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«You seem to want to denigrate the OT and NT as the Book of Scripture.»

I said nothing of the NT, nor formed any view about it.
I leave the discussion about it among yourself, OzSpen, Peter Sellick and other Christians.

Finally, I wholeheartedly agree with OzSpen:

"This issue is not worth breaking fellowship with other Christians."

And may I add, not just Christians.

Yuyutsu,

<<This discussion over the accuracy and sanctity or otherwise of the old-testament is the subject of internal Jewish politics and crucial for the Jewish faith, yet neither your faith as Christian, nor mine as Hindu needs to depend on it.>>

This is false. What did Jesus say to the the Jewish leaders?

"Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?’

‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh”]? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate" (Matt 19:3-4).

Here, Jesus guotes from Gen 1:27 and Gen 2;24, thus bringing the OT into the NT. There are many fine OT exegetes and theologians who are not Jewish, e.g. Keil & Delitzsch, Walter Kaiser, Gleason Archer, H C Leupold, R K Harrison, etc. Your understanding of the Judeo-Christian world view is lacking. YHWH, the Lord God Almighty of Judaism is the Lord God of Christianity.

<<Jesus referred to some of what we now know as the Ten Commandments. He did not refer to them as "the ten commandments" nor as "Exodus 20".>>

This is another example of your lack of knowledge. Jesus could not refer to Ex 20 because there were no chapters and verses in the OT at the time of Jesus.

Take a read of Matthew 19:16-19 at: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt+19%3A16-19&version=NIVUK. We would have to be blind if we didn't see that Jesus here referred to some of the 10 Commandments. In Matt 19:19, Jesus quotes from Exodus 20:12-16 and Deuteronomy 5:16-20.

There is no need for Jesus to state these are from the 10 Commandments. The words themselves confirm that.

Dear OzSpen,

I tried to keep my response to Not_Now.Soon succinct and only respond to his concerns rather than open up new aspects. In fact while drafting my response, I originally mentioned just what you mentioned that the bible had no chapters and verses, but then I cut it off for brevity and clarity. I would like to keep it this way, also as my time here is not unlimited.

Many things in the OT are true, so nothing is wrong about Jesus mentioning that content. This does not imply that Jesus was quoting from the OT just because it was the OT - he simply told the truth, which happened to also be written there.

Yuyutsu,

<<Many things in the OT are true, so nothing is wrong about Jesus mentioning that content.>>

That's your worldview speaking. It is not a biblical worldview which is clear:

"ALL Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

<<Many things in the OT are true>> is Yuyutsu's assertion and point of view.

God's view is that ALL of the OT is God-breathed and comes with the authority of the perfect God who does not lie (Psalm 18:30; Titus 1:2).

To Yuyutsu.

One correction. Christian Faith depends heavily on Jewish faith. It's not about Jewish internal politics but over the foundations that Jesus taught from and what was recorded before. As Paul wrote the old testiment scripture is God breathed, and therefore trustworthy. Jesus also said something simular, that not one word from the scriptures will pass away, and spoke of the importance of what is written in them.

Hindu faith doesn't depend on it, because Hinduism doesn't have a foundation in Jewish faith. In the same way many other religions don't rely Jewish texts because they have no foundation from those teachings, customs or history. Christianity does though. Muslim Faith, while should have the same roots as Christianity as it claims, however it also does not hold a foundation from Jewish texts, instead a goes to try and rewrite some of the stories in the bible as a new versions, and different teaching. Because of this it is a fraud. Christianity though does depend on the old Testiment scriptures, so this is not a Jewish politics thing at all.

As for the books that you read, if you can at least give a reference to them so that I can know what they are that would help at least a little. You don't have to reorder the books, as long as you can let me know what they were, then I can make my own decisions about them. As of now what you say and your opinion remain largely unjustified. They can be justified by a Hindu perspective possibly, but not by studying how the world works, nor through experience, nor through Christian or Jewish faiths. If you can at least reference a book title and author then I can reference something that you've gathered your opinions by. Accountability, in this case is a very large gap in what you present in these discussions. The gap only gets bigger, by not being able to justify your positions and instead make another claim on your own, spoken as if that's just how the world works or how it is.

(Continued)

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It looks like the quotes you referenced aren't from me, or at least not in this thread. Perhaps they were quotes of OzSpen? Regarding modern forensic evidence of which tribes made it out of Egypt, do you have a reverence or a source to point to regarding this theory?

<<my point is that this and other internal Jewish political disputes, need not and should not affect the Christian faith. The list of God's moral commandments as spoken by Jesus, should suffice.>>

The details matter. At least to me they do. Especially since Jesus references the Old Testament many times. So it's not a point of Jewish internal debates, but on the foundations of my own faith. On Christianity. Therefore study on the history, on evidence in forensic or archeological finds, and study of the scriptures and possibly the languages and translations are of merit. The other internal disputes don't matter if they hold no weight behind them.

<<Finally, I wholeheartedly agree with OzSpen: "This issue is not worth breaking fellowship with other Christians." And may I add, not just Christians.>>

Breaking fellow is not my concern. It's about accuracy, and about having a solid foundation. Someone can reason that if others teach a wrong thing to then distance yourself from them and break fellowship. Or they can reason that by staying in touch and in fellowship, you can be a beacon to the truth and lead them in the right direction. I would say that this would depend on the sitution, but fellowship is not my concern in this conversation. It is on having a solid foundation.