Did God go through a personality change between the Old and New Testament?
Warning: This blog gets a bit more theological than my more usual testimonial style here.
When I listen to some teachers I wonder what bible they are reading. They seem to hold the opinion that God was angry in the OT but that he went through a change of personality after the cross and suddenly becomes merciful, kind and forgiving. The common scripture they reference is Paul’s teaching on the difference between living 'under grace' or 'under the law'. ‘The OT is law’ they conclude and the NT is grace’. Which is all well and good, except that every now and then the same people will suddenly pop up declaring that God is ‘judging’ a place, a person or a city because of their various sinful behaviors. It appears as if God has snapped back into his OT ‘angry mode’ and has forgotten the unconditional love and grace of the NT that they were referencing earlier!
This inevitably presents people with a rather schizophrenic view of God and of the bible. To be fair, the challenge of reading scripture and reconciling the reality of some of its judgements alongside the grace that it offers is no small one. It’s a challenge that can cause some to give up on faith because of the cognitive dissonance that they experience at first reading. These judgements are by no means confined to the OT alone.
But scripture isn’t presented to us as a nice theological package. Rather It’s the messy story of God's interaction with man from the beginning of history. It’s themes and subplots are as many and varied as the people and cultures it deals with, but the essential nature of God does not change throughout. The images, references and language that are used to describe Gods attributes and actions are clearly drawn from the ancient cultures of the time of writing, but God’s motive and heart-cry remains consistent. From Genesis 1:1 through to Revelation 22:21 God is clearly longing for a restored relationship with humanity.
The God of the OT is the same as the God of the NT. The only difference is that now we have a MUCH BIGGER WINDOW OF GRACE through the cross of Christ. It’s a window through which heaven can stream on a scale that simply wasn’t possible before Jesus' incredible life and sacrificial act of redemption for us. Why that didn't happen earlier is a mystery that we can debate, but we are told clearly that the effects of the cross are for all who have ever lived and that between his death and his resurrection Christ preached this good news to all in Hades (1Peter3:19).
So let’s be clear; Has God got anger management issues but tries to keep them under control as some seem to suggest? Clearly that is not the heart of the narrative; the God of the bible has always been about grace and faith that works through love.
Does that mean we live in a consequence free universe? No of course not. There are always going to be consequences to our actions, but that doesn’t mean God is behind every effect of gravity, every storm or earthquake.
God is the prime mover in the universe, but he's clearly not the only mover. God has set up laws such as gravity, upon which we may deliberately or accidentally be broken.
We have seen in nature that the natural laws, rhythms and patterns of creation are being effected by mans actions in global warming. Even our bodies are being effected. Climate change deniers who insist that this isn’t the case and that we should be free to act as we have always done will have us all the ongoing victims of a changing environment.
But God doesn’t change. His love remains throughout. The call to live as was originally intended; in harmonious relationship with one another and with the creation can only be fulfilled when we start to align ourselves in a restored relationship with God.
Jesus said ‘I am that way’ and he invites us to become disciples as we learn how to live in God's world in God's way: A disciple is someone who make God's voice the first that we seek above all others. Jesus offers us a clear path that begins to fulfill our lives among the chaos and confusion of this world. He reveals the consistency of the Fathers love, and he alone begins to gather the OT and NT narratives into one transformative whole.
The bible is always going to beg the hard questions, but then that is exactly what the author meant it to do.
This inevitably presents people with a rather schizophrenic view of God and of the bible. To be fair, the challenge of reading scripture and reconciling the reality of some of its judgements alongside the grace that it offers is no small one. It’s a challenge that can cause some to give up on faith because of the cognitive dissonance that they experience at first reading. These judgements are by no means confined to the OT alone.
But scripture isn’t presented to us as a nice theological package. Rather It’s the messy story of God's interaction with man from the beginning of history. It’s themes and subplots are as many and varied as the people and cultures it deals with, but the essential nature of God does not change throughout. The images, references and language that are used to describe Gods attributes and actions are clearly drawn from the ancient cultures of the time of writing, but God’s motive and heart-cry remains consistent. From Genesis 1:1 through to Revelation 22:21 God is clearly longing for a restored relationship with humanity.
The God of the OT is the same as the God of the NT. The only difference is that now we have a MUCH BIGGER WINDOW OF GRACE through the cross of Christ. It’s a window through which heaven can stream on a scale that simply wasn’t possible before Jesus' incredible life and sacrificial act of redemption for us. Why that didn't happen earlier is a mystery that we can debate, but we are told clearly that the effects of the cross are for all who have ever lived and that between his death and his resurrection Christ preached this good news to all in Hades (1Peter3:19).
So let’s be clear; Has God got anger management issues but tries to keep them under control as some seem to suggest? Clearly that is not the heart of the narrative; the God of the bible has always been about grace and faith that works through love.
Does that mean we live in a consequence free universe? No of course not. There are always going to be consequences to our actions, but that doesn’t mean God is behind every effect of gravity, every storm or earthquake.
God is the prime mover in the universe, but he's clearly not the only mover. God has set up laws such as gravity, upon which we may deliberately or accidentally be broken.
We have seen in nature that the natural laws, rhythms and patterns of creation are being effected by mans actions in global warming. Even our bodies are being effected. Climate change deniers who insist that this isn’t the case and that we should be free to act as we have always done will have us all the ongoing victims of a changing environment.
But God doesn’t change. His love remains throughout. The call to live as was originally intended; in harmonious relationship with one another and with the creation can only be fulfilled when we start to align ourselves in a restored relationship with God.
Jesus said ‘I am that way’ and he invites us to become disciples as we learn how to live in God's world in God's way: A disciple is someone who make God's voice the first that we seek above all others. Jesus offers us a clear path that begins to fulfill our lives among the chaos and confusion of this world. He reveals the consistency of the Fathers love, and he alone begins to gather the OT and NT narratives into one transformative whole.
The bible is always going to beg the hard questions, but then that is exactly what the author meant it to do.
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