I'd like to defend the Old Testament [View All]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=214x25931#25939

In the thread above, there are comments that the Old Testament is no longer valid for Christians, that people shouldn't "have their noses stuck in the Old Testament."

I think the Old Testament is a part of the Bible for a very important reason. Who Jesus was for Christianity (in general, not personal interpretations) cannot be understood without the Old Testament, IMHO. For example, what is a messiah, and why were the Jews looking for one? What did they think one would be like, and how was Jesus different from their expectations? Why did God have to send anyone, if he was speaking to the Jews face to face on mountains long before? How did the teachings of the prophets foreshadow those of Jesus, and so on.

For this reason, when the writers of the Gospels went to chronicle the exploits of Jesus, they quoted the Old Testament to prove that Jesus was, in fact, the one who was expected.

There are indeed, a great many horrifying things in the Old Testament, and I agree that the teachings of Christ are the most important thing for Christians, but that is very far away from discarding the Old Testament wholesale. Besides, I expect that the majority of the people to whom the Old Testament really belongs to don't take the bloodshed and horror as serious models to be followed. I haven't seen any posts asking why Jews still use the Old Testament, for that very reason, most likely. Christians should do likewise.

My point is, the horrors of the Old Testament should not be understood as commands to be followed, but at the same time, the Old Testament should not be completely thrown on the trash heap.