But that was the Old Testament

"But that was the Old Testament!" is the claim that God was a mean drunk in the Old Testament but turned over a new leaf in the New Testament (and so Christians need not defend the horrific God of the Old Testament). Similarly, the claim that the law of Jesus superseded the law of Moses is used to absolve Christians of the duty to carry out Mosaic law.
The claim is a favorite tactic of Christian apologists when confronted with the violence and bigotry of the Bible. This claim faces two major problems: first, that the Bible itself and Jesus himself disagree; and second that (although the New Testament is much less gruesome than the Old Testament) the New Testament still features violence and bigotry.
==Biblical problems with the theory==
Many Christians argue that the law of Jesus "superseded" the law of Moses.Is the law of Christ different from the law of Moses? If so, what is the law of Christ? Compelling Truth. However, this seems to contradict a straightforward reading of the Gospels. For example, Jesus frames himself as "fulfilling" rather than "destroying" or "superseding" the law of Moses. He does not clarify this point beyond asserting that the Ten Commandments must still be followed to the letter ():
Similarly, Jesus berated people for disobeying the Mosaic law ():
And Jesus states that it is easier for the universe to fall apart than any one piece of the Mosaic law ():
And the New Testament itself affirms that God (who is literally Jesus ()) divinely inspired both the Old and New Testaments ():
If the Old Testament were really so irrelevant to the teachings of Jesus, one wonders why Christians bother including it at all in their holy book (especially when it makes up about 70-80% of said holy book.What Percentage of the Bible is the Old Testament? Love in Bible.How Many Pages Are There in the Bible? (February 21, 2016) Word Counter.)
==The New Testament is still horrible==
Even if we accept the claim that Jesus somehow erased the laws of Moses, both the Old and New Testaments contain violence and bigotry — so Christians cannot use that as an excuse.
===Violence vs pacifism?===
Jesus had mixed messages on pacifism. Of course, Jesus famously said to "turn the other cheek" after violence (). However, he also stated ():
In fact, Jesus told his followers to sell their clothes in order to purchase swords ():
===Random acts of smiting===
God isn't quite so trigger happy in the New Testament, at least when it comes to killing innocents and people who really didn't deserve it. However, there are still some killings and the nihilistic burn-it-all-down end of the world thing in Revelation. Most notably in , Herod was killed for his failure to praise the thin-skinned God. Also, it has been pointed out that the New Testament brings us Hell, as we know it. In the Old Testament, once God killed you, he was done with you — but starting with the New Testament, he punishes you for eternity (which means infinite punishment for finite sins).
===Intolerance and misogyny===
In , Jesus clearly states, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." This implies that all of the blatantly homophobic, misogynistic, or otherwise intolerant laws from the Old Testament are still effective.
Unfortunately, The New Testament is also fairly misogynistic. Here are just a few of the more offensive and deeply unethical passages;
*: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."
*: "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man pray ing or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered."
*: "Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."
*: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."
*: "Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ."
===Second Coming===
Perhaps most importantly, Jesus promises to be extremely violent when he returns in the Second Coming. For example, Jesus is prophesied to personally kill the "kings, captains, mighty men, and their armies" with a sword that comes out of his mouth ():
==See also==
*List of actions prohibited by the Bible
*Marcionism
==External links==
*The “But That’s Just the Old Testament!” Cop-Out, LoonWatch
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Apologetics and counter-apologetics
Category:Bible
Category:Clichéed sayings