The Bible, especially the Old Testament can come across as very radical and 'mean' to your average person's ear.

3 things people have to realize is:

1. The Bible speaks alot like a parable at times, for example "It is harder for a rich man to pass into the gates of heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle"
2. The Bible has been translated a lot over the years, words have changed, meaning of words have changed, ect.
3. The Bible has to be read as a whole, many people pick and choose verses that sound 'crazy' without reading the whole text.

It is also wise to visit a pastor of a church who studying the Bible is his profession and life. They are more intelligent on the matters. Go visit one sometime with a list of questions. But, do go to a good one... there are alot of false churches and preachers out there.

 

So the just and merciful, yet also vengeful, genocidal and jealous god of the old testament actually turned into a loving god in the New Testament? Such a conversion obviously seems to make your god a human invention that morally improved as humans did. Or are you saying that your god needed to use different moral standards at different times, that divinely prescribed morals are not absolute, but relative to the time and circumstances? If so, how does this differ from the situational ethics of the secular humanist so condemned by fundamentalist? And if you're dismissing the old testament, are you also throwing away Genesis and accepting our 3.5 billion years of evolution? I bet not. Besides, in your Bible, even Jesus and Paul are quoted as accepting the reality of Adam and Eve and of the global flood.

 

Actually, science is in agreement with the universal flood of the earth in the past. They are just in disagreement with how many years have passed since the flood.

It is common knowledge that Radiometric dating is not reliable going back more than approximately 150-200 years.

 

Also a Bible Professor at a major university would be good to talk to. They really break down the history of the Bible. Recently, a Bible Prof. came to speak at the church I go to. He helped translate the "Dead Sea Scrolls" (google it). Interesting stuff. The transcripts they found were like 900 years older than the previous-oldest transcripts and they were identical - over all that time. They also provide historical, non-biblical writings that prove that the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) are reliable historical writings - before discovery of these scrolls, many skeptical historians were writing the Bible off as an historically accurate description of 1st century Palestine. They also showed why Jesus was rejected by so many - the writings reflected the Messiah the people were wanting - a warrior. Not a passionate, kind, meek and gentle Messiah. There were 60-something others who claimed to be the Messiah (mentioned in said scrolls - there are believed to be many more that we'll never hear about), but none of those had a following after death.

 

actually those punishments of the old testament don't sound nearly as radical or nasty as the punishment in the new testament...

that is, if you do not accept the lord jesus christ as your personal savior, then you will burn (never-ending) in a lake of fire for all eternity...

 

I take you dismiss both creation stories in Genesis, the 10 commandements, and the flood, since they were all written in the old testament, I should just disregard it.

 

Not what I was wanting to get across...Frank S said better what I was trying to get across. Our God is not an ever-changing God. And no, I don't "write off" the Old Testament. The Old Covenant is what the people were under in the Old Testament (sacrifices for every sin were necessary for forgiveness...)
To add: evolution is a joke...

 

This is your god in the old testament is he the same in the new testament since he is what I high lighted?

"I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the fathers to the third and forth generations of those who hate me." [Exodus. 20:6 - Part of the 10 commandments]

 

Neither am I.

 

Then, how do you know the same thing didn't happen with the New Testament? How do you know what to believe?

 

As a whole, the Bible means the same thing as it did approx. 1,500 years ago. It has the same values, teachings, rules, story, ect...

What I mean is that people have translated for every language, people have tried to make versions that are easier to understand or in a more present day text. When this happens it causes controversy.

I am no expert on the matter but you should make a list of the hardest questions you can think of and take it to a pastor. Just from common sense, we are all going to be dead much much longer than we are alive on this earth. Humans need to spend alot of time on this matter and figure out what is the right thing to do. I would encourage you to see a 'specialist' in the matter but I am not going to tell you, you have to...

 

yeah...same God. He still punishes.

 

I readily acknowledge that the New Testament has a number of passages reflecting love and high standards of morality; that there are passages encouraging one to seek justice, to love mercy, to treat one's neighbor as oneself, to accept the prodigal, to speak the truth, to promote understanding, to treat one another with dignity. These are fine ethical ideals and are found in most religious and philosophies. The problem is that moral dilemmas in the really world are fraught with complexities. They are rarely black or white except to moral absolutists. The simplified ethics of Jesus is rarely sufficient to aid us in making wise choices. Consider the precept "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Does this mean that we are to abstain from condemning those who torture other people? And Jesus is purported to have said: "I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." yet, then, how do we cope with people like Hitler, or Iraq’s invasion, or a criminal breaking into our homes? When does not resisting evil, itself, become evil? The New Testament also has numerous moral injunctions that most Americans no longer support, such as the one by Jesus which allows divorces only in the case of adultery. Even today many states, though one can get married at the drop of hat, it's almost impossible to end a destructive marriage except by adultery (or some other extreme reason such as alcoholism or insanity) And how many have suffered because Jesus is reported to have taught that one actually commits the sin of adultery by marring a divorced woman? Surely there is nothing morally wrong in America today (unless one is a Catholic?) with marring a woman who is divorced. In fact, most would consider it an immoral and extremely harsh act for a society to prevent such remarriages. Today, the worldwide plight of women is being reinforced by biblical patriarchal thinking and moral codes related to sexuality. Also consider slavery: Paul, the Christian famous apostle, not only tolerated slavery, but essentially reinforced it. The New Testament, like the Old Testament perpetuated slavery by making the slaves obedience to their masters or religious duty. So here we are today, scientifically light years ahead of the biblical writers, yet still mired in the ancient religious beliefs held by powerful fundamentalist organizations for trying to convert America into a conservative, Christian theocracy.

 

I could go through your questions and try to answer them but it would take me quite literally all day.

I would suggest starting out with the 10 Commandments. The first 5 are about serving God the last 5 are about our relationship with man. These are God's only commandments to us. Once you fully understand them, all of your questions in terms of how we should treat others and what God wants of us.

 

There is so much exaggeration in your post, especially comparing Hitler to someone breaking into your home.

Remember, Paul was dealing with slavery because it was a custom of the time he was alive. Same as in the Old Testament. Does God want us making slaves of each other? No.

You say that we are scientifically light years ahead of the Biblical writers. I say we are not. People still murder, steal, commit adultery, blaspheme, bear false witness, etc. etc.

Most people that choose not to believe in Christ have a deep problem with authority.

Let's talk about the Muslim religion, and their support of the murder of "infidels". Infidels being non-muslims who are "not to be converted." Remember September 11, 2001 ?