[PaulaB]

The Old Testament deals with specific instances having to do with Israel and its enemies

And the reason they were written and lasted through the ages??? For Israel still or for God to help us learn from their mistakes and do what he says ...(I am not saying PR knows) I disagree with people who think the Old Testament is just for Israel...

[Conservative til I die]

And the reason they were written and lasted through the ages??? For Israel still or for God to help us learn from their mistakes and do what he says ...(I am not saying PR knows) I disagree with people who think the Old Testament is just for Israel...

So because God commanded Israel (speficially) to strike its (specific) enemies at the (specific) time of the Old Testament, that means we can just apply it to our specific cause in the present? So can I go around attempting to kill my son (like Abraham) or cheating my brother out of his birthright (like Jacob) or bringing walls down upon my enemies (like Samson)? I will listen when God Himself comes down and commands George W Bush to destroy Hugo Chavez. Until then, I will dismiss it as Republican partisans trying to hijack Christianity (and Judaism) to suit their own military and political objectives.