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Of course, I'm not embarrassed by the Old Testament. It is what Christianity is based on and it teaches us so much about God. Before I studied the Old Testament I would just read parts at random. Imagine picking up a novel and reading pages at random! Once I started studying it and looking at the Bible as a whole I got a whole new insight into it. The main surprise for me was that the Old Testament does not portray an angry vengeful God (as it seems to if you just hone in on random parts) but instead portrays an incredibly loving one. God is faithful and God has bent over backwards to save us again and again and again.
Nope. What causes people to see the OT god as a loving one isn't reading the bible, it's saying to yourself "god is loving" enough times to actually believe it.
Bible studies only served to show me how people can rationalize pure evil coming from someone by having the battered wife syndrome.
Last edited by coosjoaquin; 09-18-2009 at 05:52 AM..
Reason: grammar
I am not embarrassed by the OT..IMO, it is the history of man's relationship with God..I think the ancient people feared anything they could not understand so they created laws and legalisms of what they felt had to be done to win Gods acceptance/love..They believed that everything bad in their lives was a lesson through punishment by God, and that any thing good in their lives was a reward for their obedience to their manmade laws and rituals they had to perform before God.
I do believe God placed the prophecies of Christ in the hearts of some people in order to let the people know that there would come a time when (through God's Son)all would know that God was not to be feared, that He was love and desired men to come to the knowledge that He is a loving, kind and forgiving Father who desires that all men come to Him out of their own desire to know Him with none of the laws, rituals or doctrines of man blinding them from the light and love of God..
I think I asked this question around here before but not on this forum and as back then, I do not really expect any Christian to say they are because that would be tantamount to not being a Christian.
Anyway, today I was sitting with my gf and we were talking about this. In my estimation, the Old Testament is that old, crazy, loony uncle you wish to keep hidden in the closet and hope no one notices all the noise he is making. The contents are silly, bloody, ethnocentric, sexist, fabricated, embellished, exaggerated and so on AND some of these things are actually claimed to have been said, done or ordered by some god some people today tell us is perfect, holy and just. As a result, Christians find themselves always having to defend the dilemma and irreconcilable nonsense found on some of its pages using all kinds of verbal gymnastics.
As far as I can see, the Christians need the Old Testament for three reasons, neither of which really has basis when you really check it out. They need it to claim that it makes some vague "prophecies" about our times. They need to to prove it predicted Jesus and they need the early parts of it to prove their god created everything and that man rebelled against this god who from that moment, has been itching to just kill everyone which explains Jesus. In addition, some cherry pick a few "thou shalt nots" for an occasion or two.
Without the need for the above, I am sure the Old Testament would not be a part of today's Bible.
Thoughts?
So...we should ignore American history up to...FDR? Or until the Civil Rights Act passed? I mean, there's a lot about our own history to not be "proud" of. But it's there, it happened.
So...we should ignore American history up to...FDR? Or until the Civil Rights Act passed? I mean, there's a lot about our own history to not be "proud" of. But it's there, it happened.
Of course, I'm not embarrassed by the Old Testament. It is what Christianity is based on and it teaches us so much about God. Before I studied the Old Testament I would just read parts at random. Imagine picking up a novel and reading pages at random! Once I started studying it and looking at the Bible as a whole I got a whole new insight into it. The main surprise for me was that the Old Testament does not portray an angry vengeful God (as it seems to if you just hone in on random parts) but instead portrays an incredibly loving one. God is faithful and God has bent over backwards to save us again and again and again.
It's just past history--why be "ashamed" of the past?
You know, you're right, but can you then explain to me why some people still refer to it and/or expect us to follow some of its antiquated, primitive rules and stories as relevant to today?
Thank you in advance.
Last edited by InsaneInDaMembrane; 09-18-2009 at 08:00 AM..
Well, I listened to your nine minute YouTube video out of courtesy, but I'm not sure what your point is and how this relates to the original question as to whether Christians are embarrassed by the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. I'm sure a lot of creativity was put into creating the video and maybe it does a good job of summing up some of the misconceptions and difficult areas for unbelievers to understand but it seems a little off topic to me.
I'll try again to sum up my answer to your question. I believe that the Bible should be read as a whole (with both the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the New Testament) and that it gives a story as a whole. The Bible tells the story of God's love for mankind.
I think that is #73 reason why I do believe, coincidence? God is God and he can do what he wants with his creation. That is what makes him God. The good news is that God is just and pure.
I think that is #73 reason why I do believe, coincidence? God is God and he can do what he wants with his creation. That is what makes him God. The good news is that God is just and pure.
Mass genocide, just and pure.
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