Monday, June 16, 2014

Do Christians Pick and Choose Commands in the Bible?

If one would browse through the Bible from Genesis via Exodus, Leviticus, Number...till Revelation, there would hundreds of dos and don'ts. Sometimes one hears comments from the skeptics that Christians pick and choose the commandments of the Bible.  For example, Leviticus 19.19 says, " Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of materials". (NIV) Furthermore the Bible says " Keep the Sabbath holy", but Christians observe the sabbath on Sunday, not Saturday. You take what you like, and you reject what you don't like, goes the argument of the skeptics. 

At face value this is true. Christians don't always follow whatever kind of commandment is given in the Bible, and Christians do not have to follow them. There is no inconsistency in taking some and leaving out some others. This is so because for the Christians command as such is taken to be obeyed whatever is repeated by Jesus Christ and in the New Testament Bible. The Old Testament Bible was given to the Jews. Christians accept the Old Testament as God given Scripture. But Christians interpret and understood the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament. This is the reason why so many commands given in the Old Testament is not followed or need to be followed now. 


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