Originally posted by Grand_Moff_Gav
The first half is almost irrellevant- it provides a context for what Jesus did.Indeed, many Christians ignore it...yesterday I saw a video in which some American Fundamentalists said the government should execute homosexuals...
Needless to say Jesus would not want that...but these "Christians" are ignoring another famous line, "let he who has not sinned cast the first stone".
However, just because people who claim to be Christians do not follow the Bible as they should does not actually dilute the text itself.
The first half of the bible is contradictory to the second half and illustrates the new covenant established by Jesus, with humanity. I have always assumed the OT was included in the bible to illustrate the compassion of Jesus and the magnitude of the change he represented. But it is not looked at that way by most of his followers. Most would say they are of equal merrit, which practically denies the reality of the new ageement Jesus was here to usher in.
Again, it's toally up to you if you want to assume Jesus is the only one truly worthy of "casting the stone". But he didn't do it. And what has mankind spent the last 2000 years doing? Casting stones.
The text isn't dilluted by followers, it's dilluted by itself; which was the fault of the human beings who worte it and then later got together to decide which parts of the infallible words of god should be included.
At least in the DoI, it was men saying they were men realizing it for themselves.