Are there many christians who believe the OT was actually just humans misinterpreting nature (ex, local tragic flood) into some sort of sentence by the divine? And jesus then represents the true god? I have seemed to come across that a few times recently.
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god of the OT
- Thread starter SqueezetheShaman
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Rafael
Only time enough for love
No, the God of the Old is the same as the New, but it difficult for some to not see the God of the Old Testament as harsh. He really doesn't have to suffer this process of gaining companionship of family through trial and adversity, but does for the sake of the end result. He did not have to create the colors of definition in the palete He used to paint life and the universe, but these very dark colors are the things that make Him definable and known to man. You would not be able to know or detect the light without the darkness to define it as contrast. Painting a picture with white gives a blank page.
Romans 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God is not an ogre as some portray Him in the Old Testament or even in the New, as Ananias and Saphira dropped dead for lying to God, but the seriousness of sin and the death that is the result of it has to be shown as worth profound dealings in judgment. NO life given is mishandled by God, and the only time it appears as though He does mishandle it is when we imagine that He could be unjust or capable of the evil judgments we make. He can raise life up from the dead and give eternal life, as all life born to this world is under a curse of death. If children die or any innocents destroyed in this world, God is able to make all things right. Although He suffers the existence of evil for a time, and uses it to identify and create beings fit for fellowship with Himself for eternity, it does not make Him wrong for doing so. Think of the wrong done on the cross to Jesus, but look at the result - He became the first of many brethren that would live erternally with God. Adversity produces character and trust; definition and beauty that could not be accomplished in any other way. God knows all the recipes and ways of creating life and godly character within that life, and we had best trust His words about Himself and His love since we have no such experience or power to give and create life.
Romans 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
God is not an ogre as some portray Him in the Old Testament or even in the New, as Ananias and Saphira dropped dead for lying to God, but the seriousness of sin and the death that is the result of it has to be shown as worth profound dealings in judgment. NO life given is mishandled by God, and the only time it appears as though He does mishandle it is when we imagine that He could be unjust or capable of the evil judgments we make. He can raise life up from the dead and give eternal life, as all life born to this world is under a curse of death. If children die or any innocents destroyed in this world, God is able to make all things right. Although He suffers the existence of evil for a time, and uses it to identify and create beings fit for fellowship with Himself for eternity, it does not make Him wrong for doing so. Think of the wrong done on the cross to Jesus, but look at the result - He became the first of many brethren that would live erternally with God. Adversity produces character and trust; definition and beauty that could not be accomplished in any other way. God knows all the recipes and ways of creating life and godly character within that life, and we had best trust His words about Himself and His love since we have no such experience or power to give and create life.
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The God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament. The Bible says that He never changes. He is just as merciful in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament. Read Nehemiah 9 for a summary of how God mercifully forgave Israel, again and again, after they repeatedly sinned and turned their back on Him. The psalms often speak of Gods mercy poured out on sinners.
He is also just as wrath-filled in the New Testament as He is in the Old. He killed a husband and wife in the Book of Acts, simply because they told one lie. Jesus warned that He was to be feared because He has the power to cast the body and soul into hell. The apostle Paul said that he persuaded men to come to the Savior because he knew the "terror of the Lord." Read the dreadful judgments of the New Testaments Book of Revelation. That will put the "fear of God" in you, which incidentally is "the beginning of wisdom."
Perhaps the most fearful display of His wrath is seen in the cross of Jesus Christ. His fury so came upon the Messiah that it seems God enshrouded the face of Jesus in darkness so that creation couldnt gaze upon His unspeakable agony. Whether we like it or not, our God is a consuming fire of holiness (Hebrews 12:29). He isnt going to change, so we had better ...before the Day of Judgment. If we repent, God, in His mercy, will forgive us and grant us eternal life in heaven with Him.
He is also just as wrath-filled in the New Testament as He is in the Old. He killed a husband and wife in the Book of Acts, simply because they told one lie. Jesus warned that He was to be feared because He has the power to cast the body and soul into hell. The apostle Paul said that he persuaded men to come to the Savior because he knew the "terror of the Lord." Read the dreadful judgments of the New Testaments Book of Revelation. That will put the "fear of God" in you, which incidentally is "the beginning of wisdom."
Perhaps the most fearful display of His wrath is seen in the cross of Jesus Christ. His fury so came upon the Messiah that it seems God enshrouded the face of Jesus in darkness so that creation couldnt gaze upon His unspeakable agony. Whether we like it or not, our God is a consuming fire of holiness (Hebrews 12:29). He isnt going to change, so we had better ...before the Day of Judgment. If we repent, God, in His mercy, will forgive us and grant us eternal life in heaven with Him.
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ps139
Ab omni malo, libera nos, Domine!
I think the answer is no. The OT sets up the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was prophesied of many times in the OT. And also, if someone thinkg that the OT is not inspired, why would they think the NT was? Its an all or nothing decision. Interpretation of OT varies, but I cannot conceive of a Christian believing the OT was "misinterpreted" from the start.SqueezetheShaman said:
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Kelly
Dungeon Master
I don't have any answers but I thank Jesus for what he did for us. I'm currently reading throught the OT for the first time (I gave up every time before), it's very difficult and I can't imagine how difficult it would be to live in a world were God's retribution seemed so swift and complete when His people sinned or ignored/misinterpreted his law. I find myself racing back over to the NT for comfort!
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Annabel Lee
Beware the Thought Police
SqueezetheShaman said:
There are many different Gnostic beliefs.
Many beliefs do state that Jesus was sent by the True God to liberate humans from the the Demiurge (OT God). This lower god created the Heavens and the earth and it's life forms. This god of the Hebrew scriptures is viewed as fundamentally evil, jealous, rigid, lacking in compassion and prone to genocide.
The Demiurge "thinks that he is supreme. His pride and incompetence have resulted in the sorry state of the world as we know it, and in the blind and ignorant condition of most of mankind."
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SolomonVII
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While so much about Gnosticism that remains unknown and is lost, if Gnosticism is as desribed above, it is a belief system that is fundamentally incompatible with Christianity. The Christian idea of Trinity does not change the fact that God is God. He is the God of Abraham and David, and he is the God we Christians worship as well.Annabel Lee said:
God Himself does not changes Through continuing revelation, what changes is our vantage point as He more fully reveals Himself to us.Through our continuing relationship with Him, over the ages we become able to see Him as he truly is. He is not being transformed-we are.
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