http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/oldtestament/ en-us Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:05:19 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2037909/posts The religious left of this country seems to delight in mocking the laws of the Old Testament and in making fun of anyone who thinks that these laws should be regarded as part of the inspired word of God. It's amazing how often their sneering attempts at humor simply ignore long-established Christian ideas on how to study the Old Testament and how to apply it to our lives. Jesus and the apostles themselves emphasized the importance of the Hebrew scriptures. Jesus told his followers that he hadn't come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. The... Aberdeen American News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2037909/posts#comment Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:05:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020910/posts American political scientist and fierce critic of Israel, Prof. Norman Finkelstein, was denied entry to Israel and deported from the country early Saturday morning. Officials said that the decision to deport Finkelstein was connected to his anti-Zionist opinions and fierce public criticism of Israel around the world. Finkelstein landed at Ben-Gurion International Airport at 2 a.m. Friday morning and was immediately taken for questioning by the Immigration Authority and the Interior Ministry. He arrived in Israel from Europe, where he was on a speaking tour. According to his Web site, his last talk was at the University of Amsterdam. His... jpost.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2020910/posts#comment Sun, 25 May 2008 02:10:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953044/posts OTC – Old Testament Challenge Sources: Old Testament Challenge 1 – Creating a New Community Discussion Guide By John Ortberg with Kevin & Sherry Harney On line links: Northwoods Community Church http://www.nwoods.org/storyWithChart.asp?storyid=393 Willow Creek Church http://www.willowcreek.com/resources/courses/otc/ Charlie Dean’s Blog http://charliedean.wordpress.com/ Part 1 – Genesis through Deuteronomy – Life-Changing Stories From the Pentateuch This series is being covered by Northwoods Community Church in Peoria Illinois. I’ll transcribe the messages and add material from the small group discussion guide. Message 1 – 9/5/2007 – Charlie Dean “God’s Greatest Dream” See the links for resources, the Reading Guide and the Discussion Guide .... My sermon notes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953044/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jan 2008 18:18:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1944328/posts At a time when some voters are asking how the religious views of candidates will shape their policies, a professor’s discovery of how little tax the biggest landowners in her state paid to finance the government has prompted some other legal scholars to scour religious texts to explore the moral basis of tax and spending policies. The professor, Susan Pace Hamill, is an expert at tax avoidance for small businesses and teaches at the University of Alabama Law School. She also holds a degree in divinity from a conservative evangelical seminary, where her master’s thesis explored how Alabama’s tax-and-spend policies... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1944328/posts#comment Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:24:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1930473/posts A few weeks ago I attended the annual dinner of the National Bible Association, which admirably seeks to promote the reading of the Bible across the United States. I was seated at a table with other Orthodox rabbis, one of whom had kindly invited me. Things did not go smoothly. One of the honorees was a Jewish-born Christian chaplain from the armed forces who spoke of his conversion away from Judaism and how he had chosen Jesus as his personal Messiah. Fair enough. People are free to believe what they want and, sadly, there are Jews who, sometimes out of... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1930473/posts#comment Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:22:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1901734/posts The time period between the Old and New Testaments is a blank in our scriptures, yet those 400 years were a very significant period in the Holy Land. In many respects the Holy Land in that era resembled a military chessboard on which two important Greek dynasties, the Seleucids of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt, fought for control after the death of Alexander the Great. When the dust settled around 200 B.C., the Seleucids, under the leadership of Antiochus III, were the victors. The fundamental cultural and religious differences between these Greeks and their Jewish subjects eventually led to... Ensign http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1901734/posts#comment Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:27:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863897/posts Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent Last Updated: 7:33pm BST 10/07/2007 The sound of unbridled joy seldom breaks the quiet of the British Museum's great Arched Room, which holds its collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets, dating back 5,000 years. But Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, let out such a cry last Thursday. He had made what has been called the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years, a discovery that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact. Searching for Babylonian financial... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863897/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:48:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1792209/posts The Septuagint Old Testament Translation verses the Jamnian (Palestinian) and Massoretic Old Testament translations Is the Catholic Old Testament Accurate? Why is it different from the Jewish Old Testament and Protestant translations? The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament formulated by the 72 best Hebrew scholars using the oldest and most perfect scrolls of sacred scripture circa 250BC, was used universally by Jews at the time Jesus preached the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. It was the principal scriptural translation that Jesus and the Apostles used (probably along with its Aramaic translations) in referring to Old Testament passages.... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1792209/posts#comment Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:52:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1787508/posts DID THE OLD TESTAMENT HAVE JUST ONE AUTHOR? Discovering the First Evidence of "DNA" in the Bible What kind of evidence might support the hypothesis that the entire Old Testament had a single author? In this article, we will look at a phenomenon that at first appeared small, but then expanded into a sprawling, mind-boggling mega-structure of codes contained in an inconceivably small set of Hebrew letters that threads its way throughout the entire Old Testament. In past Bible code investigations, we have been working with two dimensional matrices (like a crossword puzzle array or an expanded Scrabble board),... BIBLE CODE DIGEST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1787508/posts#comment Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:14:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1763356/posts SO, WHAT IS THE GREEK TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?The questions, probabilities, possibilities, problems and use related to the imaginary Septuagint proposed by individuals such as Karen Jobes, Ph.D., Moises Silva, Ph.D., Henry Barclay Swete, D.D., Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton, and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) have been answered by men in the Dean Burgon Society as well as Dean Burgon himself. In addition, what is so appallingly apparent in the liberal’s dialogue is the paucity of discussion of the Received or Traditional Greek and the Masoretic Text by name. They skirt the issue by glancing comments about... The Dean Burgon Society http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1763356/posts#comment Sat, 6 Jan 2007 15:13:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1746461/posts Every Christian wrestles with the question, how does the Old Testament law relate to my life? Is the Old Testament law irrelevant to Christians or is there some sense in which we are still bound by portions of it? As the heresy of antinomianism becomes ever more pervasive in our culture, the need to answer these questions grows increasingly urgent. The Reformation was founded on grace and not upon law. Yet the law of God was not repudiated by the Reformers. John Calvin, for example, wrote what has become known as the “Threefold Use of the Law” in order to... Monrgism.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1746461/posts#comment Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:04:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1673813/posts ...is to fetishize the concept of "peace." This comes from what I consider to be the theological error of obsessing over the peace and love messages of the New Testament, while forgetting that the justice-heavy Old Testament even exists. (This error isn't made by all Christians, just some.) I am by no means a Bible scholar, but I do know that the Old Testament (or Hebrew Scripture), with its often juridical tone, offers us a profound and valuable way to understand concepts of Justice. Among other things, it gave us the Law. The New Testament brought us a message of... ModernConservative.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1673813/posts#comment Fri, 28 Jul 2006 16:00:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1087478/posts 'Silver scrolls' are oldest O.T. scripture, archaeologist says Feb 27, 2004 By Gary D. Myers Significant scrollGabriel Barkay, in silhouette, shows a picture of how one of the silver scrolls looked shortly after it was removed from the tomb at Ketef Hinnom. Scholars determined that the scrolls were inscribed with the ‘priestly blessing’ found in Numbers 6:24-26. Photo by Gary D. Myers NEW ORLEANS (BP)--While excavating a burial tomb near Jerusalem in 1979, Gabriel Barkay uncovered the oldest known copy of Old Testament scripture. The priestly blessing, recorded in Numbers 6:24-26, was discovered on two small silver scrolls dated to... BP News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1087478/posts#comment Sat, 28 Feb 2004 20:26:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1585933/posts Why do Catholics call Mary the Ark of the New Covenant? Answering that question will take us on a journey through the Old and New Testaments.For example, Luke wove some marvelous things into his Gospel that only a knowledgeable Jew would have understood — a Jew who knew Jewish Scripture and had eyes to see and ears to hear. One of the things he would have understood is typology. So what is typology? We all know that the Old Testament is full of stories, people, and historical events. A type is a person, thing, or event in the Old Testament... Catholic Culture http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1585933/posts#comment Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:29:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1521346/posts People don't talk much about the deuterocanon these days. The folks who do are mostly Christians, and they usually fall into two general groupings: Catholics — who usually don't know their Bibles very well and, therefore, don't know much about the deuterocanonical books, and Protestants — who may know their Bibles a bit better, though their Bibles don't have the deuterocanonical books in them anyway, so they don't know anything about them either. With the stage thus set for informed ecumenical dialogue, it's no wonder most people think the deuterocanon is some sort of particle weapon recently perfected by... Catholic Educators http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1521346/posts#comment Sun, 13 Nov 2005 20:46:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1570035/posts The theme of the Bible is the kingdom of God. That is where the biblical account both starts and finishes. Salvation is the means by which the sovereign God brings sinful people into that kingdom as its willing and acceptable subjects. When Jesus began His preaching, He declared that the kingdom of God was "at hand." The term "kingdom of God" is not an Old Testament one, but the concept is. Clearly, Jesus' hearers had some concept of "kingdom" which rested on their Old Testament upbringing, and they would have recognized Jesus' words as a claim that the hope or... Moore Theological College http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1570035/posts#comment Thu, 2 Feb 2006 13:13:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1553982/posts Scientist compares Moses to Hitler, calls New Testament 'sado-masochistic doctrine'Controversial scientist and evolutionist Richard Dawkins, dubbed "Darwin's Rottweiler," calls religion a "virus" and faith-based education "child abuse" in a two-part series he wrote and appears in that begins airing on the UK's Channel 4, beginning tomorrow evening. Entitled "Root of All Evil?," the series features the atheist Dawkins visiting Lourdes, France, Colorado Springs, Colo., the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem and a British religious school, using each of the venues to argue religion subverts reason. In "The God Delusion," the first film in the series, Dawkins targets Catholicism at the pilgrimage... WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1553982/posts#comment Sun, 8 Jan 2006 06:26:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1544019/posts Some of the following points (see comment below) are just a sarcastic reference to old religious practices. However, it is difficult for me to square the Bible's tolerance for slavery and violence with what it is supposed to be: a foundation for Judaism and Christianity (true religions of peace). Why does the Bible simply regulate slavery instead of coming out against this clear evil? And why does it prescribe such draconian measures (like stoning) for infractions against the Faith? Almost sounds... Islamic. You can't claim homosexuality is wrong with Biblical verses then ignore the Bible's tacit endorsement of slavery. How... Snopes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1544019/posts#comment Tue, 20 Dec 2005 16:21:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1497529/posts Israel is the major topic of the Bible. The word “Israel” occurs 2,565 times in 2,293 verses. More than enough prophecies have already been fulfilled in Israel’s unique history to prove that “the God of Israel” (203 times) is the true God. In Zechariah 12:2-3, He declares: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces,... TheBereanCall.Org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1497529/posts#comment Thu, 6 Oct 2005 08:44:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1497496/posts POPE HIT THE MARK: AT ROOT OF CATHOLIC PROBLEMS IS LACK OF BIBLICAL SPIRITUALITYHe could not have hit it more squarely on the head. Pope Benedict XVI, toiling quietly, with little of the visibility enjoyed by his predecessor, nonetheless was giving hints that he is doing what he always has, what he is used to doing, what he did for a quarter of a century as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger: working behind the scenes to hold the world's most important institution together, and he is starting where it must start, where it needs to start, where so many of the problems... SpiritDaily.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1497496/posts#comment Thu, 6 Oct 2005 06:05:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1421707/posts One of the truly astounding prophecies of the Bible is found in the last verse of Isaiah 44, together with chapter 45:1ff, (an unfortunate chapter break). It has to do with Cyrus, king of Persia. According to the historian Herodotus (i.46), Cyrus was the son of Cambyses I. He came to the Persian throne in 559 B.C. Nine years later he conquered the Medes, thus unifying the kingdoms of the Medes and the Persians. Cyrus is mentioned some 23 times in the literature of the Old Testament. Isaiah refers to Cyrus as Jehovah’s “shepherd,” the Lord’s “anointed,” who was providentially... Christian Coutier http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1421707/posts#comment Mon, 13 Jun 2005 04:42:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1414949/posts The Book of Judges: The Israelite Tribal Federation and Its Discontents Daniel J. Elazar The study of the Bible as a political teaching has undergone a considerable revival in the past decades. One need only consult the works of Wildavsky,1 Brams,2 Walzer,3 and the materials published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs group in the Jewish Political Studies Review4 to get a good sense of the scope of this rediscovery of biblical teachings. While the Bible never ceased to be a source of political teaching, after the American Revolution it was pushed out of the mainstream of Western Civilization.... Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1414949/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jun 2005 08:05:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1415335/posts The Book of Joshua as a Political Classic Daniel J. Elazar The argument of this paper is that the Book of Joshua is a classic of political thought, that can be and should be read as a coherent whole, in fact, as a major statement of the classic political world view of the Bible. For political science, it is the first classic exposition of federal republicanism.1 While the themes it emphasizes are derived from the Torah itself, the Torah combines them with other elements. In Joshua, the federal republican character of the Israelite edah (lit: congregation or assembly -- the... Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1415335/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jun 2005 21:36:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1412950/posts Judaism’s Sexual Revolution: Why Judaism (and then Christianity) Rejected Homosexuality    DENNIS PRAGER When Judaism demanded that all sexual activity be channeled into marriage, it changed the world. The Torah's prohibition of non-marital sex quite simply made the creation of Western civilization possible. Societies that did not place boundaries around sexuality were stymied in their development. The subsequent dominance of the Western world can largely be attributed to the sexual revolution initiated by Judaism and later carried forward by Christianity.This revolution consisted of forcing the sexual genie into the marital bottle. It ensured that sex no longer dominated society, heightened... Catholic Education http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1412950/posts#comment Mon, 30 May 2005 01:21:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1371594/posts “Major Scientific Discoveries foreshadowed in the Old Testament” Author: Terry Leon Dashner of Broken Arrow, OK The bubonic plague killed one half of the population of England. Some entire villages were destroyed by the disease. However, it was evident for all to see that the Jewish people were escaping the plaque. Why did they escape? Because some 3000 years before bacteria was discovered, the Creator gave instructions which are recorded in the Old Testament book of Leviticus that prevent the spread of communicable disease. Those instructions require strict cleanliness and quarantines, and cleansing following contact with the sick or the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1371594/posts#comment Sun, 27 Mar 2005 04:15:44 GMT