for christians- Do you believe the God described in the Old testament Is the Same God jesus talked about?

Question

Is the Vengeful, Angry and Vendicitive God of the Old testament a direct contradiction to the way Jesus was, IF you have not read the old testament, specially Leviticus and Deteronomy plz dont answer. When God ordered the israelites to stone their wifes and daughters if they begun to worship other gods, or stone homosexuals, doesnt this ring a bell in your head that there is something wrong with the bible as a whole. I am a christian and i believe that jesus is the way to God. I know jesus was jewish, but i also know that the things thas jesus taught us are no way near the same as what was told to the israelites 3000 years ago. The times dont justify the actions. Excuses such as; it had to be so that the messiah may come, or that people back then were evil, or that God was trying to preserve a holy society do not measure up to any logical or moral reasoning. Ordering anyone to Murder someone else will do nothing else but create Anger, Hatred, and Intolerance.

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People i dont need rehearsed anwers that your pastor told you. I want an open minded informed response.

Answer 1

Hi my name is Nick and i'm a youth pastor and a graduate of Bible School. i think the first thing i want to point out is that Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. God's character and goodness does not change. There is no specific dichotomy because we see Jesus dealt harshly with the Pharisees and Saducees at times... In your question i see much of your view questioning the goodness of God's character...

Please understand to say you are a Christian but think there is something wrong with the Bible is a scary position. We have to take a overview of the Bible meaning that we have to understand Leviticus and Deuteronomy in its context and also consider what the Bible has to say about the same topic in other areas.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy are books with a very Jewish flavor and addressed particularly to God's people. They were books meant to prepare God's people to be a priesthood who would share God with their unbelieving neighbors (who worshipped idols, etc.) Leviticus contains many laws which were meant to set aside a people for God's purpose (to keep them pure and holy). Some of those laws do coincide with hygeine-- but remember there was an order of a priesthood called the levites (which Aaron was part of) and God wanted them to be pure. Some of the judgments were harsh (but also remember the history that the Jews had been through with God- who had led them out of captivity) and showed them much. To whom much is given much is expected, and i think that God had shown so much of Himself to the believers in Leviticus and again in Deuteronomy that he had a high expectation of those believers.

Deuteronomy means the 2nd giving of the law- and this is important because God's people had violated many of God's laws. So first of all just the fact that God is reittirating the Covenant He had with His Covenant people shows mercy and grace (all are things we identify with Jesus).

The fact that these books are directed especially towards God's people is important. You may be a lot harsher when your own kids break something you consider to be morally wrong than when someone who doesn't know your standards violates them.

If you read other parts of the OT- where God allowed his people to lose battles (back then if you lost a battle it meant that your God was not as powerful- since the pagan nations sacrificed to various gods) and allowed his own name to be dragged through the mud and riddiculed by pagan nations, and yet God still showed mercy to his people, it's unfair to say that the God of the OT is "Vindictive, Angry, Vengeful God." As He told Moses- I will have mercy on whom i choose to have mercy... In some instances in the OT where the Israelites were commanded to destroy a nation and showed partial obedience their lack of obedience resulted in many more deaths later when a nation rose up again and killed many of God's people...

There's probably much more i would like to say... but wow this is getting long and a lot to digest. Your free to email me and i'd love to have friendly discussions, ... May God illuminate his Word to you...

i also want to underscore that God's ways do not always have to "make sense to us". We'll never understand why Jesus chose to love sinners like you and i. In Isaiah he reminds us that his thoughts nor his ways are our thoughts or our ways..

Satan commonly causes us to question the goodness of God. he did it in the garden to Eve and his tricks have not changed... To only believe in the NT is to only believe in parts of God that are comfortable to you- and ultimately we must love God for who He is and has revealed Himself to be in the Word of God- the Bible.

Looking forward to more chats... Be blessed!!

Answer 2

Yes he is the same God. The bible says "I am the same yesterday today and tomorrow." And the God of the Old testament was not hate filled and vengeful, I think a lot of people read into that, but in the New testament we read about everlasting fire and hell that's a lot worse than getting stoned to death isn't it?

Answer 3

"Excuses such as; it had to be so that the messiah may come, or that people back then were evil, or that God was trying to preserve a holy society do not measure up to any logical or moral reasoning."

Christianity is not based upon Logic, morality, or Reason. It is based upon an out-dated, antiquated book written thousands of years ago. Because of this, it is based upon the logic and reasoning of then. Since myths and flawed scientific knowledge (the things you need for accurate Logic and Reasoning)was what people believed in then, that is what the Bible is based upon. For a religion that is based upon logic and reason, try Deism!!!

Answer 4

Yes. Jesus is not a liar. God is love and He showed it over and over.
And just because you do not understand the ( and I do not understand it all either ) does not mean God is the way you have written.
When I became a Christian I could not reconcile the Old and new Testaments- they were so dissimilar.
But reading it again, the Old, I began to see the pattern. God told the Israelites to choose life over death, blessings over curses. He told them the way to walk in the blessings.
They chose the path they walked, as do I and you.
Re-read the passages that disturb you and ask Him to help you to understand.

Answer 5

Stop reading Bible Cliff notes and read it for yourself. The things that you say God said or did is usually a consequence to someones wrong doing. The Old Testament talks about how God Loves us and wants to prosper us more than it talks about judgment. Do you feel there should be no punishment for breaking the law. It is okay to punish someone for breaking Man's laws, but not God's Law right?

Answer 6

Yes, God is the same yesterday as He is Today.

Back then God spoke directly with people just as we do when we're sitting next to a friend. But, the people still did not believe. His punishments for back at that time were harsh because they didn't have to do like we do now. Now, we are completely believers by faith because the things God did back then are not exactly what He does now.

Answer 7

Before Jesus came they were bound to the law and the law condemned them. But when Jesus came and died for us He fulfilled the law. Now we are under the new command and that is to love God, love others as you would yourself. If love is your motivation you wouldn't commit the Ten Commandments or do anything to hurt others. The law in the OT had to teach us what harms others and what God did not want-worshiping other than Him. But instead He wanted you to come to a place to where you wanted Him. He doesn't want you to be forced to love Him, cuz you are free to love Him by Jesus coming to save us. The old law does not have a hold on us cuz we are saved by Jesus's Grace, and that covers us. Its like God had to deal with the "kids" in the OT but now in the NT "we are adults and we can move out of the house" and govern ourselves with love and knowing what harms others and not do those things.

Answer 8

What is better, to murder Hitler, or to let millions in innocent people die? I know that this really isn't a completely fair comparison, but this was what was best for the people at the time.

Also, and more importantly, this was, is, and always has been God's approch to sin. Sin is utterly unnacceptable in God's eyes. However, Jesus offers forgiveness from sins because he suffered the consequences. It's like you were fined $50000000, and Jesus paid it for you. God still demanded it be paid, but Jesus paid it.

Answer 9

Yes, It is described in the Old Testament. Jesus Said, That God is the same God he is talking about.Read your Bible about it.

Answer 10

i do believe the God of the old testament is the God of the new. God is pure and just. He will always punish sin to utmost. He is not vengeful ,it is just that He hates sin. when He did the things He did in the old testament, if u will read the whole story, u will see that they disobeyed His commandments and He WILL NOT stand for that.