The creation account in Genesis 1 emphasises not only the
fact that the Old Testament God is the creator God but also that God made man in
his image. The story of the fall of man (Gen 3) shows that this image was
severely affected by man’s sin. Still, the way we believe God to be (the ‘kind’
of God he is) does not only affect the way we think about him, but also “have a
powerful impact on the shape of the life of the believer” (Fretheim 1984:1).
We cannot escape the influence of the ‘kind’ of god we serve
on our lives. If he is cruel, we will have no problem being cruel – even in his
name. If he is revengeful, we will have no problem to be revengeful – in his
name. Put the other way round, if we are racist, we will find a god that will
approve of our racism – even the God of the Bible.
The question therefore, is not only whether one believes in
God or not, but also what kind of God one believes in. on the one hand, the
‘kind’ of god one believes in will shape the kind of person one is. On the
other, one will either find a god or shape god to fit the ‘kind’ of person oneself
is.
Hi Basie.
ReplyDelete"We cannot escape the influence of the ‘kind’ of god we serve on our lives." Yes, that is so true. I once had a discussion with a Christian lady at a Bible study on the death penalty for murderers - she was for, I against.
Anyway, she had a strong idea of the justice and righteousness of God and quoted Leviticus 19:18 - 'an eye for an eye'. I came back with Mat. 5:38-39 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person."
It was as if we were taking our cue from different Gods. And for me this is the problem with the concept of 'Progressive Revelation'; Jesus saying, "You have heard...but I say..." would seem to relegate the Old Testament to at best historical context, and at worst background noise!
Christian booksellers have picked up on this by selling the New Testament separately from the Old; physically removing Jesus and distancing Him from the 'OT God'.
Once we remove Jesus, it is easier to get the 'cruel God' you talked about. To me the Crusades are an example of this following the 'OT God' model, where vengeance was high on the list, and compassion lacking.
I believe that we need the Old and New Testaments as they interpret each other. But how do we find a balance?