Why Is There Such a Split Between the Old
and New Testaments? Was God Wrong, or
Did He Just Change His Tone?
In
the Old Testament God seems very unpleasant at times. In fact, God is described
as “a jealous God, filled with vengeance and wrath.” In numerous passages in the Old Testament God
commands the Israelites, His chosen people, to slay their enemies, their
enemies’ wives, children, and livestock.
This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for
opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. Now go and completely
destroy the entire Amalekite nation –
men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys. (1 Samuel 15:2-3 NLT)
According
to numerous passages in the Old Testament, God must be obsessed with making war
and killing all those that oppose Him.
“I have wiped out many nations,
devastating their fortress walls and towers. Their cities are now deserted;
their streets are in silent ruin. There are no survivors to even tell what
happened.” (Zephaniah 3:6 NLT)
Some
passages show that God is concerned more with killing than in preserving life.
The following passage demonstrates a total disregard for human and animal life.
“I will sweep away everything in all your
land,” says the Lord. “I will sweep away both people and animals alike. Even
the birds of the air and the fish in the sea will die. I will reduce the wicked
to heaps of rubble, along with the rest of humanity,” says the Lord. (Zephaniah 1:2-3 NLT)
God
aids his people in making war against all enemies, which seems to consist of
about all other nations at that time.
When the Lord your God brings you into
the land you are about to enter and occupy, He will clear away many nations
ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,
Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are all more powerful than you.
When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them,
you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no
mercy. (Deuteronomy
7:1-2 NLT)
One
can pick and choose certain passages, but what about the most remembered and
quoted stories in the Old Testament. There’s the story of the great flood where
God wipes out nearly all life on earth. Then there’s the story where God
directs Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Fortunately, Isaac’s life was
spared at the last moment. How about the incredible story of Lot and his
family? God completely obliterates two
cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, just to kill the homosexuals living there. So much
for God’s tolerance. But before Lot was allowed to escape, it was okay for him
to offer up his two virgin daughters to appease the sexual desires of an unruly
mob of men. After Lot escapes, his God turns his wife to salt simply for trying
to get a look at the fire from the sky, and a drunken Lot ends up having sex
with both his daughters, but not at the same time. I guess a threesome would
have been a bit over the top. And this was the guy that God spared. God also
commands us to stone people to death for rather mild offenses. He says that
children who talk back to their parents can be stoned to death. Other
punishments include an eye for an eye.
In
the New Testament, however, all of a sudden God turns into a loving, merciful
God. “Love thy neighbor.” “Love thy
enemy.” “Turn the other cheek.” These directives clearly indicate a doctrine
of nonviolence, even toward one’s enemies, which is in stark contrast to the
God of the Old Testament. Other passages espouse God’s deep love and compassion
for humanity.
For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. (John
3:16 KJV)
In
the New Testament we see that salvation becomes open to the gentiles and not
reserved solely for the Jews. Of course, the New Testament is based on the
teachings of Christ and the origins of Christianity. Christ went against the
Jewish leaders of his day by giving us a new vision of God, our relationship
with Him, and our treatment of our fellow man. And in presenting such a
radically new philosophy, Christ set the stage for a new religion – one that
would change the world forever.
The
question still remains, however. Why the extreme shift in tone? Was it time for a new religion? Did the writers of the books of the Old
Testament misinterpret what God was telling or inspiring them to write
down? Perhaps the new writers of the New
Testament books were younger and more hip. Whatever the reasons, it sounds like
the grumpy, old God needed a big-time makeover. I must say that I like the new,
gentler God depicted in the New Testament, and, apparently, so do a lot of
people. I just expect God to be a bit more consistent.
