So, in my Old Testament I class at school the mid-term is going to be on Tuesday of next week. You must be wondering why I am blogging and not studying. Well my problem is that I want to prepare my self for the essay through by writing a practice essay. However, my mind is a blank as to where I should start so I think I'll do a little free writing for 10 minutes, Yikes! A long blog, I know but I am sure you have read longer!!
OK, so the potential essay questions is "Compare and contrast the legalistic and evangelical view of the law. Note: My prof. will be looking for the background and biblical basis and the points above."
What does evangelical mean? Well, evangelical is a term used by Christians that defines how certain church congregations put a lot of emphasis on the importance of a relationship with God and hold to the authority of Scripture. This is different from the "mainline" churches that hold more to the sacraments and ritualst like infant baptism.
What is the law? Well the Law refers to the Torah or the Pentateuch in the Bible. The Pentateuch is the first 5 books of the Bible that record the beginnings of the Earth; the entrance of sin, death and suffering into the world; and the beginnings of the nation of Israel. The latter half of the Book of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy contain the constitution of ancient Israel. This law describes how the nation can come to a holy God and live holy lives.
Now because this is a national constitution, there is a little of a legalistic approach to the law. However, because times of changed and Jesus has come to the world, cerain laws like animal sacrifices are no longer needed. This is because Jesus' sacrifice took care of sin once and for all, something that was foreshadowed by animal sacrifice in order to atone for sin.
In New Testament times, the Pharisees and religious leaders were taking a legalistic approach to the law that and were undermining its purpose. For example they were using it as a means to earn God's favor, when their Scriptures say that people already have it. Or they were telling the people to distance themselves from the Gentiles (non-Israelites) when Israel was called to be a light to all of the nations.
Now I'm sure you guys have seen people who take a legalistic view of the law and are most likely to steer clear from them. I cannot help but feel sorry for them. Why? Because the law viewed from a legalistic approach can be a very big burden to carry.
People who view the law legalisticly are basically trying to earn their salvation, or "salvation by works" according to evangelicals. Through this they can be very self-centered and judgmental. What this breeds is anger inside the individual and the person is inslaved by the rules. This kind of living is based on fear and can produce 0 self worth and low self-esteem. It also makes God seem very distant because no matter what we do we can never meet His standards on our own.
Now that I have listed the problems with the legalistic view of the law, how should an Evangelical Christian view it? Well, one of things the law does do is convict us of our sin. The law shows that on our own, we cannot live up to His standards. By doing that it points us to Christ because through Him we can come to God and be whole again. Just like Paul in Galatians 3:24 said, "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith."
The law also provides the guidelines for Christian living and Civil Law. Civil law Paul talks about in Romans 13-16 when he discusses how Christians should obey the laws of the government so that we can live peacefully. The only exception to that is if it disobeys God's Word, which are found in both the Old and the New Testaments. It also guides in everyday life because the law provides all the basics on what says in and what actions God says go against His character, which includes love and holiness.
Few, that's my 2cent speech!!! I like it but now how do I put it into an essay... That is an excellent question...
You know what is really annoying about technology? Is that it can be very impersonal. That goes from how people communicate to how we even fight wars.
What does technology have to do with Old Testament Law Codes? Nothing. But I'm moving on from that so no more questions about the change in subject!
My biggest peeve is e-mail because one little email be interpetted in so many different ways that what was originally intended as polite can cause someone to declare waron you and everyone has to brace themselves for the worst! It's similar when it comes to fighting wars. Before the saying was, "Don't fire until you see the whites of his eyes!" Now, if you see the whites of his or her eyes on the screen and your 1000s of kilometers away it doesn't matter because you can shoot anyway. Or drop a bomb on the person. Or insult them through the internet. Or through many other means.
Why am I yelling about this? Because I just went through a family feud that was based on e-mail and based on miscommunication through e-mail. Did I or any of the members insult anybody? No. Did we intend harm? No. Just one of us misread an email and then WHAM!! WWIII had begun...I cannot wait til e-mail and stuff can be not so impersonal and there will be no need for misinterpretation. It would be nice if verbal communication (What I say) is not the only thing I have in a conversation to work with. I am good with verbal and para-verbal (How I say it) communication but because of my non-verbal learning disability my non-verbal (body language) interpretation skills need some work. Although I think I am getting better at it though!
OK, I am done my rant...And to end, here is a little picture to express my anger about the impersonalness of email and technological superiority:
As quoted by Darth Vader, "I find your lack of faith disturbing!"
Yeah I'm a fan of Darth Vader. Why? Because if he told that he was disturbed by the miscommunincation that happens so often with email the people who invented it would quickly becoming up with ways to fix it!! Well, OK they already have through webcams and stuff but still b/c my computer's webcam lacks sound capturing devices I will have to find an alternative to it!!
OK, I'm done. Bye, bye!!
...Who am I saying good bye? No one in particular, so shut up and accept my politeness while it lasts!!
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