is there politics in the old testament? are the laws anti-democratic?why?
81438
if politics is no longer lucrative, the crooks wont want the positions.
321602
Egypt. It's very far from democratic. The government is assigned by the President. You should alter your question to: Is there anything I agree with???!!!!
1172311
I remember in the book of Mat.  Jesus said He came not to abolish the laws etc.  but to fulfill the prophecy.  The Torah was the initial law etc. to be followed and then add the new later after Christ came and spoke.
882317
I agree with you.  I think that politicians prey on the superstitions of the public and try to convince the public that their agenda has a "GODLY" basis.\n\nPeople are pretty vulnerable to this tactic and vote for politicians on this basis but where in the Bible does it ever say that if the majority of the population wants something, it is the right thing to do?\n\nIn the Bible and every religious book, the majority has always been counted on to do the WRONG thing...\n\nThe majority wanted Christ crucified, the majority made fun of Noah building a boat in the desert, the majority (according to the Bible) are going to "HELL" or destruction.  According to the Bible, the minority are considered the "salt of the earth" and the majority are corrupt.\n\nIf we really listened to the Bible instead of picking and choosing the parts that will get a particular person elected, we wouldn't have a democracy at all but a Theocracy (a THEO-CRAZY)  \n\nI don't believe our government should be based on religion or  people's interpretation of any religion at all!  \n\nHow many people believe in Democracy at all?  If people do, then how can they say they are Bible Believing?  The Bible in no instance condones Democracy.  So do we believe in Democracy or the Bible.  (Actually, I choose Democracy but what we have today is not a democracy in the U.S. but a Republic of Corporations.  The "BIBLE" has been twisted to mean that if "GOD" approves of a people, he makes them rich...if he disapproves of them, "HE" makes them poor." Is that scriptural?)\n\nReligious politicians think that "GOD" must love Americans and hate every poor country.  Is that realistic?  Is it even scriptural?  I think not but the general public loves that idea and votes for the politician that they think will make them rich...how twisted!!!
431653
Imagine such an ancient book such as Ezekiel would be able to see the political posturing that is going on today. It may well be. We have to wait and see.
9858
First, we dont call out Bible the 'Old Testament' because we dont believe there is a new one.\n\nHowever, yes, the Orthodox Jewish community still follows the laws you describe above.\n\nBy the way, this means that for roughly 2 weeks each month, a Jewish couple who follow this law will not have sex as an issue between them. It means that for half of each month, they must relate to each other as platonic friends, and this makes the relationship far stronger, and is one reason given for the very low divorce rate throughout the  history of the Jewish People. Only since the Jews have assimilated, become like their non-Jewish neighbors, has the divorce rate risen to the same rate as among their non-Jewish counterparts, but continues to remain low among the orthodox.
559608
You're quite right - and you have to consider how many of these people ahd political agendas of their own to fulfill. If there is any more doubt - how about the fact that the Bible has been editted to include and exclude certain items?
49315
In the Old Testament the elect refers to those that followed God through all the bad things that happened and believed in His promise of the Messiah (Jesus). \nIn the New Testament the elect refer to those that believe in Jesus and have been set apart by God for some specific purpose.
240900
Jesus Christ was to be a role model for us to follow, but as with all laws, the laws of the  old testament had consequences for breaking those laws, which was animal sacrifice. Since Adam by his disobedience to God, inputted the seed of sin in man, it was through the Death of A Good, Perfect Man, The Son of God, that the  penalty of the laws were fulfilled.
215515
Mishk, your question is a good one.  Anti-semitism is as old as the Bible when Esau hated Jacob.  Esau and Jacob are sons of Isaac who was a son of Abraham.  Roman Empire comes from Esau and Jews come from Jacob.  \n\nUnlike the bad rap that Islam is getting today, hatred toward Jews is baseless.  People are mistrusting of Islam today only because of the constant terrorism that occurs, especially 9/11 here in America, whereas through the generations Jews have been scapegoated for no social or political reason other than being successful and contributing enormously to their societies.  Although Hitler did go after other minority groups (homosexuals, disabled, etc.), his Final Solution was disproportionately aimed at eradicating the Jewish Nation.  He was not the first nor will he be the last.  We just celebrated Purim which commemorates G-d's saving us from an evil person named Haman who lived (I forget what year) in the BC era. And today certain Arab groups in Israel are intent on driving the Jews into the Sea.  So as you see Anti-semitism does rear it's ugly head generation after generation.  Thank G-d our faith in G-d is strong and when we stay close to G-d and His Torah we continue to survive as a nation.  \n\nCheck out these sites to give you more insight into this and Judaism in general.  http://www.aish.com/ and http://www.chabad.org/\n\nFeel free to e-mail me if you wish to discuss this further.  I am a religious Jew and have grappled with the same issue as you.\n  \nYour question is excellent!\n\nBest of Luck.
351211
The reason that government officials are sworn in by the bible is because the first set of laws people followed were those of the old and new testament. Therefore, becaue that was our first set of laws, we as people will always be obligated to understand that before we can come up with new laws and guidelines for our nation, we must first have to remember the laws and guidelines that were set in the Holy Bible.
334960
There really isn't a parallel between religion and law.  If you think back to some of the original law codes (Hammurabi and such) these were more political and social laws rather than religious laws.\n\nNow, some religious books (Torah/Old Testament) do contain what amounts to social codes.  These are unique to the societies they originated in.  For example, rabbis were the more educated members of ancient Hebrew societies, so they recorded the laws.\n\nHowever, laws have a slightly different origin and purpose than religious codes.   Both are forms of social control, but law has its purpose and origins in keeping society orderly and keeping the power centered in the hands of the king.  We like to think that law has evolved to a point where the function of the law is to uphold justice and human rights.  Now, religion on the other hand, originated as humankind's experience of the divine.  Religion has a stake in society's stability, but, it's purpose is (or should be, at least) to bring a certain divinity's message to the people, to bring people closer to the divine.  The paths of law and religion have crossed, sometimes come together (when you have religion as law, that is a very bad thing.  As in, people get killed bad thing), and sometimes have been in opposition.\n\nAtheists, at least in the US, are protected by secular law and the Bill of Rights.  That is all that any US citizen needs.  Since we do not live in a theocracy, there is no need for protection from any one religion.\n\nAnd any US citizen should be incredibly grateful, and protective, of that.
361864
I believe this, but it's hard in a world where the jewish peoples don't believe in the new testament."But believe what you want to, that's what freedom is all about".They only believe the old where moses said basically an eye for an eye.The new testament, Jesus fulfilling the prophecies of the old is about love and forgiveness, and we need alot more of it.So much of our country reminds me of Rome just before it fell,the rich senators, our global reach (not to spread piece either) if our leader and lawmakers practiced this we wouldn't be hated so.We need to spend some of our money on peace,it would go alot further to help the world.THOU SHALT LOVE THY LORDTHY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART,AND WITH ALLTHEY SOUL AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH: THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.THERE IS NONE OTHER COMMANDMENT GREATER THAN THESE. Mark 12:30-31. Peace
850201
The modern politician has a number of gods depending on what he deems necessary at any given time:\n\n-the god of votes!\n-the god of money wars\n-the god of populism \n-the god of mass delusions\n-the god of political power\n\nand so on...\n\nI doubt politicians have rarely anything to do with religion per se.
979596
In essence this is true, although you may want to examine what you mean by politicians.\n\nIn the early Christian times, there were no elected officials. There were various selection processes for leaders of the church. Some of them were appointed by the government leaders, others locally selected. As the church's influence grew, the powerful wanted to have some say in its governance.\n\nThe following were texts that competed for inclusion into the New Testament:\n\n    * Gospel of Thomas\n    * Epistle of Barnabas\n    * 3rd Corinthians\n\nParts of the New Testament (Ephesians, Colossians, 2nd Thessalonians, Hebrews and Revelation) were included despite controversy over their authorship.\n\n"The Birth of Christianity: Discovering What Happened in the Years Immediately After the Execution of Jesus" by John Dominic Crossan is an excellent resource for this era.
964553
There are several different branches of Judaism, including Reform, Conservative, Orthadox, Ultra-Orthadox and Reconstructionist. There will be many differences between each of those, especially in terms of adherence to the 613 mitzvot (commandments), but I'll try to hit the points of agreement:\n\n1. A belief in one diety\n2. A common identity rooted in the stories of the Torah (Old Testament)\n3. A code of ethics known as mitzvot that came from G-d\n4. The belief that G-d gave makind the Torah, in which the guidelines for living an upright lift\n\nA famous story says that a well-known Rabbi known as Hillel was asked your very question by a Roman. In fact, the Roman said that he would only follow a religion that could be explained while the teacher stood on one foot. So, lifting one foot, Hillel said, "What is hateful to you, do not do to others. The rest is commentary. Go and study."
59204
The New Testament was not meant to be a new law book for us to be put under after being freed from the burden of the old law book. Most Christians say unless your spouse commits adultery, you're stuck with them. If they're an ax murderer, a gang banger, satanic high priest, or as I read on this site recently, a soon to be trans-sexual, thats too bad. As long as they haven't cheated on you. Didn't Jesus rebuke the pharisees on several occasions for putting the written code above love and compassion? And didn't Paul say that God called His children to live in peace? Didn't the Lord command us to judge rightly?\n\nLegally speaking, in God's eyes, there is no such thing as divorce. In fact, in His eyes your spouse isn't the first person you walk down the aisle with, it is the first person you sleep with. Study it for yourself in the Old Testament. By this standard I wonder how many of us are "legally" married.\n\nIn the Old Testament(I forgot exactly where) there was a mass divorce because a lot of the Israelites married pagan women against God's express prohibition against it. These women did not commit adultery and God still hated divorce, but this mass divorce was a neccessary evil. Also, in the Law, the remedy for an unfaithful spouse was stoning not divorce. \n\nChristians are using the Bible as a rule book and completely missing the deep and beautiful spiritual truths it contains just like the Jews did with the Torah. They're reading it with carnal rather than spiritual eyes. God's marriage laws were meant to protect the innocent.\n\nThat all being said, remember that God does hate divorce and so should you.\n\nWalk in LOVE not law.