Topic

Human Beings – Old Testament and Utilitarian Views

Instructions

Your task will be to compare and contrast these two ideas of a human being? Does the OT offer up a
viable picture of what it means to be a person? Why do you think so?
Succeeding at this essay will require you to be very clear in your portrayal of the identity question in
both schemas. Compare them fairly to one another, and come to a conclusion which is defensible and
defended.

Answer Preview

As an ethical system, the Old Testament focuses on obedience to God’s will, natural law and imitation of God. When one critically evaluates the account in the Old Testament, what was right was determined by the instructions that God had given. For example, though the ten commandments say that one should not kill, it was right for Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac[1]. When Abraham was asked to move to a land he did not know, the right thing was to obey and move as instructed[2]. In the Old Testament, the war between Israelites and other kingdoms were justified because they were acts of obedience to God even when they meant displacing people, holding people captives and killing everyone they meet on the way. In the Old Testament, it was about human beings being placed higher than other creations and operating in the suggestive authority based on the order of creation[3]. Ethical decisions are equally based on the goal to imitate God. For example, there are many accounts where Israelites are reminded that God is holy and they need to pursue that holiness. Their decisions are therefore based on what helps them attain the holiness that God requires from them. For example, there were things that Israelites could not do like eat the altar bread that was offered to God because it would make them unholy. Marrying women from other kingdoms would also make them unholy and therefore they were to restrain themselves.

Word Count: 1000