I'd rather hoped that someone more knowledgeable in Judaic theology would
deal with this, but here goes:
> There are other offenses you omitted, such as adultery. I'm not a
> biblical scholar, but let me say a few things. For one, homosexuality is
> not only condemned in the Old but also the New Testament. Further, these
> other "offenses" are not mentioned in the NT. Why? Because clothing or
> certain foods are not about establishing moral laws but ceremonial ones
> (can anyone with a background in Judaism help here?). The Jews were to
> uphold certain rules as a way to purify themselves. Christians are not
> under the law, but grace, so there is no justification for upholding
> ceremonial laws.
I'm not aware of any such category as "ceremonial laws" in Judaism.
If there is such a thing, it's very minor, and not what's being discussed here.
What Jim Guinee seems to be referring to are Mitzvot -- commandments.
These are statements about how Jews are to conduct themselves in life;
there is nothing 'ceremonial' about them.
There are (I believe) 614 of them in the Torah (the first five books of the
"Old Testament), including the famous first ten (or 13, depending upon how
you slice the salami ;-). Do Christians not find a justification for
upholding at least those first ten?
The only broad distinction of which I am aware is between obligations to
G_d and obligations to other people.
That is why on the High Holy Days (Rosh HaShona and Yom Kippur) one takes
stock of one's behavior in the past year, and asks forgiveness from those
who one has wronged.
G_d cannot forgive you for an offense (breaking a mitzvot) against another
person -- only that person can do so.
Again, there's nothing 'ceremonial' about not eating milk with meat.
The original statement in the Torah from which it is derived is "Thou shalt
not cook the kid in its mother's milk". Sounds like a moral statement to
me!
I don't recall the derivation of the other laws of Kashrut ('keeping
kosher'), or of mixing natural fibers in garments (my Bar Mitzvah -- Son of
the Commandments -- was quite a few years ago) but I believe that they are
similar.
Obligatory link to psychology:
These are statements about interpersonal behaviors and their consequences!
* PAUL K. BRANDON [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* Psychology Dept Minnesota State University, Mankato *
* 23 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 ph 507-389-6217 *
* http://www.mankato.msus.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
