[Samseau]

Quote:

First, the "old law" (i.e., Old Testament) became invalid and non-binding when Christ died on the cross. It was replaced with the "new law" i.e., New Testament (starting with the book of Matthew and ending with Revelation.)

Partially true yet false in spirit. The new covenant Christ made was explicitly to fulfill the old law as stated on the Sermon on the Mount. If you seriously think Christ's teachings deviate significantly from the ten commandments, then you need to re-read the Bible.

Moreover, Christ updated some commandments such as an Eye for an Eye, "love they enemy" (this is not the same as loving thy neighbor as thyself), and the rules on adultery, "he who lusts with his eyes commits adultery with his heart," so the implication is if Christ did not update a rule then it stands as was originally written by Moses. As for the other rules as not written by Christ (such as in Leviticus), there is actual disagreement between the Apostles Paul and Peter, who held works in varying degrees of importance. Paul argued against strict legalism, but Peter was in favor.

Personally, I'm with Paul and I don't think many of the old rules matter but the commandments should remain as Jesus taught them. Additionally, the old rules such as in Leviticus can still be studied for their intent. Hence why I say that virginity is valuable for a woman, as it was valued within the Old Testament, but not for a man, as a man's virginity is never mentioned in any book aside from a brief mention in Tobit (but only in praise of Tobit resisting whores). Hence pre-marital sex for men with a woman who is not a whore nor a virgin is outside the scope of Biblical teachings.

Now, again, I have an idea of how the rules to apply to such grey areas, but it is beyond the scope of this thread and someday I will make another thread about what I believe Biblical sexuality morality is in light of the above findings.

I still have more to update this thread but time is scarce.