LJK

Hope you are well.

I have had real big trouble with an age old question of which I decided the grudem has nothing useful to say. Since I am not able to come to any conclusion that will help my Christian walk, I thought id throw it open to a variety of people who I reckon might have something useful to say.

So here it is. How does one marry the god of the OT and the god of the NT? One the one hand we have a tyrant OT god who is ordering the slaughter of millions and yet in the new we have a loving and graceful god? How can he go from the god of the OT to the one of the NT just like that? It seems such a contradiction. Just to look at a few examples. He hardens fairies hart then punishes him for his actions? And if you logically think about the whole thing, god by his sovereignty puts people in the Promised Land only to send the Israelites in to kill them. Where is the god of the OT in this? Why does god love all the people in the NT (Jn. 3.16) but not in the old? Why couldn't he send Jesus earlier and save a whole lot of people? Was there any justification for his choice of actions? I know its all about god wanting to show his power and to glorifying himself and also that it is a picture of things to come but he is a very creative person looking at creation, why could he not have been more creative in the OT?

Then it is all about faith innit? But it’s not good enough to simply shove the issue off by claiming it’s about faith. We must be prepared to give an answer! What is the answer? I have been thinking of Charles Templeton who rejected god because of what he perceived as injustice on the part of god and the lack of answers. Don’t worry I'm not about to reject my faith!