Not helpful

If you are a practicing Jew you will not eat shrimp. Its part of a real estate deal called the covenant. It doesnt apply to those folks who dont want to be jews.
The website I pointed you to was to show that the original christian church required you to be a Jew. If you converted, you topped off yer schmeckle ate kosher and followed all the laws like the rest of the jews. Paul and his crew did as you suggested and removed those requirements from christianity.

Paul also hated women so there was a recision of the sexual laws as well. From sleep with your wife of the opposite sex, to sex is forbidden except to procreate. Now with that sweeping decision you have created a crew of horney pissed off populace who wrecked havoc for many centuries. Now if you want to change that. Put on a clerical collar. Declare yourself a practicing christian and find some followers like Calvin did.
thanx,
bill

the early Christian church could be viewed as just another regional sect. The OT is kept as part of the canonical text to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of OT prophecies, but view that the day to day requirements of being a Jew were considered null and void because of the crucifixion and resurrection became the dominant view of the early church. Sort of a PR move to increase the size of the following, because at the time there were more people in that area of the Roman Empire who were associated with the Jews and tried to follow their laws than who wanted to fully convert.

There is a lot of dispute about Paul and his influence on the early church, but I don't get the impression he hated women. From what I read he truly believed the Jesus was coming back, so marriage was irrelevant but not bad. It was later church leaders who misread a lot of his writings and promoted the view of women that can be viewed as misogynistic. Paul seems to be a more complex figure than he is usually portrayed as.

But, back to your point, from an outsiders perspective, it certainly seems that different variants of the the Christian church pick and choose which parts of the OT to apply and which to update or ignore. This situation doesn't seem like it is going to change anytime soon.

Post #286,775 by warmachine 6/11/07 4:36:26 PM Reply	Not helpful That article explains how the Old Testament lost influence but not how it's theologically correct to ignore specific sections. Yes, I know a religion is far more than its holy book and only a nut would think ancient, religious commandments are unquestionable. Nonetheless, back to my original question, wits, like the author of the website, who point out absurdities and claim Christians are hypocrits for not believing or practising the Unquestionable Word of God must be tiresome. Worse, everytime the religious nuts spout some bigotry, these absurd parodies pop up and smear the true Christians as well. So, why aren't these ancient absurdities officially marked as obsolete just to shut up the annoying detractors? They're already obsolete, why not finish the job? Matthew Greet Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin? - Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
Post #286,781 by boxley 6/11/07 5:10:17 PM Reply	again point=missed If you are a practicing Jew you will not eat shrimp. Its part of a real estate deal called the covenant. It doesnt apply to those folks who dont want to be jews. The website I pointed you to was to show that the original christian church required you to be a Jew. If you converted, you topped off yer schmeckle ate kosher and followed all the laws like the rest of the jews. Paul and his crew did as you suggested and removed those requirements from christianity. Paul also hated women so there was a recision of the sexual laws as well. From sleep with your wife of the opposite sex, to sex is forbidden except to procreate. Now with that sweeping decision you have created a crew of horney pissed off populace who wrecked havoc for many centuries. Now if you want to change that. Put on a clerical collar. Declare yourself a practicing christian and find some followers like Calvin did. thanx, bill Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari? Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep reach me at [link\|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net\|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
Post #286,789 by warmachine 6/11/07 6:05:28 PM Reply	What about other weird stuff? Is all the other weirdness in the Old Testament, such as [link\|http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2021:20-21;&version=31;\|Exodus 21:20-21], discarded as well? That would be a reasonable, theological answer but, if so, it begs the question why Christians still keep it in their holy book. It's just weird shit that's of no use and attracts incorrect criticisms like that website. Surely, at least the covenant can be dumped into an historical archive? I'm just wondering why the obvious isn't done. Matthew Greet Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin? - Mark Renton, Trainspotting.
Post #286,801 by Seamus 6/11/07 7:18:52 PM Reply	Without the link to the OT the early Christian church could be viewed as just another regional sect. The OT is kept as part of the canonical text to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of OT prophecies, but view that the day to day requirements of being a Jew were considered null and void because of the crucifixion and resurrection became the dominant view of the early church. Sort of a PR move to increase the size of the following, because at the time there were more people in that area of the Roman Empire who were associated with the Jews and tried to follow their laws than who wanted to fully convert. There is a lot of dispute about Paul and his influence on the early church, but I don't get the impression he hated women. From what I read he truly believed the Jesus was coming back, so marriage was irrelevant but not bad. It was later church leaders who misread a lot of his writings and promoted the view of women that can be viewed as misogynistic. Paul seems to be a more complex figure than he is usually portrayed as. But, back to your point, from an outsiders perspective, it certainly seems that different variants of the the Christian church pick and choose which parts of the OT to apply and which to update or ignore. This situation doesn't seem like it is going to change anytime soon. Seamus
Post #286,806 by boxley 6/11/07 8:45:13 PM Reply	since slavery was widely practiced until fairly recently in most countries, rules about the treatment of them makes sense. I mean your country has similar laws about mistreating animals dont you? In some parts of the muslim world and in wasp NY households, slavery is still practiced, I believe the muslim rules are also taken from that era so it still has relevance. thanx, bill Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari? Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep reach me at [link\|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net\|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
Post #287,090 by warmachine 6/16/07 6:31:36 AM Reply	A demoted Old Testament? (new thread) Created as new thread #287089 titled [link\|/forums/render/content/show?contentid=287089\|A demoted Old Testament?] Matthew Greet Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin? - Mark Renton, Trainspotting.

Welcome to IWETHEY!