squashed together the pages of one of my bibles measures 315mm
the Old Testament alone accounts for 270mm of that width
the remainder is the New testament plus concordance and a few maps
85% of this bible, the old Testament was not written for Christians.
Was not written for me.
I pay little or no attention to it.
Jesus-God said 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."
Why should I waste my time with it?, It was fully fulfilled by the finished work of my lord and saviour Jesus the Christ. Why complicate my life, better to keep-it-simple-stupid.
My Salvation has nothing to do with the words written in the old testament.
How would King Solomon writing poetry about his wife's boobies have any reference to me, or my relationship with my God? What nonsense to suggest that it would.
When Jesus my saviour was hanging on that cross, one of the two being crucified along side him, was empathetic and requested to be remembered by Jesus when he entered His kingdom. "Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42)
Jesus's response was not "Do you know your the scriptures" ?
was not "have you read the Talmud ?,
was not Have you read the Torah ?
not at all. Clearly for what was about to be said, knowledge of scriptures was not required.
What Jesus said to him was "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise"
What you read in this epistle are the opinions of Gerard (Jerry) the woodturner and painter.
I do not always agree with the opinions of other epistle writers, found mainly in what is known as the New Testament.
but I do agree with Paul-the-Pharisee [Acts 23:6],
{aka Paul-the-Sinner [1 Tim 1:15] }
{aka Paul the self styled apostle [Rom 1:1]}, regarding the work of Christ as completed & finished;
to return to the old law of the Talmud or Torah, The Old Testament As the Free Presbyterians and other legalist sects do, in their preaching of the 10 old Pre-Christ finished work, Commandments; was to, as much say 'Jesus Died in vain'. (see Galatians Chapter 2)
To the Christians there are Jesus-God given 2 commandments not 10.
And if we obey only 1, "Love your neighbour" we have obeyed both.
if we love our neighbour! we don't steal from him, therefore we don't need a commandment saying "thou shalt not steal" . Early cave dwelling pre Christian-era man might have needed to be told not to steal from others, but modern educated Christians don't need that.
some so-called Christians say that its ok to beat children, because it says so in the bible.
It does.
Proverbs 13:24 "He that spareth his rod, hateth his son. but he that loveth him, chasteneth him betimes.
Thing is though, neither Jesus, Jesus's father, nor Jesus's sister the Holy-Spirit said
these words, yet so-called christians will blaspheme and call them the
"word of God"
These opinions are the words of a sinful man, they are not the words of a sinless God, the man who wrote these words is dead and is dust by now, but our God Liveth.
