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Originally Posted by concheet
Actually this is a particular instance, if one reads the context around this verse -- not a commandment by God. Even when it was written it was in the past tense.
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It is written with approval, and clearly God approved, because Asa is specifically described as having God supporting him, and the reward was 35 years of peace.
http://www.carm.org/kjv/2Chron/2Chron_15.htm
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In regard to the Canaanites, which was so long ago that little or nothing is known of them, it is clear that the "commandment" to kill them all was not followed, as they are mentioned later in on in the Bible, and Jews clearly intermarry with them.
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Followed or not, it was a commandment.
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Jews seem to have failed to follow the 'word of God' in ' many of these particular respects ; and in fact would hold those who did so ( ie murdering adulterers, stoning misbehaving children, executing someone for homosexuality) to a standard of law such that he would be imprisoned. Thus they cannot be said to be laws for the Jews. In fact, I am not aware of these laws ever having been actually executed, are you?
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I suspect they were executed, to some extent or another, fairly regularly 4,000 years ago. It's not like the social code described there would have been unusual for its time.
I agree that modern Jews and Christians ignore such passages. My point is, if Jews and Christians can ignore the hyperviolent commandments of their scripture, why should I believe it's impossible for Muslims to do so?
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Yet the encouragements for Muslims from the time of Mohammed to wage war against the infidel.... which started in the mid-600's ....seem to be going strong today. In fact, it could be suggested that the Muslims have regressed. They have had close to 1400 years to progress, and they had the benefit of both Jewish Law and Christian scripture to build on.
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They're still 600 years younger than Christianity and thousands of years younger than Judaism. You could have said the same thing about Christianity in the Middle Ages -- when the 1,400-year-old religion of Jesus was the basis for countless, endless wars and massacres.
Throw in the (IMO) backwards medieval cultures in the Middle East and the completely screwed up political situations there, it does not surprise me that such areas have difficulty overcoming an atavistic interpretation of Islam.
But the example of the West and other parts of the world show that a peaceful, modern Islam is, in fact, possible.
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Chronicles and Leviticus were written when?? Chronicles around 450 and Leviticus was written between 1440 and 1400 B.C. 3500 years since Leviticus... 2000 years since Jesus.... 1300+ years since Mohammed..... 1400 years between Leviticus and the "New" Testament... It is high time for an Islamic "New" Testament, if you ask me, except they don't seem to be heading in that direction ...
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Agreed. Except that I think when you look beyond the Middle East, this new Islam you speak of is already being written.