The Hebrew Scriptures (AKA the Old Testament) - How Important Is It?

[2timothy316]

We as Jehovah's Witnesses are currently reading the book of Leviticus worldwide. Which contains much of the Mosaic Law and its importance to our understanding of God's will. My wife the other day, who was raised baptist, made a comment to me how upset she was that she was never taught anything from or about the Hebrew Scriptures growing up. She is amazed at the world's lack of knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Are the Hebrew Scriptures important?

[JehovahsWitness]

I hope that the part that is factually inaccurate is that you genuinely believe that slavery isn't blameworthy.

Your hopes are irrelevant; you cannot "hope" a fact into being. I do not come here to debate people's personal hopes and feelings. One is free to share one's hope dreams and beliefs but they do not constitute evidence in debate.

Now, let us return to the subject of debate.





JW

[Revelations won]

Dear JW's

I do not think it is fair to assert the the OT or the NT condones slavery. I think a more complete understanding is that one should sustain and uphold the law of the land (country where laws are enacted ) In other words, we should honor, obey and live within the respective laws of each nation. Having said that, if one does not approve of any given law, then one should seek to elect officers of that country who have integrity to make just laws in a peaceable and lawful manner.

My position is that "We believe ALL that God has revealed, ALL that he does now reveal, and that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

The big problem is that so very many are ignorant and do not believe ALL that he has revealed. The other big problem is that many may believe, but lack the exercise of faith to keep the commandment that God has revealed.

I ask the question: wherein do the scriptures permit anyone to give private interpretations to the doctrines or prophesies of the scriptures?

Another point to consider is that after Christ's resurrection is that he came and taught many things unto the remaining Apostles for 40 days.

We do not and cannot know what those important teachings were, because they were not recorded in the Bible. So these great and important words are lost to us because most have placed a Gag order upon the Lord.

I might ask the question, "what right does anyone have to place a Gag order on the Lord God of ISRAEL?


Kind regards,
RW

[2timothy316]

[Replying to Miles in post #6]
Are you a southern white person speaking for yourself or are you trying to speak behalf of all southern white people?

Good grief!

I'm a "northern white person" speaking about what the bible says, and what historians have told us:

1) The Bible condones slavery

2) Southerns who had the inclination and wherewithal to own slaves morally justified it by using passages from the Bible.


.

Is that what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you? Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT? Speak for yourself as that 'northern white person', let the 'southern white person' speak for themselves if they wish.

[Miles]

[Replying to Miles in post #6]
Are you a southern white person speaking for yourself or are you trying to speak behalf of all southern white people?

Good grief!

I'm a "northern white person" speaking about what the bible says, and what historians have told us:

1) The Bible condones slavery

2) Southerns who had the inclination and wherewithal to own slaves morally justified it by using passages from the Bible.


.

Is that what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you? Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT? Speak for yourself as that 'northern white person', let the 'southern white person' speak for themselves if they wish.

To take a step back, if you will. If you note in the post you're so concerned with, I wasn't speaking of present-day southern whites, but those in that past. "Were" should be the tip off.

"Well they were exceedingly important to Southern whites because they gave them permission to enslave blacks."

_________________________

were
/wər/
verb
second person singular past, plural past, and past subjunctive of be.

_________________________

and what southern whites in the past do you think I had in mind? How..... about..... slave owners. Sheesh! Do you need a picture?


AND, why would you think that just because I cite something, that its source must have some particular importance beyond what I cite?

AND, just where does your knee-jerk reaction to defend southern whites come from anyway? (Don't really care, but simply want to put it into perspective.)


.

[2timothy316]

[Replying to Miles in post #6]
Are you a southern white person speaking for yourself or are you trying to speak behalf of all southern white people?

Good grief!

I'm a "northern white person" speaking about what the bible says, and what historians have told us:

1) The Bible condones slavery

2) Southerns who had the inclination and wherewithal to own slaves morally justified it by using passages from the Bible.


.

Is that what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you? Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT? Speak for yourself as that 'northern white person', let the 'southern white person' speak for themselves if they wish.

To take a step back, if you will. If you note in the post you're so concerned with, I wasn't speaking of present-day southern whites, but those in that past. "Were" should be the tip off.

"Well they were exceedingly important to Southern whites because they gave them permission to enslave blacks."

Are you even reading my questions? I'll post them again.

Is that what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you? Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT?

_________________________

were
/wər/
verb
second person singular past, plural past, and past subjunctive of be.

_________________________

and what southern whites in the past do you think I had in mind? How..... about..... slave owners. Sheesh! Do you need a picture?


AND, why would you think that just because I cite something that its source must have some particular importance beyond what I cite?

AND, just where does your knee-jerk reaction to defend southern whites come from anyway? (Don't really care, but simply want to put it into perspective.)


.

I cannot find the answer to my questions in this post. I have moved on and asked the following questions directed at you personally.
Is [the use of the OT] what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you? Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT?

[Miles]

Is [the use of the OT] what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you?

Other than being part of the Bible whose verses may raise issues, I don't really care about it.

Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT?

The importance of the OT only rests in those who give it credibility. I do not, although, I am willing to discuss it if I find the claims it makes, or claims others make for it, interesting.


.

[2timothy316]

Is [the use of the OT] what makes the Hebrew Scriptures important to you or is that the why the Hebrew Scriptures are not important to you?

Other than being part of the Bible whose verses may raise issues, I don't really care about it.

Did the use of the Hebrew Scriptures ruin in your mind the importance of the OT?

The importance of the OT only rests in those who give it credibility. I do not, although, I am willing to discuss it if I find the claims it makes, or claims others make for it, interesting.


.

Cool. Then your answer is "I don't really care about it". Then it is safe to ignore you feelings about it, since you don't care about it. Thanks for your input.

[Miles]

Cool. Then your answer is "I don't really care about it".

"Other than being part of the Bible whose verses may raise issues."

Then it is safe to ignore you feelings about it, since you don't care about it.

Believe me, it's safe to ignore any of my feelings. I posses no supernatural powers that I might come to bear down upon you.


.

[Overcomer]

Here's what Martin Luther had to say about it:

"There are some who have little regard for the Old Testament. They think of it as a book that was given to the Jewish people only and is now out of date . . . . But Christ says in John 5 (that we are to) search the Scriptures, for it is they that bear witness to (him)."

And they do. Jesus is all through the Old Testament. But it takes a figural reading of the O.T. to see this. A figural interpretation is defined as "a connection between two events or persons in such a way that the first signifies not only itself but also the second, while the second involves and fulfills the first."

So what does this mean with regard to Jesus in the O.T.? Richard Hays, in his book Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels, notes that there is a difference between prediction and prefiguration. What we see in the Old Testament is a prefiguration of Christ. We only recognize him there when we look at it through the lens of the cross.

In other words, we only understand the correspondence between the first part AFTER the second part has taken place. This means that, only when we have grasped an understanding of who Jesus is, what he did and why he did it can we fully understand the Old Testament. Both the New Testament and the Old Testament receive deeper meaning when we read them both as a unit because they ARE a unit, informing each other, allowing us to find deeper meaning in each in the process.

[Revelations won]

To whom it may concern,

Some had offered private interpretations that the Old Testament is obsolete....

I Find that position very amusing in light of the fact that THE APOSTLES AND EVEN CHRIST HIMSELF HAVE QUOTED EXTENSIVELY FROM THE Old Testament.

Kind regards,
RW