Confused about old testament (appreciate a priest's answer as well as forum members)

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vanessabyrne

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There’s parts of the old testament that confuse me. I may be understanding them wrong. Here’s some rules in Leviticus that confuse me:

“do not cross bread domestic animals.” so what does this mean about a dog or another animal of two different breads of that animal? Are they a sin?

“do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field.” what does this mean?

“do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material” so does that mean a person can’t wear jeans and a cotton shirt? Or a jumper with say wool on it and cotton? This one really confuses me.

“do not eat any meat with blood still in it.” I read this before, but Catholics don’t get “kosher” meat. What about edible organs of animals?

“do not cut the hair on the side of your head or trim your beard or tattoo yourself.” so can we not get hair cuts? Can we not shave or remove hair? What about tattoos?

So if we do any of these things are we sinning?
Are these something Catholics should follow, since these are things God says? Or are they Jewish things and aren’t in our Catholic faith? If not then why?

I find myself getting quite confused with things written and things happened before Jesus came.

Like when it says that God hates the wicked, I thought God loves everyone, even when we sin?

I don’t want to say anything wrong, but it confuses me. The old testament talks about God punishing evil people and hating them, but Jesus talks about divine mercy for everyone?

Am I really just misinterpertating scripture? Am I sinning?
I’m also kinda scrupulous I think.

Could you please provide a clear answer to each individual question?
Would really appreciate if a priest could answer too.
 
vanessabyrne said:
There’s parts of the old testament that confuse me. I may be understanding them wrong. Here’s some rules in Leviticus that confuse me:

“do not cross bread domestic animals.” so what does this mean about a dog or another animal of two different breads of that animal? Are they a sin?

“do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field.” what does this mean?

“do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material” so does that mean a person can’t wear jeans and a cotton shirt? Or a jumper with say wool on it and cotton? This one really confuses me.

“do not eat any meat with blood still in it.” I read this before, but Catholics don’t get “kosher” meat. What about edible organs of animals?

“do not cut the hair on the side of your head or trim your beard or tattoo yourself.” so can we not get hair cuts? Can we not shave or remove hair? What about tattoos?

So if we do any of these things are we sinning?
Are these something Catholics should follow, since these are things God says? Or are they Jewish things and aren’t in our Catholic faith? If not then why?

I find myself getting quite confused with things written and things happened before Jesus came.

Like when it says that God hates the wicked, I thought God loves everyone, even when we sin?

I don’t want to say anything wrong, but it confuses me. The old testament talks about God punishing evil people and hating them, but Jesus talks about divine mercy for everyone?

Am I really just misinterpertating scripture? Am I sinning?
I’m also kinda scrupulous I think.

Could you please provide a clear answer to each individual question?
Would really appreciate if a priest could answer too.
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You don’t have to worry about these rules. They are part of the Old Convenient. Christians are under the New Convenient, which Christ put in place with his death and resurrection. The book of Acts tells us of the council which decided believers didn’t have to follow Jewish law, and Paul often writes about about it in his letters.
 
BrethrenBoy said:
You don’t have to worry about these rules. They are part of the Old Convenient. Christians are under the New Convenient, which Christ put in place with his death and resurrection. The book of Acts tells us of the council which decided believers didn’t have to follow Jewish law, and Paul often writes about about it in his letters.
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Okay thanks. I came across something saying something like that. But I have anther question, why are some old Jewish laws, like the 10 commandments, still followed by Catholic and other Christians, but not other Jewish laws? How do we know we apply and which don’t? Also, why would there be some of these rules, eg, hair cutting and material, in the first place? How would they be considered sins?
 
vanessabyrne said:
There’s parts of the old testament that confuse me. I may be understanding them wrong. Here’s some rules in Leviticus that confuse me:

“do not cross bread domestic animals.” so what does this mean about a dog or another animal of two different breads of that animal? Are they a sin?

“do not plant two kinds of seed in the same field.” what does this mean?

“do not wear clothes made of two kinds of material” so does that mean a person can’t wear jeans and a cotton shirt? Or a jumper with say wool on it and cotton? This one really confuses me.

“do not eat any meat with blood still in it.” I read this before, but Catholics don’t get “kosher” meat. What about edible organs of animals?

“do not cut the hair on the side of your head or trim your beard or tattoo yourself.” so can we not get hair cuts? Can we not shave or remove hair? What about tattoos?

So if we do any of these things are we sinning?
Are these something Catholics should follow, since these are things God says? Or are they Jewish things and aren’t in our Catholic faith? If not then why?

I find myself getting quite confused with things written and things happened before Jesus came.

Like when it says that God hates the wicked, I thought God loves everyone, even when we sin?

I don’t want to say anything wrong, but it confuses me. The old testament talks about God punishing evil people and hating them, but Jesus talks about divine mercy for everyone?

Am I really just misinterpertating scripture? Am I sinning?
I’m also kinda scrupulous I think.

Could you please provide a clear answer to each individual question?
Would really appreciate if a priest could answer too.
Click to expand...
These were, for hte most part, social rules intended to separate the People of God (the Jews) from other cultures; though some of them served a more practical purpose.

I have nothing on the cross-breeding domestics, so sorry, I’ll have to skip that one.

Planting two kinds of seeds in the same field was more of a practical rule, intended to ensure the best harvest from a specific crop. Even today, people don’t mix their corn in with their wheat, they have separate plots for the various crops they are growing because that ensures the crops grow best. They chose to make this a law in order to best support their society by ensure the maximum amount of food production.

The differing materials law is, by my understanding, simply a social one, again intended to distinguish the Jewish people form their neighbors.

The law about not eating meat with blood in it is a practical one. Blood is a prime way that diseases are transferred from species to species. Even today health commissions say that it’s best to cook your food thoroughly to avoid transmission of diseases in the meat, especially with anything cow.

The laws about cutting the hair and tattooing both stem from the pagan religious practices of the time. I’m not sure about the hair one, I don’t really have an example, but I’d imagine that priests / priestesses wore specific hairstyles (similar to how certain Buddhist sects tend to have shaved heads with a single lock of hair that they allow to grow… I think that’s a Buddhist sect… not positive) . The tattooing is specifically derived from various cults which used tattooing as a form of worship. They would tattoo themselves during their pagan ceremonies as a way to honor their false gods. This sort of action is what the law is warning against, not simply getting a tattoo. Keep in mind that when those laws were developed, people didn’t simply get tattoo’s for fun like they do today, they were generally done for specific religious purposes.

As for God “hating” the wicked, as with much of the OT, God had not fully revealed his nature to us in a way we can understand. That didn’t happen until He came down to us in Human Flesh through his son, and died to save us. Prior to Jesus Christ, people were living with a limited and semi-flawed understanding of God as he was seen through their eyes. In their minds, God’s wrath was seen as a result of Him hating the people he enacted it upon, much as their own wrath was a result of their hatred of their enemies. So, unfortunately, they applied emotions to God which were not wholly correct, but helped them to understand the grave nature of rejecting God’s will. Also, keep in mind that a lot of the bad stuff that happens in the OT is a result of the Jewish people turning their back on God, so it’s bad stuff that happens to them. Generally, when bad things happen to you, you tend to take a negative view on it. Their writings reflect their emotional understanding of the suffering they endured as a result of their choice to reject God.

To answer your question, we are not bound by most of these rules. They are part of the Old Covenant which was fulfilled in Christ. We are living in the new Covenant.

Hope this helps. Jimmy Akin also goes into greater detail about this in his blog: Hard sayings of the Old Testament.

God Bless!
 
vanessabyrne said:
Okay thanks. I came across something saying something like that. But I have anther question, why are some old Jewish laws, like the 10 commandments, still followed by Catholic and other Christians, but not other Jewish laws? How do we know we apply and which don’t? Also, why would there be some of these rules, eg, hair cutting and material, in the first place? How would they be considered sins?
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The Ten Commandments, and other laws that we still follow form the OT deal with Natural Law, rather than societal law. The Ten Commandments are the basic outline of how to live a good life which is pleasing to God; they deal with the innate reality of the human person, as well as with the very basics of true morality as it has been defined by God and “baked into” the core being of every person. We follow them because they are unyielding truths about what it is do be good in God’s eyes, and about what it is to be a moral person. The other laws you were referencing were merely societal laws used to help regulate to Jewish people at that period in time.
 
Ceremonial/social laws of the Old Covenant no longer apply. The moral law revealed in the Ten Commandments is timeless and apply across the board.
Ski
 
vanessabyrne said:
Okay thanks. I came across something saying something like that. But I have anther question, why are some old Jewish laws, like the 10 commandments, still followed by Catholic and other Christians, but not other Jewish laws? How do we know we apply and which don’t? Also, why would there be some of these rules, eg, hair cutting and material, in the first place? How would they be considered sins?
Click to expand...
In the Gospel, Jesus Christ reaffirmed most of the 10 commandments individually. As a whole, the 10 commandments are only used to symbolically represent the teachings of Christ; they no longer bind in and of themselves.

Jesus spoke against lust and adultery, against anger and murder, against stealing and revenge. He spoke very strongly against worshiping anything but his Father (and by extension, himself). Most commandments reference the Natural Law. They applied to even Adam and Eve before any scripture was written.

The only command that was not reaffirmed was the Sabbath, which was given by God as a custom. In the Gospel, Jesus states this commandment was a gift, ensuring that God’s people had sufficient rest.

The Catholic Church interprets this as freedom to abrogate the command to rest and worship on Saturday (the “Seventh Day”), and transfer the day of rest to Sunday.
 
Thanks for all the answers. And the advice on how people back then viewed God helps, I tended to get quite confused when reading some of the psalms and so on.
So it’s not a sin to cut my hair, or to wear clothes of different material? They’re morally acceptable things to do and I’m not sinning?

Scrupulous, I know, but Thank God for His help

Also, sorry for all the various typos or spelling mistakes. Like I meant to say “another” and there was something with “we” and “which.”
 
vanessabyrne said:
Thanks for all the answers. And the advice on how people back then viewed God helps, I tended to get quite confused when reading some of the psalms and so on.
So it’s not a sin to cut my hair, or to wear clothes of different material? They’re morally acceptable things to do and I’m not sinning?

Scrupulous, I know, but Thank God for His help

Also, sorry for all the various typos or spelling mistakes. Like I meant to say “another” and there was something with “we” and “which.”
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Both of those things are perfectly moral so long as you’re not doing it to honor a Pagan god 😛
 
ProdglArchitect said:
Both of those things are perfectly moral so long as you’re not doing it to honor a Pagan god 😛
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Never would! So seriously I’m okay to wear jeans and a top made of some other material? And it’s fine and moral and not sins? Or a top or other clothing with more than one type of material or material mixed or whatever and it’s not a sin? Or one peice of clothing with many different types of material added? Its okay and not sins? Because that was referring to a society law?

And I can get a haircut? No sins not immoral or anything?

Because I thought God said these rules. But when He said these was He referring to rules and customs of those times? Not because they themselves are sinful?
And they dont refer to Catholics or any other Christians?
Would any of these refer to Jewish people?

Sorry for all the questions. Too scrupulous?
 
vanessabyrne said:
Never would! So seriously I’m okay to wear jeans and a top made of some other material? And it’s fine and moral and not sins? Or a top or other clothing with more than one type of material or material mixed or whatever and it’s not a sin? Or one peice of clothing with many different types of material added? Its okay and not sins? Because that was referring to a society law?

And I can get a haircut? No sins not immoral or anything?

Because I thought God said these rules. But when He said these was He referring to rules and customs of those times? Not because they themselves are sinful?
And they dont refer to Catholics or any other Christians?
Would any of these refer to Jewish people?

Sorry for all the questions. Too scrupulous?
Click to expand...
No, I’m serious, you’re good. I only threw in that last part for fun 😛 Those societal laws are, for the most part, no longer in effect, and we are not bound by them. They were developed for the specific culture in which they were used. There are a lot of them which still make sense, but we’re not bound by them.

You should speak to a priest about your scrupulosity. Your heart’s in the right place, but you shouldn’t worry so much. Definitely speak to a priest, it’ll do you some good. ^^
 
We are bound by that portion of the natural law that is inline with reason or the teachings of Christ.

Note, that we aren’t held to a prudent man standard, only a reasonable man standard or Christ’s teachings.
 
My bad. Replace natural law with moral code in the previous sentence.
 
Dear friend

Empty you mail box and ask me a question privately. I will answer you there. I don’t have time to deal with other forums.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.
 
If I may add to the discussion. The OT Law undergoes changes within itself. For example, the heritage of the first born is given to the Levites (Numbers chapter 3). The Levites were to collect a tithe from the people of the nation. I would assume that before, the first born were to receive this blessing. None the less, the law underwent a change and from that point on, there was a new law that was different from the old law, though in this way, only slightly different.

In the letter to the Hebrews, there is a statement that points out a change in the priesthood (Hebrews chapter 7). Since this new priesthood does not coincide with the Law that was previously established (and also had changed before), it changes once again because of the betterment of what we hope for in this New Covenant. It isn’t that the Old Law was bad, it’s just that this New Law is better.

The inheritance is received based on the ability of Christ to obtain it for us, not because of his tribal heritage, and not because of efforts to be obedient and righteous on your part in any way. So, you don’t have to worry about sinning according to any law per se. Just live your life in service to the God you love and intimately discuss what’s on your conscience with your priest in confession. That is how we deal with sin in this covenant. Efforts for obedience (to the Church) are important, but these efforts are prompted by your love for God, otherwise they are in vein. That is how you are either an instrument for his glory, or a nuisance to the Church. Works of the law cannot save, but the attempt of a Godly lifestyle is evidence of faith, which saves.

The first born, was replaced by the Levites. The Levites were replaced by the first born of all creation, of whom we are all con-substantial with in our humanity. Just let it be that you live to know, love, and serve him and that is enough.
 
I might correct a prior statement or clarify it.

A knowledgeable Christian may be held to a prudent man standard.

In other words he is more culpable for his actions.

This may be equivalent to saying he is bound by Christ’s teachings.

Saying that a non-knowledgeable Christian may be held to a reasonable man standard may also be equivalent to saying he is bound by the teachings of Christ.

Compare Mary Magdalene to the Pharisees.
 
The individual questions in the op deal with matters outside of the New Covenant.

Since the Old Covenant still stands, I would imagine it would be wise for the Israelies to adhere to that portion of the mosaic code. If indeed they want what was promised.
 
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