Old vs. New

It seems really odd that the biggest portion of the Bible is kind of irrelevant today. The Old Testament was written as a guide to live by until the New Testament (Jesus/Messiah) arrived. The Old Testament is rich with history, and it definitely possesses lessons to live by...it also contains lessons and laws that are completely irrelevant today.

Have you ever noticed that we like to pick and choose pieces from the Bible to serve our own purposes? I'm sure I did it when I was younger, and in my literal translation period. My sister sure did when she became part of a youth group (cult practically...okay, not practically, but it was a really weird group) that traveled Europe, showering together like inmates, eating prison slop for food and sharing lice, mono, and practically every other communicable disease you can imagine.

She came back convinced that she is a servant of God, and she needs to serve people on earth to...well, I forget why that was. I really was just having fun taking advantage of the few days she was still brainwashed into believing this when she got back from her trip. Every thing I wanted, she provided. If I was thirsty, she'd get me a drink. If I was hungry, she'd get me a snack. I think my abuse of her sweet efforts to serve really woke her out of the manipulative fog she was under, so at least some good came out of my juvenile behavior. ;-)

There are some really cool things in the Old Testament. Leviticus 17:13 - 14: 13 " 'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, 14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off." (NIV)

From a health perspective, we didn't realize the life was in the blood until muuuuch later. In fact, we used to kill people through exsanguination as attempt to heal them. Not realizing that if we removed all their blood, people would die.

I do believe that some of the teachings in the Old Testament seemed to have wisdom behind them. Leviticus 18 spends time talking about how incest isn't such a great idea. I know that seems like a given to us now, but who knows what it was like back then. Now we know there are major complications that can happen if relatives have...relations...

Of course, Leviticus 18 goes on to say that man shouldn't lie with another man, as he would with a woman - that is an abomination. Leviticus 19 goes on to say that it is forbidden to wear clothing made of two different kinds of fabric, followed by a verse that says offering up a ram is the punishment for having sex with a female slave that was promised to another man.

Huh?

Clearly, these were different times, and they needed a different set of rules. I don't know if Leviticus 18:22 says a man shouldn't lie with another man because the idea was to populate the world at the time, or if it was something that was warned against for another reason. All I know is that when it's lumped in with not being allowed to wear a cotton/poly blend, but paying off slave rape with a ram, I'm not giving much credence to it. If we do, we are just choosing to be intolerant.

I don't see us persecuting those who cut their hair on the sides of their head, trim their beards, braid their hair, wear make up or those who get tattoos...these are also forbidden.

We can't pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want to listen to, and ignore the ones we don't. We have to look at the book as a historical document, as well as a living word of God. I was taught that the truths in the Bible will apply to all times, and it's just not the case. Some of it is a history book, some of it was for instruction before the coming of Christ, some of it was the word of men and women, some was prophecy, some parable, and some genealogy.

In order to fully understand the meaning, we need to understand what we are reading and why we are reading it. The Bible should never be used to foster hate or abuse, but it is all too often.

I hope to someday understand why.