Friday, September 19, 2014
Cruel God?
In class we discussed much about the character of God. God in the Old Testament comes off as a harsh, mighty yet terrifying figure when compared to the loving God of the New Testament. Professor Vaught made a point saying it is unfair to compare the Old Testament in light of the New Testament. But does the New Testament really corrupt our view of the Old Testament? It is better to understand that the God of the New Testament is just a much more merciful one. In both the New and Old Testament, God is holy but very opposing of sin. In the Old Testament, however, God is much less patient with his people and often calls for judgement. One might wonder how can a loving God support all the slaughter and murder that takes place in Deuteronomy? He must enforce his law the same way in our world the law is enforced by a police, even sometimes using brute force.
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I was going to make a post discussing the differences and similarities of the new and old Testament. I think that they complement each other. For example, both the notions of "not killing each other are mentioned in Deuteronomy and the New Testament.
ReplyDeleteThe Old Testament comes off as harsh as you say because it establishes somehow the laws, the history with all the prophecy, whereas in the New Testament with the arrival of Jesus Christ we learn about God in a different way, and about death
If the bible and god is read in a secular way, meaning that the bible is seen as collections of stories that reflect the needs and faith of the people at the time, the nature of God becomes more a reflection of his people. For example, exodus represents liberation and rebirth. God frees his people. The authors of the old testament needed to instill hope for their generation and the many to come, with the idea of freedom. In order to maintain faith and unity, the Jewish people needed the concept of being "the chosen people." The New testament is also written to appeal to its followers and their needs at the time. God takes on a more human-like form as Jesus Christ, which makes his being more concrete rather than an abstract idea. I think God is a reflection of his followers in both the old and new testaments. Also, with the evolution of religious ideas, people may have been more eager believe in a God that was forgiving. What I mean is, the idea of God transforms as his people want him too. The idea of having sins forgiven is mighty appealing to the masses. God becomes easier to please and obey if there is always a restart button.
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