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Writer's pictureBible Brian

The Simpsons show why the Old Testament wasn't abrogated


One peculiarity about The Simpsons is that, with a few exceptions, most of the characters are bright yellow. There is a reason for this peculiarity. Creator Matt Groening believed that people randomly switching channels looking for something to watch might catch sight of the strange colouration and watch the show.


In the modern day, The Simpsons is a very popular show that you, the reader, may even be a fan of. Regardless of whether you are or not, just imagine the implications of saying "The Simpsons is now so popular that we can afford to just make all the yellow characters white". Though this would be a minor change, it would radically alter the show's appearance, and cover up the show's heritage. The yellow skin thing is a major part of the Simpsons that makes the show unique, and so changing the skin colour now would be ridiculous. The skin colour may no longer serve the same purpose, but serves a purpose none the less.


The Simpsons, of course, is a fictional TV show. Changing the skin colour of the characters may annoy the fanbase, and probably make a headline or two, but in the end, it would be comparatively meaningless. Scripture, by contrast, is neither fictional, nor irrelevant. The Old Testament foundation of the Christian faith is a thousand times more essential to the Christian faith than the Simpsons' skin colour is to the show. Removing the Old Testament would create a very different faith. And yet, somehow, the Old Testament baffles Christian and unbeliever alike.


The Old Testament, as I said, is essential to the Christian faith. However, the application on both sides of the New Covenant is very different. The Old Testament contains a number of important details that enable us to understand the New Testament, as well as give us reasons to believe it. We don't need to follow covenant-specific commands, but to just pretend those commands don't exist, and especially to get rid of those commands, is theologically dangerous. Ignoring both prophetic and historical claims also erases some major foundational information without which it becomes nearly impossible to fully understand who Jesus is, or why He did what He did. With all this in mind, there is no need for the Old Testament to cause such confusion.

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