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From: garys@bunkerb.UUCP (Gary Samuelson)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: The law of Moses and Christians
Message-ID: <264@bunkerb.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 30-Nov-83 11:13:55 EST
Article-I.D.: bunkerb.264
Posted: Wed Nov 30 11:13:55 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 1-Dec-83 23:48:46 EST
Lines: 30

Clayton Elwell writes:

   Last time I knew, Christians were supposed to abide by both the Mosaic
   laws @i[and] the (few) laws stated in the Gospels.  Granted, I know very
   few who do...

This is another popular misconception about Christianity.  The first
Christians were Jews, and as soon as Gentiles also became Christians,
the early church had to deal with the problem of whether the Gentiles
should have to adhere to the law of Moses.  This problem arose very
early; it is mentioned in Acts.  The conclusion was that, no, Gentiles
did NOT have to follow the Mosaic law, but that they should "refrain
from fornication, from meat sacrificed to idols, and from blood [I am
not sure whether this refers to the shedding or consumption of blood
- GMS]."

Of course, the problem did not immediately go away; there were Jews
who continued to argue that a Gentile must first become a Jew before
he or she could become a Christian.  Paul deals with this general
topic in several of his letters, his position being that the purpose
of the law of Moses was fulfilled by the life, death, and resurrection
of Christ, and that therefore the law of Moses had been done away.
(If anyone wants details, such as specific scripture citations, I
can do that).

In summary, then, it is not true that Christians are supposed to
abide by both the Mosaic Laws and the laws stated in the Gospels.

Gary Samuelson
ittvax!bunker!bunkerb!garys