Blogposts

Does Ritual Law Exist? – Part 2 by Paul Blake   In Part 1, it was explained that scholars have essentially rejected the “categories of law” such as ritual, moral, civil, etc. A major concern is that these categories are essentially not found in Scripture.  The words appear either occasionally … or not at all in numerous instances. When they do appear, the usage is not necessarily related to the classical categories like ritual law and moral law from Christian tradition. Consider the following four word studies – on ritual, ceremony-ceremonial, civil, and moral – as each should be seriously considered. 1. A search on the word “ritual” brings up zero results in NASB and eight results in NKJV.  These eight results in NKJV are linked with idolatrous sacrifices, which were a major vi...

Does Ritual Law Exist? – Part 1 by Paul Blake Origins of Ritual Law When discussing Scriptural ethics – law, sin, obedience, etc. – the conversation usually includes the categorization of laws.  The most frequently used categories are ritual law, moral law, ceremonial law, judicial law, and civil law. These categories have been widespread for centuries, but they may not have existed during the first century. It seems that “the ritual-moral distinction became prominent in Christian works from the middle of the second century.”(1) Origen (184-253) followed this paradigm: “Origen also made a distinction between two parts of the law — the ceremonial and the moral.  The first part came to an end in Christ, but the second was retained and amplified by Christ.”(2)   Protestant Reformat...