Quote:
Originally Posted by Dedicated Mind
i think congruent is a broad enough term to incorporate differences. surely there are differences between the ot and nt view of god, but i think the prophecies, the substance of ethical teaching and the ethnic identity or community of the believers is all consistent in both testaments. what are the differences that you see? i'm sure we can come up with some creative exegesis to explain them away.
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Always!
OK, here's one. It is said that God is "just". This is the reason commonly given for hell's existence and for it being the final destination of some people. They
deserve that punishment. But when you look at what those people "did" to deserve that punishment, God's justice (IMO) disintegrates.
At one level, the punishment is for sin. We all have sinned. And even the tiniest sin is so heinous (in God's view) that it is worthy of terrible punishment. That is already weird enough, but it gets better!
This is where apologists say "Ah, but God made a way of escape." And this is where I mention another level where our punishment is supposedly warranted: the only people in hell will be those who did not make use of the "way of escape". Namely, the people who heard the "good news" and didn't believe the people who told them about it -- ultimately didn't believe the people who wrote it into the books that later became "The Bible". (And then there are the billions who never even
heard the "good news".)
So disbelieving what certain humans say is so evil that I will find myself in torment, and deserve it. Forever.
Mmmmkay. This is the Creator's "justice".