Download Religion Response Chapter 3

Peter MacNeil
Professor Dr.Charles
Religious Studies 100
22 September 2014
Chapter 3 (The Old Testament) Personal Response/Reflection
“An eye for an eye” has always been the first idea to appear in my mind when the
Old Testament is brought up in conversation. In reality there is much more to this section
of the Christian Bible, 39 canonical books to be exact. The books in the beginning section
of the bible are setting the scene for Jesus coming. An important note is the Old
Testament is sacred to Judaism as it is the Tanakh and when scripture is translated from
Hebrew to English there are only few differences from the Christian Bible. The word
“Old” in Old Testament has been debated as an inappropriate name for the scripture as it
may imply that the text is old or irrelevant. Different groups have proposed a change to
the name such as “The Hebrew Bible” or “The First Testament” but none have gained
enough attention to become a permanent instalment. A main focus in the Old Testament
is the Five Books of Law also known as the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers and Deuteronomy. These books which the first four written by Moses act as
laws and instructions for the people of Israel given to Moses from God. As God’s chosen
people, it became Israel role to protect the Old Testament that promises the coming of the
Messiah. For example the Book of Genesis comes from the Greek work for origins and
within that book the notion of creation is described as the work of one and only one God
along with no part of God’s creation is to be worshipped. When reviewing the Old
Testament a great emphasis is placed on acts of God in history. Such highlighted
moments in history are God’s creation of all things, God bringing the people of Israel out
of Egypt, and God granting the Land of Canaan to Israel. When reading about the Old
Testament the theme of guidance and direction are prevalent. Proverbs, which are short
sayings, attributed to Solomon a king of Israel, provide guidance and wisdom in a few
short concrete lines. After reading this section in the chapter I read through Proverbs in
the Old Testament and came to the conclusion of how this was simple and easy for the
Jews of the time to practice the lifestyle God wanted them to adhere too. Providing an
answer to such questions as why does God allow suffering? This question can be
answered in the Old Testament’s Book of Job. The book of Daniel emphasizes being
faithful to God even in difficult circumstances. There are many important reasons to
study the Old Testament especially for those of a Christian faith background. Such
reasons are life’s basic questions are answered (origin of man and universe), Man’s
relationship with God is reveled, and the Old Testament provides an example of how God
holds man to a divine standard. Jesus also viewed the scripture from the Old Testament as
the word of God and held it in high importance.
For myself I am very fortunate to have a friend of the Jewish faith on campus who has
invited me to his Rosh Hashanah celebration this Wednesday. I am hoping there will be
scripture read from the Torah, which I can relate back to what I have learned in this
chapter about the Old Testament.