{"id":6264,"date":"2019-12-10T07:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/kelleymathews\/?p=6264"},"modified":"2019-12-09T10:45:50","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T16:45:50","slug":"what-do-we-do-with-old-testament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kelleymathews\/2019\/12\/what-do-we-do-with-old-testament\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do We Do with the Old Testament?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\"\"Is the Old Testament still of value to Christians, and if so, how so?<\/strong>\u00a0Dr Carmen Imes, associate professor of Old Testament<\/a>\u00a0at Prairie College in Alberta, Canada, offers an answer to that question in\u00a0Bearing God\u2019s Name<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0Based on her doctoral research on the third Commandment, \u2018You shall not take the Lord\u2019s name in vain,\u2019\u00a0her new book attempts \u201cto address the need for Christians to recover the Old Testament and read it well,\u201d she says.<\/div>\n
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I met Carmen last month, in person at least, though she has been leading a Facebook group for women theologians, which I joined months ago. So I felt like I knew her just a little bit already. In this group I have found much encouragement from like-minded women\u2014other theology geeks who collaborate on biblical ideas, respond to cultural events, and lift up one another as we pursue our callings. In that vein, I want to share Carmen\u2019s latest well-researched conclusions about that most bewildering part of the Bible, the Old Testament, written in the context of an unfamiliar culture, in a little-known language, to an ancient people.<\/div>\n

What is your big idea for readers to grasp?<\/h3>\n
Carmen:<\/strong>\u00a0The church today desperately needs to understand what to do with the Old Testament. We vacillate between two extremes\u2014either neglecting it entirely or fixating on it in unhelpful ways. We tend to think of the Law as a negative thing that didn\u2019t work, but if we read it in context, we discover what a gift it was for the Israelites. The law is not their means of salvation, but rather it defines the parameters of a life of freedom meant to demonstrate God\u2019s character to a watching world. At Sinai, Israel learned what it looked like to bear God\u2019s name among the nations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
If God\u2019s covenant people bear his name, we represent him to a watching world. The name command is not solely concerned with how we\u00a0say\u00a0<\/i>the name of God, but rather with how we\u00a0live.\u00a0<\/i>Everything we do reflects on him. We are his Public Relations department. People find out what sort of God he is by watching the character of his people on display. We cannot afford to miss this!<\/div>\n
\n

So how does the Old Testament Law connect with the New Testament teachings?<\/h3>\n

Carmen:<\/strong> On this side of the resurrection, certain aspects of the law are no longer necessary in the same way. They still teach us about God\u2019s character, but we need not try to do them because their purpose has been met in Christ. Laws regarding ritual purity or ethnic distinction have been set aside (see Acts 10-15). Laws about sacrifice are no longer necessary because of Jesus\u2019 once-for-all sacrifice. Laws regarding moral purity should be the impetus for reflection so that we can contextualize them for our context. What principle or value underlies this law? How might we express that principle or value in our context.<\/p>\n

For example, the law that instructs Israelites not to reap to the edges of their field relates to social justice and care for the neighbor. Most of us are not farmers, so we need to think creatively about how to express this same concern in our context. How can we provide jobs for those in need? How can our generosity stimulate solutions for those without access to capital? In the case of Ruth, Boaz ensures her dignity and protection while working in his fields, going above and beyond what was expected in his day. Ruth was a foreigner without a husband to protect or provide for her. In our context, she\u2019s the equivalent of a refugee or someone who could not pass a background check. Yet Boaz sees her diligence and rewards her with a steady job that will pay the bills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Dr. Carmen Imes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In my experience as a Bible teacher at church, I\u2019ve seen a trend toward New Testament teaching over Old Testament, which has led to some level of biblical illiteracy. How can your book help illuminate the importance and relevance of the Old Testament to the average church-goer?<\/h3>\n
Carmen:\u00a0<\/strong>It is impossible to read the New Testament well without a good grasp of the Old Testament. Understanding the Old Testament helps us to enter the New Testament story with a new set of lenses so that we can fully appreciate who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish. Our view of Jesus has been largely shaped by modern, Western needs and priorities (e.g., alleviating my personal sense of guilt, giving me hope, determining my eternal destiny). These are quite foreign to the world of the Old Testament, where the major concerns are more communal and tangible (e.g., covenant faithfulness, reconciliation with God, the quest for wisdom, and the fulfillment of God\u2019s promises of land, descendants, and blessing to Abraham and the throne for David). I hope that my book will connect readers to this story in a way that will inform not only their reading of the New Testament, but also illuminate how they are meant to participate in this grand story.<\/div>\n

How does your concept affect Christian discipleship and life as the people of God?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Carmen:\u00a0<\/strong>Christians need to rediscover that following Jesus is not just personal. It connects us to a faith community with very public consequences. What we do matters, not just for us, but for all those around us. Who we are is rooted in God\u2019s words to Israel at Sinai. We are his \u201ctreasured possession\u201d and a \u201ckingdom of priests,\u201d covenant titles that Peter applies to Gentile believers in 1 Peter 2:9-10. That means we bear his name among the nations.<\/p>\n

Who is your main audience?<\/h3>\n
Carmen:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Bearing God\u2019s Name\u00a0<\/i>is suitable as supplementary reading for undergraduates or seminary students, but it also works well for individuals or church small groups. Each chapter includes discussion questions, suggested Bible passages to read, and QR codes that link to videos from The Bible Project<\/em>. I\u2019ve already heard from a wide range of readers\u2014from teenagers to seminary professors\u2014who say that they thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found it helpful.<\/div>\n

How can folks find your book?<\/h3>\n
It\u2019s available directly from InterVarsity Press<\/a>\u00a0or on Amazon<\/a>. Christian Audio is also producing an audiobook.<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is the Old Testament still of value to Christians, and if so, how so?\u00a0Dr Carmen Imes, associate professor of Old Testament\u00a0at Prairie College in Alberta, Canada, offers an answer to that question in\u00a0Bearing God\u2019s Name.\u00a0Based on her doctoral research on the third Commandment, \u2018You shall not take the Lord\u2019s name in vain,\u2019\u00a0her new book attempts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3129,"featured_media":6276,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,264],"tags":[598,1272,1278,1275,1075,1269],"class_list":["post-6264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-theology","tag-bible","tag-carmine-imes","tag-gods-name","tag-interview","tag-law","tag-old-testament"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Do We Do with the Old Testament?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The church today desperately needs to understand what to do with the Old Testament. 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