Old Testament

2007-08-18T04:33:37Z

GodKissed999:

{{Christianity}}
The '''Old Testament''' is a collection of different biblical books comprising the Jewish religious scriptures. In [[Judaism]] it is called the Tanakh. [[Christians]] embrace the Old Testament as part of their holy scriptures, which, together with the [[New Testament]] make up the [[Bible]]. Christians have a different viewpoint than Jews in that they see the Old Testament giving prophetic references to the coming of [[Jesus Christ]]. Versions from ancient times exist in both Hebrew and [[Greek]] including the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] giving a very ancient snapshot dating back to the time of Jesus.

The Old Testament documents the creation of the world by God, and the tribulations and errors of human beings, in particular His chosen people the [[Israelites]]. Following the history of the Jews from their earliest patriarchs to their enslavement, freedom, becoming a nation, period of the judges, ruled by kings, splitting into two nations, and eventual conquest. It continues until about 400 B.C. when God's chosen people have once again been allowed to return to the [[Holy Land]] and have come back to the worship of the Lord God. From the writing of the earliest five books, which is traditionally ascribed to [[Moses]], to the last, is believed to be a period of about 1,000 years. The New Testament doesn't pick up until 400 years later with the story of Jesus.

The Canon of the Old Testament was fixed by Judaism in the 1st century A.D. and is the same Old Testament found in Protestant Bibles (except for ordering and naming conventions.) Other branches of Christianity include the [[Apocrypha]]. Most Old Testaments go back to the earliest Hebrew translations, but the Greek Orthodox church uses the earliest Greek versions.

Though the Old Testament contains numerous laws from God, Jesus Christ forgave us for our transgressions upon his death. Thus, Christians need not follow the laws of the Old Testament, but merely embrace it for its prophetic analysis of the coming of the messiah. For John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." A notable exception to this rule is homosexuality, which, naturally, is still a sin.
== See also ==

* [[Septuagint]]
* [[Pentateuch]]

[[Category:Judaism]]
[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Book of Worship]]

Sex

2007-08-18T04:21:11Z

GodKissed999:

'''Gender''' is the attribute of being either [[male]] or [[female]]. Gender differs from sex in that while sex deals with the biological attributes of male and female, gender may be understood more as a cultural concept and a complex set of learned behaviors that is contingent not only on culture, but also on history. Gender roles and expectations are always in flux and vary from one society to another and one time to another. Thus, the qualities and behaviors expected of [[women]] by a particular society at a particular historical time is called [[femininity]]; [[masculinity]] is what is expected of [[men]] in a particular cultural and historical setting. In all societies, however, God mandates that men be the dominant gender, and women assume the honorable task of caretaking.

An organism's sex category reflects its biological reproductive function rather than its sexuality or other behavior. The female sex is defined as the one which produces the larger [[gamete]] (the egg) and which typically bears the offspring. In contrast, the male sex has a smaller gamete (sperm) and rarely bears offspring. In some animals, sex may be assigned to specific structures rather than the entire organism. Earthworms, for example, are normally [[hermaphrodites]].

Alternately, "gender" may be defined to be the norm of social conduct, based on sex. That is, "sex" defines what is biologically present, whereas "gender" defines what society expects of persons of different sexes. The distinction is important: the law tends to forbid discrimination on the basis of both (effeminate men cannot be fired for not acting according to their "gender"), but matters in terms of more abstracted social and legal arguments.

[[category:biology]]
[[category:sociology]]

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Old Testament

Sex