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**MKxcomm** · 09-14-2011, 01:31 PM

Old Testament God: Worldwide Flood,

New Testament Jesus: Raises people from the dead

Old Testament God: A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

New Testament Jesus: Who will cast the first stone?

Old Testament God: "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me"

New Testament Jesus: "Jesus looked at him and loved him"

I know my references are all over the place, but it seems like OT God is nothing like NT Jesus to me.

Can anyone explain why the OT is a lot of death and dying and angry God and NT is a lot of love and one man/God dying? It makes me question the Bible completely that there are two different types of God represented in the OT and NT.

Help from smart people?

***Darrell*** · 09-14-2011, 02:04 PM

If you only look at those aspects of Jesus that are kind and gentle and loving then there does seem to be a contrast. Yet Old Testament God was also loving and gracious at times and Jesus was pretty harsh at times too.

God is not only one thing. Neither does He always play by our rules.

Ataraxia · 09-14-2011, 02:10 PM

(09-14-2011 01:31 PM)MKxcomm Wrote: Old Testament God: Worldwide Flood,

New Testament Jesus: Raises people from the dead

Old Testament God: A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

New Testament Jesus: Who will cast the first stone?

Old Testament God: "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me"

New Testament Jesus: "Jesus looked at him and loved him"

I know my references are all over the place, but it seems like OT God is nothing like NT Jesus to me.

Can anyone explain why the OT is a lot of death and dying and angry God and NT is a lot of love and one man/God dying? It makes me question the Bible completely that there are two different types of God represented in the OT and NT.

Help from smart people?

Believe it or not.. this here Atheist actually has a degree in Theology lol.

Consider it like this. God is multifaceted. During the OT you see how God handles sinners and he is giving his laws to man. Jesus, is a manifestation of grace, so it's another facet of God. If you read Revelations you will see even wrath again.

So, does this mean that God was really uptight in the OT then with age mellowed out a bit when Jesus came around. You know, he had a son and that really changed his life. No.

Remember, God is eternal he is past, present and future. The OT and NT are merely showing the complex covenant which God has with man. He shows us grace, love and understanding and will forgive us, however if you remain a sinner you will face his wrath.

I hope this helps. If you would like a more detailed explanation let me know, I actually composed a Thesis on this topic. But I did not wish to bombard you.

**MKxcomm** · 09-14-2011, 02:14 PM

Thanks guys, good stuff Smile

**pastor's wife** · 09-14-2011, 02:58 PM

I think the book of Jonah illustrates God's love. Jonah preached to Ninevah, they repented, and God decided not to punish the city. Jonah's response is in chapter 4:

"But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, 'O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.'

But the Lord replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, 'It would be better for me to die than to live.'

But God said to Jonah, 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?'

'I do,' he said. 'I am angry enough to die.'

But the Lord said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?'"

oneflewoutofthecuckcoosnest · 09-14-2011, 03:45 PM

I think this is a valid question and I don't think there are easy answers. The OT does contain some pretty horrible things. It also contains more encouraging teachings such as that found in Jonah as mentioned by Pastor's Wife. Jesus' teaching is largely very welcoming, but there are some passages that sound very harsh. While grace and mercy are found in both, I think grace and mercy have become much more evident in Jesus.

For me, just because I read something in the Bible, it doesn't make it true. It needs to be interpreted and God's word heard even through that which we might find unbelievable or unworthy of God. Are people really blessed who get to smash the babies of their enemies against the rocks? I don't think so. Do those who have been severely hurt lash out in anger at their oppressor? Is the fruit of oppression and evil more hatred and evil? Absolutely.

captain_solo · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2011 04:30 PM by captain_solo.)

(09-14-2011 02:04 PM)Darrell Wrote: If you only look at those aspects of Jesus that are kind and gentle and loving then there does seem to be a contrast. Yet Old Testament God was also loving and gracious at times and Jesus was pretty harsh at times too.

God is not only one thing. Neither does He always play by our rules.

Yeah. This movie changed how I read the words of Jesus in the gospels...he's not the sissified pacifist of much of denominational Christianity.
It helps that it is just an adapted screenplay from the actual text of John. Something that is not always common in fundyland. Read the text and see what it actually says instead of just buying the distorted viewpoint of a raging lunatic in the pulpit and its amazing how multi-faceted the scriptures become, especially when you read them as a contiguous unit and connect the OT to the ministry of Christ - there are amazing parallels that help explain many things I had never considered important.

Dude · 09-14-2011, 08:17 PM

Check out this Tom the Dancing Bug comic about the Adventures of God-Man:

http://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2007/09/22/

Dude · 09-14-2011, 08:21 PM

For the person who brought up Jesus raising the dead, explain this to me. Lazarus, by any reasonable theology, was in heaven. Jesus pulled him out of heaven and put him back into this broken world. Was this an act of kindness? Wouldn't it have been recorded that Lazarus told people about what he'd seen there?

NotUnderLaw · 09-14-2011, 11:05 PM

Lazarus, the beggar (may be the same guy.. don't know.. seems unlikely) wasn't in Heaven when He died, but in Abraham's Bosom, comforted, and God wasn't anywhere to be seen. He also had a spectacular view of hell apparently. Not much of a heaven. So yeah, OT saints didn't go directly to God, because their sin was not yet paid for.