Old Testament vs. New Testament God

Whenever anti-Christian polemicists want to take a swipe at the Bible or the Christian tradition, certain passages of the Old Testament seem to be a favourite haunting ground for easy target practice.

Richard Dawkins, for example, has made accusing the God of the Old Testament a range of pretty loathsome adjectives a bit of a trademark for himself when he calls him jealous, petty, unjust, vindictive, bloodthirsty, racist, infanticidal, and so forth.

And I have to admit, that there are times I’ve spent reading the Old Testament with a sphincter fully clenched because of how terrifying I imagine some of those interactions with God would be if I was inserted into the story.

And I don’t know about you, but it’s certainly given me pause on such occasions to ask, how can this be the same God that Jesus calls father and reveals to us through his teachings and example? You might be tempted like Marcion to think that they aren’t the same God and that the God of the Old Testament must be some kind lesser being and the one that Jesus reveals the true Supreme God of the Universe.

[ambbarofficial]

People posed this question to Jesus in the context of the rules for divorce in the Old Testament. He responded that “because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so”. So I assume that as we exist in space and time, God’s relationship with man has a consideration of this reality and reveals Himself in the appropriate manner in each epoch.

[CMVBrielman]

It occurs to me that the same perspective that condemns God for His harshness in the Old Testament will simultaneously hold it self evident that modern society is more ethical and moral than previous generations.

[EndTimesHarvest]

There is an important observation to be made in this discussion of how the New Testament God is so different from the Old Testament God: when you get to the book of Revelation in the New Testament, God once again becomes just like how He is depicted in the Old Testament: full of wrath, judgment, vengeance, and a desire to destroy the wicked. In the events of Revelation, God pours out His wrath upon mankind throughout the Tribulation period, He destroys Babylon the Great, Jesus returns and slays the wicked, and Jesus smites the nations and subdues them. The kind of God described in Revelation is the same kind of God described in the Old Testament; the God of the Old and New Testaments are one in the same.

[LawGarithmic]

There's simply no more honest an indication of fear than the clench of a sphincter. - Albert Einstein 2/4/2420

[FraterSpiritus]

I’m reading “Against Heresies” by St. Irenaeus, definitely something more people should read.

[DoctorLazertron]

I had issues with the “jealous God” thing, then remembered what happens when you worship something like money or sex.

[Byron.D]

To add onto this a couple of things need to be said:

1. Christ IS the God of the Old Testament. No man has seen the Father save for the Son. Meaning that He who walked with Adam in the Garden was the pre-incarnate Christ. The one whom Abraham considered friend and spoke with face to face was the pre-incarnate Christ. The one who spoke to Moses in the bush was "The Angel of The Lord" which we know is the pre-incarnate Christ. The Rock of water and the manna from Heaven that they ate and drank from. When the Israelites ask for a king God says "They rejected me as their King, " and we know that only Christ is the one true king of Israel and the World. Even Creation it shows the Father speaking things into existence and order. Christ as the eternal WORD of God has always been the one whom the Father enacts His will through.

2. No one in the bible speaks more of Hell, Damnation, and of the destruction that WILL come upon sinners if they do not follow the Son of Man, the only begotten of God, than Christ Himself. Christ's first coming was of salvation, but don't get it confused it's also a fairly strict and blatant warning to get it together before he comes again in Judgement. Just like how in the Old Testament God would be long suffering and would continually warn the Israelites time and time again before he enacts his wrath on them for not listening.

3. The vast majority of the books within the Old Testament take place before, during, or soon after a war. The Israelites were in a near constant state of struggle both from the exterior nations and from their own internal idolatrous ways. If they weren't being invaded, they were invading, and if it wasn't either those two they were either in or about to start a civil war. If you actually pay attention to how God deals with his people there's always a cycle of "Warning>Merciful Waiting To Allow Repentance>Judgement And War>Redemption Of The Holy Remnant."

Christ was humanity's final revelation and warning. This Christian age is our Lord's final long suffering to allow as many people as possible to come to him and be saved; because after the Final Judgement and Redemption of his people this cycle isn't going to repeat again.

[alexanderhamilton]

GREAT analogy of the gentle father with his kids vs how he is at work as a prison guard! This is good stuff. Thank you, Brian.

[LaserFace]

One bit of revelation that has been sticking with me lately is the realization that God's apparent cruelty towards the seemingly-ignorant Egyptians, Canaanites, and other such groups isn't necessarily because of favoritism of just the Israelites, or that he hates those other groups. In the grand scheme of history, God's plan was to use the nation of Israel as a way to save all other nations, including those such as the Egyptians. In light of that, it becomes a very real question of "How dare you oppose that? You're not only damning yourself, but everyone you might care about, through your lack of humility before the God trying to eventually save you." And yes, God's chosen nation for this task was the Israelites, but it's not like He showed any real favoritism - their success as a nation depended on their fidelity to Him, and when they turned elsewhere, He gave them the exact same treatment by the hands of the Babylonians that they gave to the Canaanites. Again, "how dare you stand against the plan of salvation through your lack of humility before the God who wants to save you?" Once enough chastisements, of ALL nations, occurred, I think that was the point God said "Ah, good, I think you're starting to understand how complicated things are. Maybe you even learned some more compassion along the way. Now, let me show you what I REALLY have planned..."

[sergiopablo]

The more depraved a people is, the more unjust they perceive God to be. Our difficulty in understanding God in the Old Testament is a consequence of the growing distance between our twisted minds and the unchanging nature of God.

[tonicross]

New Testament God: Firm, Patient, Understanding.

Old Testament God: Fuck around and find out.

[orlindamyanov]

God is not Death but Life... That's why Jesus came to let us know the real God. Yahweh is not the Father

[brittanybasora]

Thank you for making this video ! I found this explanation very helpful in my understanding of the differences in how God is described in the Old vs New Testament. 🙏🏼

[biblescenes]

Thanks for a really good video, it is something that I have long been thinking about and, like a few other topics, people tend to shy away from it. I love the analogy of the driving instructor and immediately think of Philippians 3:24-25 that says “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” Once you’ve got the certificate you no longer need a driving instructor.

[ahmadadilovich]

So the explanation of the incoherence of God between the Old and New Testament is that a Person sometimes behaves differently?

[MastaKeahi]

This why I’m really glad I do the Bible in a year

[alandoughty]

I have tried to explain this very difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, to a non Christian but I could never do the subject justice, this video explains it very well, now I’ll just share this with non Christians who have questions, thank you Brian for this !

[bradberkely]

It would be useful to note the difference between jealousy and envy. In this case I'm talking about the definition of jealousy: "fiercely protective or vigilant of one's rights or possessions.". It is in loving us, His creation, that he is jealous of us and why the first commandment is what it is. He doesn't want to see us fall and He wants us to remain faithfully His for our own good as well. Envy is strictly desiring something that isn't yours. To say this makes Him petty is to show complete misunderstanding of what the verse is even saying.

[gerddonni]

"Novum in vetere latet, vetus in novo patet". St. Augustine and Brian seem to be in ligne, which is quite a good sign. 👍

[lediceizcast]

I invited Christ into my life today, all day I’ve been crying in repentance and joy. I’ve never felt love this deep, caring, wise, warm, knowing he loves me and my life is meant for the better through him.
I regret ever rejecting him, the day I asked for help with sincerity in my heart he answered in the way that left me no doubt. I turned my back on god letting arrogance, sin, and temptation rule over me. Despite my indifference, me leaving him.

My lord never left me

He advised me, guided me, protected me, and loved me the entire way back to him. It’s only now I realize how blind, dismissive, disrespectful, and ignorant I was towards him my entire life. Yet he was right there by my side.
I LOVE YOU LORD!
Thank you for the video; praise Jesus our savior. Amen!