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Originally Posted by BigJohn
Sure it will work.
In the New Testament, the Greek work for love is agape. That scripture was copied from the LAW which implies that both the New and Old Testament are in agreement that Agape love is the love a person is to show toward their neighbor.
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BigJohn,
This is a huge mistake that 'Christians' make....believing that the New and Old Testaments are in agreement. The key to understanding this is Luke 10:29 when the question was asked of Jesus...."And who is my neighbor ?". Jesus redefined 'neighbor' with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Leviticus 19:18 also says love your neighbor as yourself but the immediately preceding verses indicate that 'neighbor' referred to 'your people' meaning exclusively the Jews or tribe if you will. Later Deuteronomy 23:1-8 goes into detail of those who should be excluded from fellowship with the Jews....'even down to the tenth generation'. All of these things indicate that the Old Testament upheld the concept of duality.....us vs. them, us separate from them, etc.
The questions rightly come up on these forums from non-believers concerning the violence of the Old Testament believing that Christians are in lock step with the Old Testament and they question Christians how to reconcile these paradoxes. This is one of the answers, of course, and it is that Jesus redefined 'neighbor'. If anything the Old Testament law was for the survival and self-preservation of the Jews so that they could provide the lineage for the birth of Jesus. But when Jesus came he actually strengthened the law so that it would include all peoples and tribes.....not just the Jews. Essentially He introduced the concept of non-duality. Sadly to this day many religions(including Christianity) revert to the concept of duality.....i.e. attempting to distinguish themselves from others and in doing this they are guilty of judging others. In short, they become hypocrites to the teachings of Christ whom they profess to honor.