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To: Aussie Dasher

I'm not a Christian, but I do have a question. Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do? Any resources on this? I've always been curious about this aspect of Christianity.


20 posted on 07/12/2006 10:52:33 AM PDT by Mazda3Fan
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To: Mazda3Fan

The portions of the Law specifically identified and explained in thge New Testament, particularly Romans, Galatians and Hebrews.

For example, Hebrews states that we no longer sacrifice lambs, etc as a covering for sin, because Jesus was sacrificed once and for all.

Every part of the Law which no longer binds us as Christians is addressed as such.


29 posted on 07/12/2006 10:55:53 AM PDT by Skooz (Chastity prays for me, piety sings...Modesty hides my thighs in her wings...)
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To: Mazda3Fan

I am being very serious in this response:

Nobody knows the true answer to your question. This is why Christians are charged to search the scriptures and learn for themselves how they are to live. It is also why there are so many denominations and libraries full of books arguing 8 million sides of the issue.


32 posted on 07/12/2006 10:57:31 AM PDT by nhoward14
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To: Mazda3Fan
Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do?

Each denomination has a different answer.

As a general rule, dietary rules and ceremonial practices proscribed in the Old Testament are not followed by most Christians.

33 posted on 07/12/2006 10:57:42 AM PDT by george wythe
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To: Mazda3Fan

All of God's laws still apply, God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

What does not apply is Jewish ceremonial law, animal sacrificies, etc. The purpose of those laws was to point towards Jesus as the Messiah. Once that was done, their purpose was fullfilled and they no longer apply.


39 posted on 07/12/2006 10:59:34 AM PDT by Mom MD
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To: Mazda3Fan

"Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do? Any resources on this?"

Cerimonial laws do not apply. Moral laws do.

You may not have to wash your hands five times, but it's never ok to lie.


45 posted on 07/12/2006 11:01:56 AM PDT by PetroniusMaximus
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To: Mazda3Fan
Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do?

The Torah laws applied to various groups depending on the specific law - some applied to all mankind, some applied only to Israelites, some applied only to Levites, some applied only to male Levites, some only applied to Levites serving as Temple priests and some applied only to the High Priest.

Certain of those laws were contingent on circumstances - the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem, for example - and some are clearly not bound by any timeframe, any set of circumstances or any specific etnnic background or social role.

Those Torah laws which apply to all men for all time were never changed, altered or abolished, nor could they be.

Those universally applicable laws include those regarding the treatment of one's own body, the treatment of one's fellow human beings and the necessity of honoring God.

49 posted on 07/12/2006 11:03:42 AM PDT by wideawake ("The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten." - Calvin Coolidge)
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To: Mazda3Fan
I'm not a Christian, but I do have a question. Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do? Any resources on this? I've always been curious about this aspect of Christianity.

This will be a short course, I recommend you read the New Testament with an eye to that. Paul describes the separation of Christianity's adherance to the OT laws throughout many of his letters in the New Testament, the best being his letter to the Romans.

A dietary aspect of the law was in part decided early on:
Acts 21:25 - As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

The Ten Commandments are still in force, in Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus condensed them down into two fundamental commandments.

There are many others teachings by Jesus which clarified the OT laws. The degree to which we are required to hold to them is debatable on some measures, but by and large it is not too difficult to discern.

59 posted on 07/12/2006 11:09:43 AM PDT by Godzilla (Evil can be defeated when the good are unafraid.)
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To: Mazda3Fan
The easiest way to think about it is to divide the Old Testament law into two pieces: the moral law and the ceremonial law. The moral law are those commands such as "thou shalt no kill", "thou shalt not commit adultery", etc. The ceremonial laws are those that dealt with such things as temple worship, sacrifice, and ceremonial cleanness.

The moral still applies, the ceremonial does not, as all of the ceremonies were fulfilled in Christ's coming (because their purpose in existence was to point to him; for instance, the sacrifices were to indicate the purpose in his coming, to be a sacrifice that would cleanse from sin; the temple was a dim picture of that which is in heaven).
67 posted on 07/12/2006 11:12:15 AM PDT by SeƱor Zorro ("The ability to speak does not make you intelligent"--Qui-Gon Jinn)
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To: Mazda3Fan

I'm not a theologian, but my opinion is that the dietary and ritual laws (washing hands, pork, worship in the Temple, monthly uncleanliness of women, etc) do not apply to Christians, while the ones governing our relationship with our fellow man do.

Care for the poor, for example, does. Thou shalt not steal does also. How, oh how, to reconcile the two?? That is the liberal's dilemman as they do not want to share their own wealth.

Jesus said that that a man was to have one wife:

Matthew 19

3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'[a] 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'[b]? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

7"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

8Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

So I would say sexual immorality: adultery, fornication, sodomy, etc. are still forbidden.

That's my take, anyway.


76 posted on 07/12/2006 11:20:48 AM PDT by chesley (Republicans don't deserve to win, but America does not deserve the Dhimmicrats.)
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To: Mazda3Fan

Jesus never told anyone to stop being Jewish. The Last Supper was a Passover Seder. He was observant to the end.


80 posted on 07/12/2006 11:24:45 AM PDT by massgopguy (massgopguy)
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To: Mazda3Fan

"I'm not a Christian, but I do have a question. Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do? Any resources on this? I've always been curious about this aspect of Christianity."

The laws that Jesus made reference to. Example: When asked what is the greated law? Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,....Love your neighbor as yourself." Matt. 22:37-39. You might say that is only two. What about the other eight? If you recall, the first 3 commandments are about God. The other 7 commandments are about relationship to fellow men.


96 posted on 07/12/2006 11:39:30 AM PDT by encm(ss) (USN Ret.)
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To: Mazda3Fan
"Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do? Any resources on this? I've always been curious about this aspect of Christianity."

That is more a question for liberal Jews than for Christians. Jewish law - stemming from their covenant with God - was meant for the Jews, not for all of mankind.
133 posted on 07/12/2006 12:28:23 PM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: Mazda3Fan
I'm not a Christian, but I do have a question. Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do.

I'm not a Cristian either... but here goes..

"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (Luke 16;31)

159 posted on 07/12/2006 7:28:43 PM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood (LET'S ROLL!)
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To: Mazda3Fan
Which old laws not longer applied after Christ and which ones still do?

Acts 15.

160 posted on 07/12/2006 7:31:11 PM PDT by Raycpa
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To: Mazda3Fan
This is so simple, most people can't even grasp it. So, here it is. When Christ came the law was done away with. In the old Testament you were saved by obeying the law, after Christ, he came to fulfill the law. "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." So simple its hard to believe.
168 posted on 07/12/2006 11:45:57 PM PDT by fish hawk
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