MeeWah
Raeanne: There may be confusion with the Old Testament enhortations regarding idolatry--Deuteronomy 4.15-24 (St Joseph Edition of the New American Bible):
*You saw no form at all on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire. Be strictly on your guard, therefore, not to degrade yourselves by fashioning an idol to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or woman, of any animal on the earth or of any bird that flies in the sky, or of anything that crawls on the ground or of any fish in the waters under the earth. And when you look up to the heavens and behold the sun or the moon or any star among the heavenly hosts, do not be led astray into adoring them and serving them...Take heed, therefore, lest, forgetting the covenant which the Lord, your God, has made with you, you fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever. For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.*
The Ten Commandments are listed in Deuteronomy 5.
Also, Deuteronomy 13.1-19:
*Every command that I enjoin on you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it.
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer who promises you a sign or wonder, urging you to follow other gods, whom you have not known, and to serve them: even though the sign or wonder he has foretold has come to pass, pay no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the Lord, your God, is testing you to learn whether you really love him with all your heart and with all your soul. The Lord, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you fear; his commandment shall you observe, and his voice shall you heed, serving him and holding fast to him alone. But that prophet or that dreamer shall be put to death, because, in order to lead you astray from the way which the Lord, your God, has directed you to take, he has preached apostasy from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and ransomed you from that place of slavery. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or your intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nation, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him...You shall stone him to death...If, in any of the cities which the Lord, your God, gives you to dwell in, you hear it said that certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city to serbe other gods whom you have not known, you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact...you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, dooming the city and all life that is in it, even its cattle...you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the Lord, your God...*
Strong words, aren't they? They seem to be in direct contradiction to the New Testament; however, I've understood the Old Testament is usually associated with Judaism; the New with Christianity.
The various books of the Bible were written by different writers & in different times. The prevailing cultures, social climate & intellectualism (or lack thereof) may have had their influences on any written records.
*You saw no form at all on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire. Be strictly on your guard, therefore, not to degrade yourselves by fashioning an idol to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or woman, of any animal on the earth or of any bird that flies in the sky, or of anything that crawls on the ground or of any fish in the waters under the earth. And when you look up to the heavens and behold the sun or the moon or any star among the heavenly hosts, do not be led astray into adoring them and serving them...Take heed, therefore, lest, forgetting the covenant which the Lord, your God, has made with you, you fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever. For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.*
The Ten Commandments are listed in Deuteronomy 5.
Also, Deuteronomy 13.1-19:
*Every command that I enjoin on you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it.
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer who promises you a sign or wonder, urging you to follow other gods, whom you have not known, and to serve them: even though the sign or wonder he has foretold has come to pass, pay no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the Lord, your God, is testing you to learn whether you really love him with all your heart and with all your soul. The Lord, your God, shall you follow, and him shall you fear; his commandment shall you observe, and his voice shall you heed, serving him and holding fast to him alone. But that prophet or that dreamer shall be put to death, because, in order to lead you astray from the way which the Lord, your God, has directed you to take, he has preached apostasy from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and ransomed you from that place of slavery. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst. If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or your intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nation, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him...You shall stone him to death...If, in any of the cities which the Lord, your God, gives you to dwell in, you hear it said that certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have led astray the inhabitants of their city to serbe other gods whom you have not known, you must inquire carefully into the matter and investigate it thoroughly. If you find that it is true and an established fact...you shall put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, dooming the city and all life that is in it, even its cattle...you shall burn the city with all its spoils as a whole burnt offering to the Lord, your God...*
Strong words, aren't they? They seem to be in direct contradiction to the New Testament; however, I've understood the Old Testament is usually associated with Judaism; the New with Christianity.
The various books of the Bible were written by different writers & in different times. The prevailing cultures, social climate & intellectualism (or lack thereof) may have had their influences on any written records.
