In his letters, Paul's attitude to
Mosaic law often appears complicated and contradictory.
Though he writes simply and clearly for a broad audience, there are occasions where he assumes a deeper knowledge than may be warranted (e.g., theological and historical definitions such as
Mosaic law; knowledge of social movements like Gandhi's; or familiarity with other religious perspectives, including Buddhism and Judaism).
It is likely that Matthew and his community wanted to observe the whole
Mosaic law and thought that they were doing so.
Chapter 2, "The Crisis in Galatia: Salvation in Christ and the
Mosaic Law" (pp.
45) was whether Gentile converts should have to conform to the requirements of the
Mosaic law. Feelings were strong on both sides, so a meeting of the apostles, elders, and faithful was called in Jerusalem.
No system of law--not the Decalogue,
Mosaic law, Roman law, English law, or American law--ever brought peace to the world or justice to its people.
Moreover, its subtitle is somewhat misleading, since readers will not find here a descriptive account of Jesus' ethics, a summary of the Sermon on the Mount, or a discussion of Jesus and the
Mosaic law. Rather, S.
It is almost certain that the phrase refers to unions accepted as marriage among some pagan peoples but prohibited as incestuous in the
Mosaic law (cf.
By this he probably means that the
Mosaic law is not abstract but is a function of God's relationship with Israel.
But is it realistic to distinguish sharply, as Dunn does, between Christology and the question of the
Mosaic law? Is it not a christological belief, and a highly provocative one, that declares the
Mosaic law superseded by the New Covenant, that leaves the olive tree which is Israel with no branches except Christian ones, and that insists that baptism into Christ constitutes membership in the People of God, without Jewish initiation?
The
Mosaic Law is very strict on the observance of bodily hygiene and cleanliness (cf Lv 13-14).
When Jesus interpreted the
Mosaic Law, he refused to get lost in juridical minutiae but went to the heart of the matter.