Blame God or Blame the Bible?

George Tarleton is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic seeker after truth who is not afraid to explore difficult and challenging questions. Early in 1993 he circulated an article in order to stimulate responses and comments and to draw attention to possible implications of some of the bible stories. In particular, he was concerned about the contrast between the God we see as represented by Jesus of Nazareth and the god of the Old Testament. I had to respond, not because I have any fears about George's love for the Lord or his earnestness in continuing to seek the truth, but because his "insights" (which was part of the title of his article) genuinely stirred my thinking.

Christians have to face a problem about the bible record of God and it is not honest to hide from that problem behind glib, dogmatic statements of faith. The god of the Bible, and especially of the Old Testament, is often portrayed as a character who would not be respected if he were human. Characteristics like quick temper, vengefulness, capriciousness, jealousy and insecurity are not the traits we look for when choosing our friends. Our friends would also not keep our respect if they required us to constantly keep complimenting them. What kind of god does the Bible portray?

The questions we are presented with are...
was the god of the Old Testament a different (inferior) god from the one who Jesus called "Father"? or was the Old Testament speaking about the same god but putting across views of him that reflected their own culture and understanding but can be misleading if taken as eternal, unchanging truths? Could those bible images of God be mistaken?

George's article expanded on the old gnostic (See Note 1) view, which answered, "yes" to the first question. My response emphasised the second alternative.

©Derrick Phillips
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