On the Challenge of the Old Testament GOD! (Part 4)
Part 4 consists of quotations from another one of the best books I have read on this topic of making sense of the barbaric, harsh Old Testament: Who's Afraid of the Old Testament GOD? by Alden Thompson.
"Yes, the New Testament revelation of is clear and therefore in some ways better. But if we neglect the Old in favor of the New, we shall never really experience that peculiar kind of joy that comes from experiencing the movement of God's plan from "good" to "better"--and to "best"." p. 12, 13.
"A great number of perplexities that crop up in connection with the patriarchs simply vanish when we recognize that these men had entered a world that had been great distorted by sin, so much so that the truths which God had originally entrusted to the human family had disappeared or had become greatly distorted by contact with pagan culture." p. 24.
"What a struggle it was for God to reveal himself to those people, people who so easily and so quickly fell so far." p. 27.
"As circumstances change , as people grow or degenerate, God moulds [sic] his message to the needs of the hour. For a people enslaved in a pagan culture, the Sinai revelation was just what was needed--a little thunder and smoke to catch their attention." p. 17.
"...when human beings forget God, they also forget their fellow creatures, sinking to cruelty and abuse. So when God seeks to awaken a knowledge of himself in the hearts of a people thus degraded and alienated from him, he does not seek simply to make them more 'religious,' but also to make them more human. Judged by the cultures around ancient Israel, the laws given to Israel show remarkable signs of 'humanization'. God took this people, in spite of the many barbaric and cruel customs which they had adopted, and began to draw them to him. He wished to show them a better way. But if human beings are to be treated as real human beings who possess the power of choice, then the 'better way' must come gradually. Otherwise, they will exercise their freedom of choice and turn away from that which they do not understand." p. 25.
"Reflection on such questions simply emphasizes how far these great people of ages past were from holding the kinds of standards that we would consider right. Yet these were God's people and God chose to use them. What does that tell us about God? Either that God is very cruel---or that he is very patient. I much prefer the latter alternative, for that is the kind of God I find revealed in Jesus Christ. With that deep Christian bias that I readily admit, I choose the alternative that fits the bigger picture." p. 25, 26.
This concludes my 4-part series on the challenge of understanding the Old Testament GOD. I hope it has brought you to a better place of understanding. I know I haven't answered all the questions because, as with all relationships, "IT'S COMPLICATED", and there are some answers that will just have to remain unanswered until we reach Heaven. I'll close with a favorite quote that helps me deal with those seemingly unanswerable questions. It's from the genius, C.S. Lewis:
"I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words.”
― Till We Have Faces
No comments:
Post a Comment