The OT Blues
Many of us have been having discussions on Christian’s and their involvement in war and conflict. Some of us have even begun believing in this Christian Pacifism thing. One argument against our position of radical non-violence that I am sure many of us have heard time and time again sounds something like this: “Well, maybe Jesus acted that way and taught that way, but what about God’s actions in the Old Testament.”
Admittedly, this is not an easy question to answer. Any answer we may be prepared to give will be lengthy and chances are it will ask the listener to see different starting points for the act of theologizing about the issues. Therein lays the problem. Any honest discussion about the Old Testament and why we seem to see God acting differently must ultimately delve into the deep recesses of our mind, into the folds of tradition and orthodoxy, where we find assumptions and biases that make us hypocritically hold a dichotomist view of Jesus and YHWH while speaking about the unity of the Trinity. Furthermore, upon any sort of recognition of our own intellectual shortcomings on this issue an individual finds a choice. The first option is ignorance and the bliss of turning back to a world where everything one was taught remains true, where the Old Testament is a simple precursor to the Christ the church tells us about. The second option demands that we must painfully attempt to burn the chaff of what we have been taught that is not biblical. We must sift the traditions of man from the traditions of God. In short, this second option is nothing less than the carving of a layer from our skin, a layer that many of us aren’t comfortable examining because it certainly will take a lot of hard work.
My personal reaction to the question of why the Jesus of the New Testament and YHWH in the Old Testament focuses less on an answer to the specific question but instead shifts the focus to the inherent problems of the Old Testament for all believers. The complex questions of the Law, the foreshadowing of Christ, the Creation account, the Flood, as well as the occasions of accepted murder, incest, deceit, theft, and polygamy all present unique challenges to orthodox faith in a variety of ways. My goal in such a dialogue is to point out that the ‘problem’ of the Old Testament is not a unique challenge to Christian Pacifism, but rather it is a universal Christian problem. The bipolar God question affects the orthodox as much as it affects the non-orthodox. The point of my response to such a question is that until we all can be honest and admit the hang-ups of all theological perspectives which rely on the example of Christ in comparison with the traditions of the Old Testament there will be no good starting point for a discussion on the Old Testament.
Only if we can find a way to begin the dialogue with all parties admitting that they do not fully understand God’s methods and actions in the Old Testament can we begin the vital internal investigation of digging up false concepts and antiquated notions in order to find out exactly what it was that this YHWH was up to.
In closing it is important to point out that the unfortunate part of any discussion like this is that it requires time, concentration, and a true desire to understand from those who oppose such stances from the start. Not only do new perspectives on OT theology require a person to examine their beliefs in this one area, but the examination must, due to it’s nature, spread beyond into the very heart of other issues. Like falling dominoes many issues and ideas – inerrancy, sociology and the social evolving of people and groups, the philosophy of history, anthropology, pneumatology, eschatology, Christology, satan, political structures and democracy, just to name a few – will all be radically challenged as one openly looks for truth in the Old Testament. Like a scared animal such a monsoon of challenges can only feel like an attempt to drown us. Fear and reaction can only be natural from those we wish to speak to about this issue. It is important to remember that only by God’s grace can we carve layers from our own skin. In the dialogue process all we can hope to do is hold the light up for our friends to help them to see where to begin their own cutting.
Admittedly, this is not an easy question to answer. Any answer we may be prepared to give will be lengthy and chances are it will ask the listener to see different starting points for the act of theologizing about the issues. Therein lays the problem. Any honest discussion about the Old Testament and why we seem to see God acting differently must ultimately delve into the deep recesses of our mind, into the folds of tradition and orthodoxy, where we find assumptions and biases that make us hypocritically hold a dichotomist view of Jesus and YHWH while speaking about the unity of the Trinity. Furthermore, upon any sort of recognition of our own intellectual shortcomings on this issue an individual finds a choice. The first option is ignorance and the bliss of turning back to a world where everything one was taught remains true, where the Old Testament is a simple precursor to the Christ the church tells us about. The second option demands that we must painfully attempt to burn the chaff of what we have been taught that is not biblical. We must sift the traditions of man from the traditions of God. In short, this second option is nothing less than the carving of a layer from our skin, a layer that many of us aren’t comfortable examining because it certainly will take a lot of hard work.
My personal reaction to the question of why the Jesus of the New Testament and YHWH in the Old Testament focuses less on an answer to the specific question but instead shifts the focus to the inherent problems of the Old Testament for all believers. The complex questions of the Law, the foreshadowing of Christ, the Creation account, the Flood, as well as the occasions of accepted murder, incest, deceit, theft, and polygamy all present unique challenges to orthodox faith in a variety of ways. My goal in such a dialogue is to point out that the ‘problem’ of the Old Testament is not a unique challenge to Christian Pacifism, but rather it is a universal Christian problem. The bipolar God question affects the orthodox as much as it affects the non-orthodox. The point of my response to such a question is that until we all can be honest and admit the hang-ups of all theological perspectives which rely on the example of Christ in comparison with the traditions of the Old Testament there will be no good starting point for a discussion on the Old Testament.
Only if we can find a way to begin the dialogue with all parties admitting that they do not fully understand God’s methods and actions in the Old Testament can we begin the vital internal investigation of digging up false concepts and antiquated notions in order to find out exactly what it was that this YHWH was up to.
In closing it is important to point out that the unfortunate part of any discussion like this is that it requires time, concentration, and a true desire to understand from those who oppose such stances from the start. Not only do new perspectives on OT theology require a person to examine their beliefs in this one area, but the examination must, due to it’s nature, spread beyond into the very heart of other issues. Like falling dominoes many issues and ideas – inerrancy, sociology and the social evolving of people and groups, the philosophy of history, anthropology, pneumatology, eschatology, Christology, satan, political structures and democracy, just to name a few – will all be radically challenged as one openly looks for truth in the Old Testament. Like a scared animal such a monsoon of challenges can only feel like an attempt to drown us. Fear and reaction can only be natural from those we wish to speak to about this issue. It is important to remember that only by God’s grace can we carve layers from our own skin. In the dialogue process all we can hope to do is hold the light up for our friends to help them to see where to begin their own cutting.
posted by kurbis at 9:12 PM
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