"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character... (page 26)

inkling

I think my "help" just muddied the waters.

Not at all Open! I enjoyed your comments... I was tiring of the debate before you stepped in :)

[ink]

Open mind

sylvia:

"All posters project an aura - good or bad. Yours is always good."

Thank you very much.

Right back at ya'.

OM

Mariusuk.

Agreed. Just because He's seen in the OT as a God of war, doesn't rule out His also being a God of peace. He wages war in order to make peace happen. I know that isn't so hard to understand for those who really want to.

Sorry i just do not buy that

God v The Assyrians ...circa erm a long time ago, God decides to arbitarily kill 187000 (if my old bible study training is up to scratch, it has been 15 years lol) soldiers. All men are God's children, soldiers in these days did not just volunteer to join up, the men had families likely dependant on their earnings. This is GOD we are talking about, the God of the O.T never finds a peaceful way of dealing with problems (which strangely enough matches up with other gods of that era who also strangely enough were rather bloodthirsty) he could "click" his celstial finger and vamoosh the assyrians are back in Assyria or he could possess the Senaccarib and get him to turn the forces away but no he murders them.

Aside from the stretch of imagination it takes to believe that an "angel of death" descended on thier poor souls, this and other incidents in the OT are so far removed from the NT God that it is clear they cannot be the same being

dawg

BTS, I see what you're saying about the perception of God, I stand corrected.

d

Yes I agree the God of the Old Testament is very cruel and extremely bloodthirsy, ask yourself What did the children in the bible do to deserve death. I want to quote the now late George Carlin "Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man-living in the sky- who watches everything you do, every minute of every day.And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do.And if you do any of these ten things he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish,where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever' til the end of time... but he loves you and he needs Money"(George Carlin).

Now tell me is God not only blood thristy but he also greedy and selfcentered and does not really care about anybody except himself.

OBVES

The Bible is the most difficult book in the world to understand and thos who don't understand it by taking words superficially get into trap .

They don't understand who is God Yahweh.

They take various words from the Old Testament by misunderstanding God ,not knowing His plans and actions.

I have the best opponent to my religious views Harold Camping from http://www.familyradio.com and listen how he is explaining God of the Old Testament for His actions depicted there seemingly horrible . Call him on his Open Forum program which I like to listen to and how this old man of 89 years explains God's actions in the Old Testament !

The Bible is from God and it says God is just and who are you to question God in his actions . You don't have the true religion in the first place if you question God's action .

Just imagine God Yahweh is everywhere behind every particle of the universe and sustains it .Look through the window and see raindrops how many of them each one created by God Yahweh and guided to the ground !

You want to teach God to be a Just God ?!

If He is so horrible why he doesn't kill you now in an instant ? You deserve it if you attack Him with words. A man was stoned to death by picking up wood sticks in the forest on Sabbath day according to the Bible . You commit a more horrible act and you are still living .

designs

Somehow Jehovah got meaner in the NT in the person of Jesus, who ever that was, he burns people in Hell for all eternity, something no Jew bought off on...thank God.

OBVES

Thanks for this mentioning of hell ! This confirms my earlier response that the Bible is the most difficult book in the world and people misunedrstand the Bible so they misunderstand who is God of the Bible.

God will not torment anybody forever . Jesus taught in parables,metaphors.

God of the Old Testament and the New Testament is the same God and He is only good ! Jesus said so - Matthew 19.17.

digderidoo

Just looking through some old posts, found this an interesting read. I have added some more scriptures here, along with a statement by Jesus in support of the OT

Gen 3:16 ... " To the woman he said: 'I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.' " Why would God do this to womankind?

Lev 20:13 ... " And when a man lies down with a male the same as one lies down with a woman, both of them have done a detestable thing. They should be put to death without fail. Their own blood is upon them. " Homosexuality is not a choice, some people are this way, yet God wants them dead?

Deut 25:11-12 ... " In case men struggle together with one another, and the wife of the one has come near to deliver her husband out of the hand of the one striking him, and she has thrust out her hand and grabbed hold of him by his privates, you must then amputate her hand. Your eye must feel no sorrow. " So, a husband mutilates his wife for protecting him?

Luke 14:26 ... " If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and his mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes and even his own soul, he cannot be my disciple. " Sorry Jesus, but i love my family.

Hosea 13:16 ... " Samaria will be held guilty, for she is actually rebellious against her God. By the sword they will fall. Their own children will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women themselves will be ripped up. " God kills children and pregnant women.

1 Sam 15:3 ... " Now go, and you must strike down Amalek and devote him to destruction, with all that he has, and you must not have compassion upon him, and you must put him to death, man as well as woman, child as well as suckling, bull as well as sheep, camel as well as ass. " God again kills women and children, oh and farm animals.

Ex 4:24 ... " Now it came about on the road at the lodging place that Jehovah got to meet him and kept looking for a way to put him to death. " This is a real clincher for me, God was looking for a way to kill Moses! If he aint safe who is?

... and the list goes on Deut 13:6-11, Deut 22:28,29, Deut 2:30-35, Deut 7:1,2, Deut 7:16, Josh 6:21, 1 Sam 6:19, Jer 13:14

The argument that this took place in the Old Testament is a very weak line to take. In the New Testament Jesus says on the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not think that i came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came not to destroy but to fulfill; for truly I say to you that sooner heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or one particle of a letter to pass away from the Law by any means and not all things take place. " Matt 5:17, 18

snowbird

Hi, Paul.

I was thinking of this thread on Saturday as I searched for info on Job and the Land of Uz.

After doing extensive reading of extra Biblical material, I can say that we have not been told the half.

Let us keep asking ...

Sylvia

"The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character...

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