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Is this:
1. The many laws of Moses, OR
2. The law that is written on our hearts ("I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds." Jeremiah 31:33)
I used to read the Psalms thinking that the writer was referring to the written laws. But something about that idea always seemed strange. But now... I wonder if the phrase "meditate on the law" from the Psalms was actually written FIRST. Then the narrative stories were written afterwards as a way of "illustrating" (perhaps badly) what was written in the psalms. So it seems that perhaps it is really talking about meditating upon what God has revealed to the individual through his own heart or experiences.
For example, the second Psalm says "I will give you the nations." That to me is also symbolic, meaning that those who follow the Lord and his ways will be blessed spiritually. And perhaps the stories of Joshua were written afterwards, with literal people taking possession of the land, as an illustration of the Psalm.
(By the way I started a similar thread in Judaism. But someone in there led it off topic to Mormonism, which this question has absolutely nothing to do with.)
It is an interesting question in one aspect, but the way it was couched kind of put me off: rhe question of Psalms being inspiration for narrative. No not at all, but what is God's Law?
the realization of that developed in Judaism over time and was expressed most completely in a few references like Micah 6:8 and the Jeremiah "new covenant" as well as "I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For Christians that culminated with the life an ministry of Jesus, for Jews it really came into prominence with the destruction of the Temple and the complete dependence on the synagogue system, as shown in such things as the fact that sacrifices were no longer required, but sincerity of heart in commitment to do what is right by God and man.
I'm not sure if "over time" is an accurate way of putting it. Each person realizes it within his own lifetime. Each prophet is really just restating the same thing. As those before him did, again and again.
I'm not sure if "over time" is an accurate way of putting it. Each person realizes it within his own lifetime. Each prophet is really just restating the same thing. As those before him did, again and again.
Not really. Expressions of the realization don't show up until fairly late in the game as far as the recorded documents of the Hebrew/Jewish faith and it seems to be more of a zeitgeist thing developing. Yes, now the insights are available to all readers of the whole literature and your description fids.
Not really. Expressions of the realization don't show up until fairly late in the game as far as the recorded documents of the Hebrew/Jewish faith and it seems to be more of a zeitgeist thing developing. Yes, now the insights are available to all readers of the whole literature and your description fids.
But the "earlier" documents might have been stories that represented the the immature faith that a person goes through. The Pharisees were the ones who seemed to be so wrapped up in those stories, looking back towards Moses and the patriarchs. They might have been fictional characters, yet they were the role models of these religious people who had not advanced past that kind of faith. Even the story of David, putting God inside of a box instead of in the heart. David eventually returned to his early faith.
As I read through the Psalms I could imagine them inspiring many of the famous stories. I also got that impression from reading Job. He talks about a redeemer, and it ends with him meeting the redeemer that he had heard about. Isn't Job the oldest written book?
I could be wrong, but this seems to make sense to me.
The first covenant with the Jews is forcing the Jews to shower love and respect to YHWH, even though YHWH was CLEARLY a monster. The second covenant with Jesus is Jesus making the law that ALL THE WORLD MUST love YHWH with all our hearts and minds. Now most of the world gives YHWH credit for all things holy and good, even though it is clear that YHWH is a murdering, genocidal, master of slaves. YHWH, the immoral God of murder and terrorism gets credit for all things Holy and good, because of the laws.
The first covenant with the Jews is forcing the Jews to shower love and respect to YHWH, even though YHWH was CLEARLY a monster. The second covenant with Jesus is Jesus making the law that ALL THE WORLD MUST love YHWH with all our hearts and minds. Now most of the world gives YHWH credit for all things holy and good, even though it is clear that YHWH is a murdering, genocidal, master of slaves. YHWH, the immoral God of murder and terrorism gets credit for all things Holy and good, because of the laws.
Moderator cut: deletedYou have been told numerous times that Jesus revealed a Different God than the one our ignorant primitive and barbaric ancestors believed Him to be. You pretend that did not happen and continue to pursue your vendetta against Christ and His God of agape love in deliberate ignorance. The barbaric beliefs of our ancestors are unfortunate . . . but they are NOT accurate and your continued suggestion that they are is tiresome.
Last edited by june 7th; 08-17-2014 at 04:35 AM..
Reason: Condescending.
Moderator cut: Orphaned You have been told numerous times that Jesus revealed a Different God than the one our ignorant primitive and barbaric ancestors believed Him to be. You pretend that did not happen and continue to pursue your vendetta against Christ and His God of agape love in deliberate ignorance. The barbaric beliefs of our ancestors are unfortunate . . . but they are NOT accurate and your continued suggestion that they are is tiresome.
One reason they are not accurate is because the "death" referred to in the old testament stories is usually a symbol for spiritual death rather than physical. And the symbolism may even be deeper. But I don't know if the stories are even worth reading and teaching if the symbolism is not understood.
One reason they are not accurate is because the "death" referred to in the old testament stories is usually a symbol for spiritual death rather than physical. And the symbolism may even be deeper. But I don't know if the stories are even worth reading and teaching if the symbolism is not understood.
I think the Bible is pretty straight forward about it. It is actual, physical death. Chopping heads off, stoning until death...etc...There is nothing metaphoric about it.
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