The Old Testament describes a cruel God, entirely different from the God of the God of the New Testament.?

Question

Time to put it aside?

The wrathful, cruel, vegeful God described in many passages of the Old Testament is completely different from the all loving all forgiving God described in the New Testament and exemplified by Christs's life.

In some parts it is as bad as the Quran and opponents of Christianity use it as a weapon against it.

The OT is essentially Hebrew mythology written before Christ came and the Christian Orthodox church although retaining it in name, completely overlooks it. Is it not time for all Christian churches to treat it as such (prophetic mythology) and concentrate on the New Testament?

Answer 1

Exactly! I think many Christian churches spend too much time on the OT and not nearly enough time on the NT. I thought Jesus said he came to fulfill the OT, so why languish there?

Answer 2

The Old testament contains the Historical problems that were faced by the Hebrew nation. To call it mythology is completely wrong.
What appears to you as a cruel God was strictly a case of God removing those that had given themselves over to perversion.
In an attempt to keep this from HIS chosen people he wanted those types totally eradicated.
When it comes to violence and death, have you read the Book of Revelations.
Do away with the Old Testament, NO it contains the struggles that built the foundation upon which Christianity was founded.

Answer 3

The Old Testament is just as much as God's Word as the New.

Do you understand God?

Look at these verses from the New Testament:

Rev 2:22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
Rev 2:23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.

Rev 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Rev 16:21 And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.

Rev 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."

Does eternal fire sound like a good thing to you? What most Christians fail to understand is that God is both Good AND Just!:

Psa 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Please understand God is both loving and righteous. In fact it is good to correct and discipline!

The Old Testament was to warn us of God's future judgment. Especially take notice of the flood and the Eden accounts.

Why do you make such crazy claims? The OT is just as important as the New! If you think these are two different Gods then you need to rethink for your own good.

Answer 4

Thats complete bull!! The old testament speaks of a good who took his chosen people from Egypt and brought them to Israel (in summary). The new testament is the one where god becomes this evil vengeful, wrathful, creature who will smite you down at the drop of a hat! How many times does the word "smite" appear in the old testament? None!! Not only that but the new testament is the one that talks about some dude dying for people's sins. Thus he becomes extremely judgemental. Not only that but the new testament creates an idol out of Jesus, breaking a COMMANDMENT!! The bible in all forms is generally bullshit but the new testament is all about lies, plain out lies!! And fear! Without fear the church would have no power. Ever wonder why Jews don't believe in Hell? Cause its all about the fear!! Don't EVER start accusing the old testament of speaking of an evil god and not the new!!

Answer 5

The Old Testament was the Old Law. The New Testament is the New Covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the Law, not to do away with it. Customs do change but God never changes. Same God, both Testaments. God is not Fair, He is Just. He is Love and also Judge!
If anything in the Bible was a myth, then it would cancel out the entire Bible. Parables are stories that teach us important lessons. They are not myths. The Bible is Truth in all parts.

Answer 6

IF YOU KNEW THE NT THEN YOU WOULD KNOW THAT JESUS WAS THE GOD OF THE OT.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
1co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1co 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
1co 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Answer 7

The "Old" Testament is not all "myth" or all prophecy. There is a mixture or literary types including poetry, songs, history, among others.
There is no "different" God in the the Hebrew Scriptures and neither is God presented as wrathful and vengeful. Take just one quote, "The Lord is gracious, merciful, slow to anger and full of compassion. " (Psalm 145).
And that God is the Father that Jesus worshipped and the Father who sent His Son, Jesus, so that all people might be forgiven.

Answer 8

In the old testement the people were filled with corruption and lived nothing but a sinful life, and went completely againts the laws God set up for them. He will not tolerate that behavior then and he wont tolerate that behavior much longer today. He is not a cruel God. He gave up His one and only son for us to that we can have eternal life in heaven.
All people back then and today think of sex, lust, adultery, homosexuality, whoredom, being harlots, cheaters, liars, thieves, and murders. I'd get rid fo them too for the same reason He did.
what a horrible bunch of people who did not appreciate the life God gave them, just like the horrible bunch that lives today. His warth will be upon the people who live that way today.
If you dont' accept God's laws or His Son Jesus, you too will recieve God' wrath. If you don't do for Him, you dont deserve a life period. He is greater than we are. He is the almighty God.

Answer 9

I have never believed my God could commit an evil act. I have really had a hard time with some of the old histories reported in the old testament, to say the least. I could never equate my God with the vengeful deity reported to have slain every first born of the Pharaoh's people, for example. But, the following story puts into logical terms what I have always known spiritually. It doesn't matter if it's factual or not, it's truthful, in my opinion. Nice to discover I have such "high minded" company in thinkin' if it is true though! LOL
I have a question for you....Who Created Evil?
As you read this, I challenge you to really let it's meaning sink in.
This eloquently answers one of the profound questions of life.

Did God Create Evil?

The university professor challenged his students with this question:

"Did God create everything that exists? "

A student bravely replied "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything?" the professor asked.

"Yes, sir," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created
evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works
define who we are, then God is evil."

The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the
students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question
professor?"

"Of course," replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

The professor replied, "Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to
the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of
heat..

Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits
energy, and heat is what makes a body, or matter, have or transmit
energy. Absolute zero (- 460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat. Cold
does not exist.. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we
have no heat.

The student continued. "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir. Darkness does not
exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light, we can
study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break
white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each
color. You cannot
measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of
darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is?
You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is
a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light
present."

Finally the young man asked the professor. "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course, as I have already
said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's
inhumanity to man.
It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world.
These manifestations are nothing else but evil."


To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it
does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is
just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the
absence of God.

God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man
does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that
comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no
light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name --- Albert Einstein
Notice he didn't deny the existence of evil-- no logical mind could-- but the origin of evil. Humans have free will. Negative energy is the absence of God. Negative energy is a powerfully dangerous thing, in any application, physical or spiritual. We must affirm daily ( at least ) against it, to keep our souls strong. We must care. It's not as complicated as people make out. Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."- Albert Einstein Do something simple, if you feel you can't give over a lot of time to others, then make a monetary gift to a reputable charity. Even I can afford $24 a month to help out a little girl in Africa through CCF. If every one did it - quite a bit less hungry, illiterate children . POOF- MAGIC!!! (I'll stop being Sally Struthers now) Let someone in when in traffic, hold the door, say at least one unprovoked nice thing to a stranger, be good to those closer to you (they get on your nerves the most! LOL), SMILE! Spread around the good energy. LOL "The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing."
- Albert Einstein
May today there be peace within you. May you trust your God that you
are exactly where you are meant to be.

Answer 10

Gods judgments were swift and sure in the old testament , but God is just. In the new testament, God still hates the things He hated in the old testament, but He lets people have plenty of time to turn from their wicked ways. God is good and he loves perfectly, but He hates sin.

Answer 11

If the OT has no bearing on Christianity, why is it still in the Bible and why do religious leaders still quote from it?
Either believe it all or none of it.
And if you read the Bible and not interpret it to fit your own needs and peace of mind, you will find that believing none of it makes more sense.....you will find countless contradictions before you even reach the end of Genesis.