We can all agree that the God of the OT was really mean, so how do we get over that...?

Question

...and expect him to show mercy when we pray to him? And he wasn't just mean to evil people so please don't answer with that.

I'm a Christian, I just have trouble with this.

WiseOne -- thanks for proving you have not read the bible...NEXT!

Spencer -- see above

Answer 1

the books of the OT were written by men who were inspired by God, but Jesus's message is directly from God--eliminate the middleman

Answer 2

I hope this helps you a BIG deal.

The bible was written by MEN. It reflected THEIR feelings, culture, biases, society, prejudices etc. So THEIR enemies were considered to be God's enemies. They considered THEIR wars to be God's wars (just like some Americans, who I don't agree with, consider God on our military side).
Do you believe God would tell man to committ genocide and kill women and children? If you believe that then you will definitely have a hard time justifying your love for God and His love for you.

This does NOT mean that the bible cannot also be Divinely inspired, which the bible IS. It clearly reflects Divine and universal wisdom that extends BEYOND, culture, time, history and to me that reflects the influence of a HIgher Power. But you need you USE YOUR COMMON SENSE and not take EVERYTHING word for word or God's direct infallible word. People who do that are intellectually lazy and fall into all kinds of traps like the, "OT God was so cruel" trap.

The MAIN purpose of the bible is to reveal Christ to you. Once Jesus becomes THE LIVING WORD to you, you are no longer a slave to biblical logistics. The ability to discern through spirit and therefore tap into Divine wisdom and Christlike love is stunted when people become worshipers of the bible.

So use the bible as a spiritual TOOL but remember God is BIGGER than the bible and can NEVER be limited to it or by it.

Answer 3

No... I can't agree with you.

God, either in the Old Testament or the New Testament wasn't mean.

That is a very short sighted view of God.

The Old Testament is, in it's entirety a prophecy of and about the coming Christ and the subsequent salvation of the world through His death and ressurection.

If you view God as mean, then you are simply reading the words and not looking for the deeper meaning.

If you are truly a Christian, it is important that you see God as unchanging through the Bible. His will, His character, His expectations never change.

Seek His understanding when you read the Old Testament. Don't just read the words. Study them. You WILL see God differently.

Answer 4

The short answer is to focus upon the God of the New Testament. Jesus showed a lot of mercy, and since he was God Incarnate, we can expect mercy as well. The Old Testament mainly shows Gods' tough side, the New Testament shows his merciful loving side. Remember, Jesus himself said "I and the Father are one". Even within his toughness, the OT God loved his people, and ultimately displayed this as refered to in John 3:16.

Answer 5

God is not mean, he is justice!

Imagine this... you are God. You create humans. You show them mercy every day. You warn people not to do bad things (for their own good). You deliver them from slavery. You perform countless miracles before their eyes. You give them food. You protect them from invading armies.

Yet... those people don't want to believe and worship you. They create false gods out of wood and worship them instead! How insulting is that? That's what the people in the old testament were doing.

This is just Israel. We can talk about other nations. Other nations in that time were cruel and evil. They worshiped false Gods. They made human sacrifices. They sacrificed children. They made other nations slaves. They were constantly at war. Their rituals to false gods included violence and sexual perversion. They were blasphemers God and had no respect for the nation of God.

My question is... how did God get over all that? How could he not have killed all these evil people and get done with it? His judgment fell on some nations (Sodom and Gomorrah) but he was very patient and merciful on most of them.

When was God mean to good people? It is not in my Bible.

Answer 6

The Old Testament was written by people, not God. People interpret the word of God in their own context. The OT has a lot of things that people of that era could relate to. There are cultural references that are irrelevant today. Societies evolve and change. Find a more modern scriptural text.

Answer 7

First, my friend, God was not mean. God was just (aka fair). He created the world, and He set certain laws. He let people know the punishments for breaking those laws. Then, when people broke the laws, God carried out the punishment.

However, God also loves us. He let the laws for our good. He punishes one man for breaking the law so that the hundreds of others will see and learn.

Sometimes, as in the story of Job, God simply allowed bad things to happen. However, remember that you, I, and Billions of others have read and learned of Job's struggle. This is God's way of setting an example.

As for OT vs NT, remember these two things:
1) God loved us so much, He sent His only Son to die for us.
2) Before Christ, God saw a bunch of people wallowing in sin. After Christ's sacrifice, God saw a bunch of people who are saved. Christ paid the debt of our sins, and thus God sees a people for Himself.


I hope that helps.

Jay

Answer 8

Obviously you just read a portion and heard what others said about the God of OT. Read it yourself from the very start and go over it word for word. See who is mean and who are stubborn and disobedient. Then put yourself in His place and observe how His creation have fallen short of following His commands. Then tell your self again how mean could He be.
Read what God requires His people to give to their parents.
Read what Jesus wants the children to do with their parents before they can be his followers.
Christian teachings may always be sweet to taste for they always say "My yoke is easy and my burden light" but there are sweet things that may lead to death.

Answer 9

I believe it is more than worth the journey getting there. Not that I'm there yet, but He is the same now as He was then.

All I can say is that I have a glimpse of Him, and I am in awe of His grace and mercy. I will worship Him until my dying day and will never tire of "getting to know" Him.

Heb 13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (KJV)

Answer 10

I can show you incredible acts of mercy in the old testament. Have you even READ Revelations? He's the same God in both testaments.

Old Testament
God forgive Manasseh, the second worst king (next to his father Ahab) to ever rule. Manasseh repented, and God forgave Him.
God forgave David after he repented of his murder of Uriah.
God forgave the entire city of Nineveh when they repented of their evil.
God interceded for Abimilech when he almost sinned with Abraham's wife, Sarah.

New Testament
God struck down Ananias and Sephira for cheating the Holy Spirit.
God killed King Herod and had him eaten by worms.
God sends Egypt-styled plagues in Revelation.

Tanya, I know that you are just asking a question. But maybe you need to go through the Bible first before asking for everyone to agree that God (who forgave you all of your sins) is really mean. That is a lie from the pit of hell. You should have asked this question much differently.