The Wizard

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 07 Mar 2012, 18:28 · from 2012-March.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2012 10:28:19 -0800
Subject: (urth) The Wizard
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W561DC7C70AEB9E060043DECF560 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W561DC7C70AEB9E060043DECF560 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <CAJ8=rtjSEAuiNSxciwEqdVjMEfrURVQmRFwQOrs7UTwJhT-pfQ at mail.gmail.com>

Lee Berman wrote:

> As Christians are most focused on the gospels of the NT, so jews are
> focused on the Pentateuch. I think you would have to be selective and
> blinkered to read it and NOT see the war, genocide and paganistic
> trappings found among the ancient Hebrews and their God.

Agreed. But...
>
> Now if you are suggesting that God is more mellow and peaceful in the later
> prophet books than He is in Genesis and Exodus I would agree. This
> supports my thesis that this is an evolving God.

The Christian PoV is not that this is an evolving God, but an evolving
religion -- an evolving _response_ to God. The standard Christian
storyline is that God took a warlike, genocidal, and paganistic people
and, over a course of centuries, turned them into a people fit to
receive the Theoanthropos.

(Though perhaps He was impatient and sent/came as the Theoanthropos
too soon... I doubt that Jesus would be crucified in modern Israel.)

> You know, many Christians today are critical of Muslims and Sharia law.
> But from polygamy to honor killings to homosexual and slut stonings to holy
> wars, all that is criticized of Islam can be found in the Old Testament.

Again, quite true. The Christian narrative would be that this is
because God had to meet the Hebrews where He found them -- a
"stiff-necked people," as the OT repeatedly calls them.

> Things that are not
> found in the New Testament, as far as I know. ?But I am willing to learn
> differently and be corrected if I am wrong.

One of the most important things about the NT is that, while the OT is
the book (or library) of a people who have been a conquering empire in
the past, and believe that they will be again in the future, the NT is
the book of a people who are under the thumb of the Roman Empire and
don't see any way out in this world.

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes

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