The Old Testament has probably had more influence on civilization than any other collection of documents. It is the cornerstone of many of the religions of the world. The original interpreters that compiled this work had an awesome responsibility. The interpretation problems are largely rooted in language and accuracy of translation. The possibility exists that what we currently accept as the Old Testament, is much different than it was when it was originally assembled. The areas I will address are:.
1. Why did I choose this topic?.
2. Why is the Oral tradition so significant?.
3. Why is it so difficult to determine the scriptures accuracy?.
4. How many versions of Genesis are there?.
5. What significance does the Old Testament have today?.
Why did I choose this topic?.
My original intention was to write about the story of Noah as told by the Bible, and compare it with the story of Gilgamesh. When I started compiling the research, I discovered that there was more documentation interpreting the bible than I ever imagined. I found myself more interested in how the bible came to be than with just comparing one of its stories. Having been raised Roman Catholic, I often wondered why the stories of the Old Testament were only told to us when we were very young, usually in catechism on Sunday after church. The stories were also never read directly from the Bible, they were told using children's books with illustration. I also never remember talking about the Old Testament while attending Mass every week. Even when I became older, I would ask a question to the priest about the Old Testament, and I would usually be told that it concerned the Old covenant and not the new. I should concentrate on the new. Growing up as a military brat, I had many friends who were not of the same faith. One of my friends was Mormon. I always admired how religious his family was. I thought they were even more religious than my family, if that was possible.
I find it hard to claim the entire Old Testament as an accurate historical document. ... Did it actually happen the way it says in the Old Testament? ... My belief in the teachings of the Old Testament are deep and firm. I am certain that the Old Testament was written was written in good faith, but man wrote it. ... A person must have faith in the Old Testament to believe it, which is something I have. ...
The name of the book that this report is describing is The Testament, by John Grisham. ... Its purpose was also to explore the ideas of right and wrong and target the positive aspects of religion. ... The main characters in The Testament are Troy Phelan, a rich old man who is about to die at the beginning of the story and writes a will, which the story is revolved around; Nate O'Riley, an alcoholic in trouble with the IRS, who is responsible for finding Phelan's long lost daughter in Brazil to give her the money Phelan left for her in his last testament; Josh Stafford, Phelan...
"Hagar" is introduced and recognized in the Old Testament as the Egyptian hand-maiden of Sarah, the wife of Abraham. ... Like the pharaoh's daughter, she left the security of her father and went to explore the wilderness. ... She had hoped that John might be a faithful son as the example given, like Jacob from the Old Testament. ... (p 304) There are similarities between Hagar of the Old Testament and Margaret Laurence's. ... For example, the Old Testament She fled from Abraham and Isaac. ...
Is God male Both new and old Testaments use male language about God. ... Indeed the old testament avoids attributing sexual functions to God, on account of the strongly pagan overtones of such associations. ( McGrath 266 ). The old testament refuses to endorse the idea that the gender or sexuality of God is a significant matter. ( McGrath 266 ) As Mary Hayter put it: Today a growing number of feminists teach that God combines Male and Female characteristics. ... Wolfhart Pannenberg develops this point further in his Systematic Theology: The aspect of fatherly care in particular is ta...
Others focus on the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ (Cunningham), or exploring his life and works on earth (Imbelli). ... Their appreciation of who Jesus was took its point of departure from the conviction that, with His resurrection and exaltation, the New Age of Messianic triumph, described in the Old Testament and intertestamental writings, and the Old Testament scriptures had been fulfilled. ... The first was by asserting that Jesus" rejection was already foreseen in Old Testament scripture, notably Isaiah 53 and Psalm 118:22. ... Further mediation on Old Testament scripture e...
Cataloging a variety of prominent movements, the article thoughtfully explores this phenomenon against the history of the beginnings of traditional religions. It also explores reasons for this surge of interest in religion, focusing on one theory ("religious economy") advanced by a student of NRMs. ... Christianity also offered disaffected Jews a higher-tension new religion that maintained some of the already established Jewish orthodoxy, the main reason that Christians have held on to the Old Testament, even though it is at odds with the New Testament. ...
The tools of this study will be exegetical and analytical evaluation of sources from both Hebrews and Qumran literature as well as looking back into the Old Testament for evidences of the priestly office. ... In view of this, the next section will focus on how the author used references from the Old Testament to build his argument. 1.2. Old Testament References in Hebrews The concept of priest – king found in Hebrews may be traced back to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the occurrence of a king being priest is not common. ... The references so far from the Old Testament do not c...
Sailors and tradesmen introduced it to European culture, which brought them back with them after exploring new territories. ... The old testament of the Bible enjoins the Israelites against the practice, it was forbidden by the Muslims and their prophet Muhammad, and the Roman Catholic council condemned it in 1787. ...
THE PROMISED LAND This paper will attempt to explore the importance of the promised land to the Hebrews as demonstrated by writings in the Old Testament. ... This cycle of victories and defeats continues throughout the -4- historical books of the Old Testament. ... The Old Testament is, in effect, a history of the Hebrews and of Israel. ...
