![]() ![]() If one considers that such God-maligning thoughts as those in the image above spring from a common root (the supposed injustice of God), addressing that root would seem to be the best response. (Usually this is the result of the “how could a loving god…” line of reasoning.) The author does not believe that God is unjust because of his acts of violence, but rather they accuse God of violence because they already believe him to be unjust. Thoughts like those being conveyed expose an underlying negative view of God which motivates the way its author processes information. It’s difficult to respond to the image above directly. Of course, this all leads to the question “Is the violent God we are told is portrayed in the Old Testament an apt description of God?” Is the God of love we are told is portrayed in the New Testament an apt description of God? Why do these descriptions of God appear to be at variance with each other? Have you noticed that those who use the term almost always follow its use by their “interpretation” of what Scripture (usually certain specific passages, which result in certain specific doctrines) says? Therefore, “since Scripture says…and we know Scripture is without error….” Completely logical, right? Or so those people want us to conclude. Has Scripture always been considered inerrant? If not, when did that idea emerge? Exactly what do you mean by inerrant? Even though most presume the meaning of inerrant to be quite obvious, is it? Do people really mean exactly the same thing by that term? I commend you for wanting to hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. Perhaps it might be an apt description of something they or someone else has imagined, but nothing about that means it is in any way accurate. Though one might compare God with a frog, that does not make their comparison an apt description of God. I cannot decide whether to push ahead or just give up in defeat.Īny thoughts on what I should do? How do you understand the violence of God in the Bible? Also, how would you respond to that image above? That is why you have been seeing fewer and fewer posts on it. But the further I go, the harder the book becomes. This is a challenging proposal, and I am trying to write a book to defend it ( When God Pled Guilty). When God looks violent in the Old Testament, it is not because He is violent, but because He is taking the sins of the world upon Himself, just as Jesus did on the cross. We must read the Old Testament through the lens of Jesus, and see that Jesus shows us what God is truly like, even though much of the Old Testament portrays something quite different. My conviction, however, is that God is not like Hitler God is like Jesus Christ. If God can behave like Hitler, but it’s okay because He’s God, I don’t think God deserves our worship. Hitler wasn’t God, and so it was wrong for him.” Most Christians would say something like this: “Well, God is God and so He can do what He wants. It is interesting because I am still in the middle of a long series on how to understand the flood in light of Jesus Christ, and the flood is exactly what this image talks about when comparing God with Hitler. One of them recently sent me this picture: ![]() I talk weekly with people who are pretty antagonistic toward Christianity. ![]()
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