Living Biblically

[tonechaser77]

Just in case you need more to keep you busy here's a list of the 600+....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_commandments Happy readying and following!!

[SteveII]

You're right.  Reading helps.  The only one on your list that applies to you is #4.  Read the whole bible, including the new testament.  Do the things you suggested if you want to live as a Jew under the old covenant, which no longer applies to anyone.

Last I checked, the OT was part of the Bible, hence, "Living Biblically".

No, that would be incorrect. Since the other half of the Bible teaches something entirely different, there is a very clear distinction. To live Biblically, would mean living the life of a NT Christian of 1) Loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul, 2) your neighbor as yourself, and 3) exhibit the "fruits of the spirt" (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control).

[rexbeccarox]

Why? Because you say so? She didn't say she was going to live like a Christian; she said "Biblically".

[SteveII]

Why?  Because you say so?  She didn't say she was going to live like a Christian; she said "Biblically".

No, not because I say so, because there is a name for the documents that contain the list of laws she cherry picked. They are contained in the Torah. This is specifically a Jewish book. If you refer to the Bible, you would be adding a whole bunch of other Jewish books and then 27 more NT books. Since the culmination of the Bible is the NT, living "biblically" would have to include those teachings (which supersede many of the laws in the Torah).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah

[Tonus]

Can she condemn fig trees for not blossoming out of season?

[Crossless2.0]

So, as of July first, I have decided that I need to spend a year living Biblically.

This will involve, but is not limited to:

I will be keeping a slave but I will not beat him
I will not eat shellfish
I will not get a tattoo
I will not lie with a man as I do with other men (It will be known as Beccs' Year of Lesbianism)
I will not eat pig products
I will not associate with women when they are "unclean" (on their periods) - This could lead to a lot of time not talking to myself.
I will not teach men.  My current intern will just have to put his career on hold for a year
I will take disobedient children to the edge of town and stone them to death (the cops have to accept my freedom of religion argument, right?)
I will stone to death anyone working on the Sabbath (See above)


Any other suggestions are welcome.

You don't mean "Biblically" then. You mean according to the OT Jewish ceremonial law, judicial law, and some moral laws (you cherry picked from all three). You might want to start raising farm animals for the annual sacrifices too.

Yes, Beccs, there is no reason for you to botch being an orthodox Jew when -- presto chango! -- you can take cherry picking to new, audacious levels of achievement.  All you have to do is uncritically accept Paul's ramblings, and you can disregard virtually any part of the Hebrew Bible that makes you squeamish or that seems inconvenient, while keeping the stuff that confirms your prejudices.  Talk about a win/win!  With Paul's handy Get-Out-Of-OT-Embarrassment-Free card in your back pocket, you can learn the art of talking out both sides of your mouth: paying lip service to the parent faith of your upstart religion (the religious tradition of your alleged savior no less), while obnoxiously insisting that you are upholding God's real plan and defending the true faith -- especially against those silly Jews who have the chutzpah to think they understand their own prophetic tradition better than the Gentiles.  Because, you know, Old Testament . . .

Who needs ceremonial and judicial law when all you need to know can be condensed to a bumper sticker?  Just read John 3:16 over and over until you flatline see the light.  Then you too can become an expert in the mysteries and glorious plan of the great, if undemonstrated, Yahweh, anger management 12-stepper and former collector of foreskins.

[SteveII]

Yes, Beccs, there is no reason for you to botch being an orthodox Jew when -- presto chango! -- you can take cherry picking to new, audacious levels of achievement.  All you have to do is uncritically accept Paul's ramblings, and you can disregard virtually any part of the Hebrew Bible that makes you squeamish or that seems inconvenient, while keeping the stuff that confirms your prejudices.  Talk about a win/win!  With Paul's handy Get-Out-Of-OT-Embarrassment-Free card in your back pocket, you can learn the art of talking out both sides of your mouth: paying lip service to the parent faith of your upstart religion (the religious tradition of your alleged savior no less), while obnoxiously insisting that you are upholding God's real plan and defending the true faith -- especially against those silly Jews who have the chutzpah to think they understand their own prophetic tradition better than the Gentiles.  Because, you know, Old Testament . . .

Who needs ceremonial and judicial law when all you need to know can be condensed to a bumper sticker?  Just read John 3:16 over and over until you flatline see the light.  Then you too can become an expert in the mysteries and glorious plan of the great, if undemonstrated, Yahweh, anger management 12-stepper and former collector of foreskins.

No, you don't need to do all that to "live biblically". Just act like you 1) Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, 2) your neighbor as yourself, and 3) exhibit the "fruits of the spirit" (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). Pretty much if you do these things, most of the other things follow. 

Matter of fact, if you successfully act out these, you would be behaving better than most Christians. 

[Pyrrho]

Here is a good list from the New Testament:

Don’t Get Married:   1st Corinthians 7:27  NASB
Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
Prayer (not doctors) if You’re Sick:  James 5:14  NASB
Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.
Women Should Shut Up in Church:  1st Corinthians 14:34  NASB
The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak.
The Wealthy Will Be Condemned by God:  James 5:1-5  NASB
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted… Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will… consume your flesh like fire. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
Women: Don’t Dress Up, Fix Your Hair, or Wear Jewelry:  1st Peter 3:3  The Good News Translation
You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you fix your hair, or the jewelry you put on, or the dresses you wear.
Return Runaway Slaves to Their Owners:  Philemon 1:12   The Message
I’m sending (the slave Onesimus) back to you… I wanted in the worst way to keep him here… But I didn’t want to do anything behind your back… Maybe it’s all for the best that you lost him for a while. You’re getting him back now for good—and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother!
Gouge Out Your Eyeball:  Matthew 5:29  New Living Translation
So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away.
Cut Off Your Own Hand:  Matthew 5:30  New Living Translation
And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
Never Swear an Oath:  Matthew 5:34  God’s Word Translation
Don’t swear an oath at all. (puts a new slant on the Pledge of Allegiance)
Don’t Defend Yourself if Attacked:  Matthew 5:39   Amplified Version
But I say to you, Do not resist the evil man [who injures you]; but if anyone strikes you on the right jaw or cheek, turn to him the other one too.
Give Anything You Have to Anyone Who Asks:  Matthew 5:42  Common English Bible
Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you.
Do NOT Pray in Public:  (Matthew 6:6)    Common English Bible
When you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father… in that secret place.
Don’t Save Your Money:  (Matthew 6:19)  New Living Translation
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
Don’t Plan for The Future:  Matthew 6:34  NASB
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.
Do Not Marry a Divorced Woman:  Matthew 5:32  NASB
Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Don’t Wear Nice Clothes:  Matthew 6:28-29  NASB
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you?
Hate Your Family:  Luke 14:26  NASB
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters… he cannot be My disciple.
Give Away EVERYTHING You Own:  Luke 14:33  NASB
So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

http://backyardskeptics.com/wordpress/ne...to-ignore/



As for the Old Testament, the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 5:


17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.


Christians, of course, typically say that Jesus did not mean what he clearly stated there.

[SteveII]

As for the Old Testament, the words of Jesus himself in Matthew 5:


17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.


Christians, of course, typically say that Jesus did not mean what he clearly stated there.

And what does fulfill mean? I would think that is pretty important to understand all the words in a sentence you use to make your point.

[Pyrrho]

Since it is in effect "Till heaven and earth pass," we can be pretty sure it is still in effect.  Of course, I expect you to pretend that Jesus meant nothing by those words, that it is just extra verbiage to be ignored.  That is the way of most Christians, to ignore bits they don't like and pretend that things mean something other than what they plainly say.  Great job trying to weasel out of it so quickly!  I knew it would not be long for someone to do that, and you have not disappointed.