not?
Some Jewish Christians, such as (some? all?) Jews for Jesus,
maintain that Jesus fulfilled all the commandments during
His time on earth. Hence, circumcision (for instance) is
unnecessary. Does this hold water? For example, qualities
such as hospitality, purity of speech and so forth are regarded
(if I understand correctly) as non-optional. Why is this?
--
Paul DuBois {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!dubois
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist...
Colossians 1:17mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (07/12/84)
Jesus refers to adultery as a sin, as does Paul. Other prohibitions
include:
Murder
Embezzlement
Drinking Blood (?)
I shall not attempt a complete list.
Charley Wingate umcp-cs!mangoebeatyr@ecn-ee.UUCP (08/23/84)
#R:uwmacc:-13500:ecn-ee:18600021:000:1368
ecn-ee!beatyr Aug 22 21:08:00 1984
In response to your question, I will try to give you what I
believe to be the truth of the "commandment question". In the
book of Hebrews, from around chapter 7 to about chapter 10, a
lot is said concerning the Old Testament Laws and their replacement
by the guidelines given in various places in the New Testament
through various sources (Sermon on the Mount, through the Apostles,
the writings of Paul, etc.) If you take this as the basis for
which "commandments" are to be followed in the present day, you
will see that it is no longer necessary to observe the Sabbath
because the day of worship is now given as Sunday (the day the
Apostles came together to worship), no longer to necessary to
sacrifice animals because of the arguments (in Galatians somewhere?)
about 'if the blood of bulls and goats were sufficient (paraphrased)'
but that in the New Testament foul speech is stil spoken out
against : 'it is not what enters the mouth that defiles the man,
but what proceeds out of the mouth (again paraphrased)', and
hospitality by Christians is still shown by example at the end
of the second chapter of Acts.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Old Testament is now
only useful as a set of examples (the books of Ruth and Jonah) and
as history and verification that Jesus is the Christ.
Does this help any?
Jim Alred