purpose of old testament law, other..

mikeforjesus

what is the reason why there were so many laws in the old testament and why do many not apply today?

is it because israel was to be set apart from the other nations? why did they have to be set apart?

was there many laws because israel had to be holy for the messiah to come?
but not all laws help a person to be holy.. like you can't eat pig meat.

why was there stoning? so the people left of israel would fear God and try to obey His commandments? I guess for st mary to be holy the people around her would have to be less sinful than other people so they do not provide a stumbling block for her to sin...

and why did st mary have to be sinless before giving birth to Christ if she had to ? I think I might understand why she had to give birth to Christ as a virgin but not why she had to be sinless... could not the holy spirit sanctify her womb so her sins to not affect Christ at all?

Why were some people stoned and other people not? david commited adultery but God spared him and did not have him killed..

kokiie

why was there stoning?

This is the only question I know the answer to....
I have wondered this for quite some time and just recently got my answer from a sermon on a completely different topic :D

Our God is just. He is fair. If a person does evil, he deserves to be punished by death. Our God is also a kind and loving God and that's why He came down and took the fall for us. Now we sin over and over and over again and have it all wiped away through repentance and confession.. all thanks to His Holy Body and Precious Blood that was shed for us and for our salvation.

Why were some people stoned and other people not? david commited adultery but God spared him and did not have him killed..

Perhaps because he truly repented ? Perhaps many people were spared, we just don't know about it...

copt4eva

The reason Jesus came from a virgin and not of a couple is because Jesus had to be pure and perfect. If he was born of a man and women he would have upon him the sin of Adam which would make him unpure and not holy. But how can Jesus be unholy if he is the son of God. So Jesus was to be born of St. Mary and the holy spirit to be pure.

mjoe80

i agree

mikeforjesus

I think I might understand why she had to give birth to Christ as a virgin but not why she had to be sinless... could not the holy spirit sanctify her womb so her sins to not affect Christ at all?

Why did she have to be sinless if she had to be? why not come from any other virgin or a virgin who at least did 5 sins? He could have come much earlier if she did not have to be sinless maybe.

looppool

mike, virgin mary was not "sinless"... she is a human being... she bore the sin of Adam!

yes she is very blessed, humble, loving, etc... but that doesn't mean that she is sinless......

Unknown

1) St. Mary WAS sinless. This is what the Tradition of the Church teaches us. According to Orthodoxy, no one bears the sin of Adam. Adam's sin is borne by himself and himself alone. What we bear are the consequences of his sin. We do not inherit sin as if sin is something that can be contained in physical nature. Sin is the product of action--no one bears sin until they act contrary to God's will.

Why was Christ born from St. Mary and not a sinful lady? Well the answer is obvious--one is obviously more befitting to behold the Holy of Holies, than the other.

2) The reason Christ was born from a virgin is because He is the Eternal Word of God. Again, the conjugal union does not result in offspring with "sin". Christ, taking His humanity from St. Mary, bore the consequences of Adam's sin--which is not sin itself, since, as I have already stated, sin is the product of acting contrary to God's will, it is not something we are born with.

Being the eternal Word of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Christ could not be born from man and wife since such a union produces human persons. Christ merely needed a human Nature.

Unknown

[quote author=Iqbal link=board=1;threadid=4912;start=0#msg66665 date=1169754682]
2) The reason Christ was born from a virgin is because He is the Eternal Word of God. Again, the conjugal union does not result in offspring with "sin". Christ, taking His humanity from St. Mary, bore the consequences of Adam's sin--which is not sin itself, since, as I have already stated, sin is the product of acting contrary to God's will, it is not something we are born with.

Being the eternal Word of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Christ could not be born from man and wife since such a union produces human persons. Christ merely needed a human Nature.


St. Irenaios of Lyons also mentions the fact that it was the purpose of Christ, the second Adam, to recapitulate the first. Hence it was fitting that He was born from a virgin, since Adam was not the product of sexual union, but he was created from the dust of the earth, which had not yet been worked and was therefore "virginal".

Also, just to elaborate on your point; although the Blessed Virgin was most certainly without sin in word, deed and thought, this was out of her love and obedience to God, not some divine intervention placing her above the rest of mankind.

The Orthodox Church does not accept the Catholic notion of the Immaculate Conception whereby the Virgin was exempt from "the stain of original sin." Of course, such ideas are wholly superflous to us, since Orthodoxy, as you correctly noted, does not hold to the same concept of original sin as the Latins.

copt4eva

How can St. Mary be sinless if she was born of a man and women and she bore the sin of Adam.

I think what they mean is that she is humble and pure in heart.

Unknown

How can St. Mary be sinless if she was born of a man and women and she bore the sin of Adam.

Because as I already explained, no one is born bearing "sin"; we are born bearing the consequences of sin. I suggest you read the Q&A section of H.G Bishop Youssef's website at www.suscopts.org.

I think what they mean is that she is humble and pure in heart.

No, sinless is the word they use and that's what they mean. I recommend you read Fr. T. Malaty's St. Mary in the Orthodox Concept where he discusses the patristic view.