Old & New Testament?

Question

Why is the God in the Old Testament so angry and murderous and how do you compare that God to the one in the New Testament who is "all-loving"?
There's quite a difference between the two and I'm curious to know why the big personality change?

jimmeisnerjr-Are you kidding me? Did you just skip over the really bad stuff in search of the good.

jayasri devi - Thanks, I'll do that :-)

Kri55h - OK that got my attention! I'm not agreeing with you but you certainly have given me more to think about, so thank you. :-) I'll print it out and read it more carefully in the bath tonight.

Answer 1

this was an answer i wrote to another question but i think it might summarize your question as well. at least i hope it does for you.

jesus existed in the old testament. he might not have been named as such but he was there since he is god and eternal. but lets analyze your points. first, any individual must see that god views mortality in a totally different way than humans do. god is eternal and man is not. therefore god has the perspective of man in the eternal sense and not just in his time on earth, be it long, short, happy, or unpleasant. also, if babies died, and no doubt they did, they would have immediately been lifted back to god. so in a human perspective it might sound "evil," but in an eternal perspective they would have been in the same place as all the other saintly servants of god, since they would have been found innocent of sin.
the people that existed in the old testament where a tribal society and nomadic to a large extent. there culture differed somewhat to those of the new testament and certainly differs to ours. but that doesn't make their ways wrong. life expectancy was different for people then. mortality rates were high, and life just didn't have the same meaning to the culture at large that it might have for 21st century people. look at china. it's in the same period as us, yet examine how different life and the individual is to them when compared to us.
as for animals, and abraham sacrificing isaac, you really should do some theological reading on what those events really signify. just so that you might understand better. god uses metaphor a lot. jesus did this in his parables. the animal sacrifice was a symbolic act to show the jews that one day a savior might come to act as a blood sacrifice for the atonement of all sins. at the time the jews might have thought the savior was only for them, but through god's infinite love and grace, he gave himself as a sacrifice to the whole world, if only they believe and accept it.
isaac is the same example. abraham represents god the father and thus god is showing the jews what his plan is to be for the redemption of man. just as abraham was to sacrifice his son on the alter, so god was to give himself as his son, for the sacrifice to redeem man. god did not have to do this. he chose to do it thousands of years in advance in the old testament, to save his people and all mankind. the ram that appears, after the angel commands abraham to stop, and not hurt isaac, also has metaphorical imagery. the ram is to be the new sacrifice, but in its crown/horns, it became caught in the thicket. so too was christ, when he had thorns placed upon his head as a crown. some might feel that is a leap, but i didn't make that up. so the bible is full of messages of god's grace and unfaltering love.
one must also understand that god does not and never has delighted in killing. but he does judge. sometimes he used his people as a means of dealing out justice and judgement to the ancient world. but remember, all man falls short of perfection and no man is good unto his own. that's why he constantly let the jews suffer. he wanted to show them that, yes, they were a chosen people to be made an example of god's justice, love and mercy for all the world, but that did not give them a free ticket to slip backwards into sin, like the other city nations. so god deals with them.
but let's also not forget that god who created everything, also created nature and the balance that holds it together. that includes the whole predator, prey concept. why is it so wrong for animals to kill and eat one another and not be judged, but it is so for people to do the same thing? the animals killed for the sacrifice were eaten. the parts were used for various things as well. so it's not like the animal was killed and then thrown away. far be it. jesus also ate of the sacrifice at passover when he was alive. it's in the bible. at the time before his death, when he was having his last supper, that's what he was doing. it was the passover meal.
whatever your thoughts might be, i think it will be most helpful for you to read some essays or books on old testament life, prophecies, and anything that explores the relationship between god and man in some deeper fashion. the bible was meant to be studied and understood, and not just read in the context of the time period of the reader. as an ancient collection of words it must be examined, and the reader immersed in the cultural context of the people living then. also, implied, as a christian, if you feel you are, you must accept that the bible is divinely inspired of god. therefore, the stories, people and events all serve some sort of purpose to edify and glorify god. good luck

so my point in that was to illustrate that what most people conceive as terrible in the old testament is actually more often filled with grace and forgiveness. there are many examples throughout if you look at it with an open honest heart. but in truth, the old testament represents a physical covenant between god and man, on earth, with the establishment of his people as representatives to the mercy of god and an example to the rest of the nations. the new testament however, offers a spiritual one (rather than the physical) for all men, not just jews, to be joined into in order to receive god's grace and love, and to be reconciled unto him eternally.
maybe this helped.

Answer 2

A secular answer:
Could be that Christians were a small group at the time and wanted to entice followers. They were trying to make old school Judaism more appealing to the hip young crowd.
Religious answer:
I think the new testament was basically written to show the way the relationship between God and his followers had changed with the sacrifice of Jesus.
Then again, I'm just making this crap up as I go.

Answer 3

The Old Testament is the Hebrew Scriptures. In the bible it is from Genesis through to Malachi. Jews do not believe in the New Testament as they do not accept that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah.

Answer 4

There isn't a personality change, actually. People confuse god for Jesus - when jesus was actually sent by god to be a moderator, because god knew he was harsh and was rethinking the deal, wanting to give his creations a second chance before facing him.

Thus the son - everyone is supposed to go through the son. the son? Mainly meek and mild, but with flashes of his dad in him too.

Answer 5

God speaks in Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Look that up and see if that's an "angry" God speaking.

Youre view is simple, simplistic, and demonstrates a lack of knowledge. Your pastor should know better.

Godspeed.

Answer 6

Best to read the original before king Constantine misconstrued added and deleted so many thing in the Bible. Google gospelofthenazirenes.com Reading the original Bible will get rid of all the confusion. I am so glad I found it. Has historical documentation of its authenticity.

Answer 7

The personality of God is the same today as it was with Adam.
God is both righteous and merciful.
God has never changed but man has been changed by the atonement and we now live under his grace.

Answer 8

Personality Disorder - Common among believers

Answer 9

Old age. Happens to the best of us...

Answer 10

"God is the same yesterday, today, and forever."