How do you feel

[JonDarbyXIII]

Those are commandments that were given for a certain time and for the Israelites. They were to rid the land they were to posses of all the bad influences that would lead them from the living God of creation.... You ignore all the things going on at the time and you ignore the reasoning behind these commandments.

A lot of Christians would contend that not a whole lot has changed--they are still subject to the horrible influences of secularism and unbelief. Are you saying that this is not the case? That's the only thing that I can think of which would make your argument valid. Otherwise, we are left with complete subjectivity as to which passages to follow and which to disregard entirely i.e. "I don't like that verse, so I don't think it applies today."

You cherry pick through the scriptures, no you look up online what others have cherry picked and try to use deceptively these verses....Why don't you read and study the scriptures, that's only proper if you are going to argue what the Bible says.

I can cite the Bible just fine without looking anything up online. I came to atheism by reading the Bible for myself. I am currently reading it in Greek (3rd language, 13th different translation),I have a degree in Biblical Studies, and I have written a book on the subject (I invite everyone, Christian, Atheist, or otherwise to check out theHeathensGuide.com for details!). I don't say this to boast, but only to show you that your constant claims that atheists have not studied the Bible is very much not the case.

The advent of Christ changed these laws, and if you would study scripture you would find these laws were given only to the Israelites, no other peoples of that time were required to live by them.

First, there is nothing in the Old Testament that says these are temporary laws. Yes, this is in a context of the Jews entering and taking the lands from the Canaanites, but all the commands are written in a way that certainly makes it sound like this should be an ongoing things as long as there are heathen nations in proximity (which is definitely still the case). There is, rather, a command in Deuteronomy 12:32 which specifically says that nothing should be added or removed from the Torah. You can argue that this is in reference to the text itself and not necessarily the commands, but if the commands aren't eternal, why is it so important that the record of them be eternal? Deuteronomy 27:26 says that anyone who does not follow the commands is cursed, and Paul cited this in Galatians 3:10. It would seem that if Paul cared enough to cite it, it was valid even beyond the time of the patriarchs.

Furthermore, Jesus actually said that he did not come to abolish the laws of God (the law being a general reference to the Torah--from which came every verse I cited) but as a fulfillment of them. (Matthew 5:17). I understand and am very much aware of the many other verses that say that the law was rendered invalid through the blood of Christ. Acknowledging and pointing out the conflicts is not cherry-picking. I would be just as quick to point out those verses to the Messianic Jew to prove that dietary laws weren't still valid. Cherry-picking is when Christians hold to one position at the expense of verses that clearly state otherwise.

Also I see you didn't try to answer my question, even thought it was meant for someone else, can't you answer it, you took it upon yourself to get involved with this.

I thought the idea of a forum was to have open dialogue and involvement of all, so yes, I enter into conversations when I find them intriguing. As for your question, I answered the one about girls. If there was another question I missed, let me know. I'm happy to answer anything.