Old Testament Questions

1
Old Testament Questions

• Eric Hyche
• Filling in for Chris Heard

2
Questions You Asked

• Summarize OT in an hour
• Creation Days, Adam and Eve, Dinosaurs
• Noah and the Flood
• Tower of Babel
• Baalam and the Talking Donkey
• Utter Destruction of Canaanite Cities
• Ark of the Covenant

3
Questions You Asked (contd)

• Hosea marrying a prostitute
• Should Esther be in the Canon?
• Hebrew understanding of life after death
• Origins of baptism in the OT
• Do we have a time to kill? (Eccl. 3)
• God and the still small voice (I Kings 19)
• Plagues of Egypt

4
Which do you have?
The Whole Bible
The Hole In The Bible
5
Outline

• Churchs use of OT over time
• Why the OT matters

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Churchs Use of OT

• For three-quarters of churchs history, people
  only encountered Bible at church
• Still today, spiritual growth of individuals
  profoundly affected by use of Bible at church

7
Churchs Use of OT

• Churchs attitude toward OT has changed over time
• Compare three snapshots in time
• Rome, Second Century A.D.
• Cross Creek Virginia, 1816
• Nashville Tennessee, 1922

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Scripture in the Early Church

• Bible as we know it was still solidifying
• Jews read variation of OT as we know it
• Samaritans accepted only first 5 books
• Essenes accepted our OT plus other books
• No clear test of inspiration
• Deciding what was in canon was collective and
  gradual process

9
Justins Description ofChristian Worship

• Justin was Palestinian Gentile
• He was one of the leaders of church in Rome in
  the Second Century, A.D.
• Called Justin Martyr after martyrdom
• Wrote First Apology around 155 A.D.
• Answered criticisms and charges against
  Christianity and Christian worship

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And on the day called Sunday all who live in
cities or in the country gather together in one
place, and the memoirs of the Apostles or the
writings of the prophets are read, as long as
time permits. Then when the reader has finished,
the Ruler in a discourse instructs and exhorts to
the imitation of these good things. Then we all
stand up together and offer prayers and, as we
have said before, when we have finished the
prayer, bread is brought and wine and water, and
the Ruler likewise offers up prayers and
thanksgiving to the best of his ability
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What can we learn from this?

• Writings of the Prophets Old Testament
• Memoirs of the Apostles - Gospels
• Early church depended upon Old Testament as well
  as what they had of New Testament
• They understood that Old Testament anchored this
  new religion of theirs

12
Cross Creek VA, Sept. 1st 1816

• Annual Meeting of Redstone Baptist Assoc.
• Young Alexander Campbell called upon to address
  the Association
• Preaches his Sermon on the Law
  (http//www.bible.acu.edu/stone-campbell/Etexts/so
  l1.html)
• Immediately causes an uproar
• Lead to a seven-year battle, ending with
  excommunication of Campbell

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What was the fuss about?

• First introduced idea of different covenants
• Old Covenant Old Testament
• New Covenant New Testament
• Campbell said we are living under New Covenant,
  so Old Covenant is not binding
• This attacked current doctrinal practices such as
  infant baptism

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Nashville Tennessee 1922

• N.B. Hardeman speaks at Ryman Aud.
• 8000 people in attendance
• Preached sermon called Rightly Dividing The Word
  of God
• Crystallized 100 years of maturation of
  Campbells views from 1816
• Highly representative of views in Churches of
  Christ from then to present

15
Hardemans Sermon

• Made sharp division between OT and NT
• Gave reasons why each section of OT was no longer
  binding on us today
• Example of Colossians 214
• This sermon was representative and effects are
  still felt today in Churches of Christ

16
Churchs Use Conclusion

• Modern-day Christendom has removed OT from its
  practical Canon
• How I was taught Romans 154
• NT was the required reading
• OT was the supplemental reading
• Unifying OT and NT means answering difficult
  questions

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Why the OT Matters

• OT mattered to early church
• OT provides the whole reason for Jesus
• OT connects us with Gods original people
• OT shows how God was working in all time, not
  just A.D. time
• OT will deepen our understanding of God