The God of the Old Testamet

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Hey Everyone,
I have been reading quite a bit up on the theory of evolution in my biology class and came across quite a few documents written by Richard Dawkins. From what I have gathered from reading excepts from his book “The God Dillusion” he seems to believe that the infinite love of God of the new testament is contradictory to the apparent wickedness (As he sees it) of the God of the old. I was wondering how we as Catholics ought to refute this error, that the God of the old testament is not contradictory with the God of the new because they are the same. Furthermore, why the following statements by him is a misinterpretation of the God of the Old Testament.
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully”.

If they God is God of all testaments and ultimately God of all peoples even if they do not acknowledge him, why is God not these things (which I believe they are not but don’t know why :confused: )?
 
I think Dawkins makes the fatal error of treating God like a man. Men are not all-knowing or to judge other men. It would be pretty arrogant for a man to decide what is good or evil as though he has authority. But God can. He does have authority.

The Messianic prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God always planned to suffer and die for us. That shows love, to suffer for the one you love. God is so holy that even things we treat as small faults offend Him. So His ways seem stern, to modern men especially who hate obedience and authority.
 
GOD sent HIS SON to save the World from sin and death which is very vindictive (fatal in fact) against sin and death. 😉

One of the ‘other things’ accomplished by CHRIST was a ‘perfection’ [v.] of our understanding of GOD. If, in the OT, GOD reads like “ogre” it is only because it is pre-understanding as related by JESUS.

I think there are preservative measures at work there as well. Like my Gunnery Sergeant used to say, “you will do what I say or you will fear me” (we did what he said but we still feared him).

I think the greatest suffering of JESUS was cummulative. I think it must have taken (but not consumed) his Godliness to choose the words of his message (painfully) carefully, as HE knew, with certainty, that we would argue today over his message to people 2000 years ago. GOD talked to Adam, Eve, some major/minor prophets, Moses, then he said forget this, and sent JESUS. 😉
 
Cjhubbs97 said:
“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully”.
Click to expand...
For one thing, if God doesn’t exist, none of these characteristics is “bad” in a moral sense. Only if God DOES exist can we make such universal moral claims, and they are only universal because they derive from God. All of the charges above are charges of lacking some aspect of God’s goodness (which is what makes them morally “bad”).

So Dawkins’ statement boils down to “The God of the Old Testament is not God.” That is a reasonable question to address, but of course none of the new atheists ever addresses it.
 
Yes I came across Dawkins in my biology class. I actually am taking biology through an online Catholic Academy and we spent 3 weeks on evolution and were presented both the creationist view, the theory of evolutions and varying beliefs in it as well as what the Church teaches on the subject. We also had to watch a film called "Expelled; no intelligence allowed and Dawkins was in it. I find the topic of creation and evolution fascinating even if the theories presented are not absolutely true so I have been trying to do more research into this topic and found out more about Dawkins. Thank you all for the help so far. I think I am starting to understand that what you all are saying and I do not think Dawkin’s view is accurate. However, how do I explain these passages to myself and my Catholic and non-Catholic friends alike, in the light that Christ came and is the messiah.

Ex.22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.”
Lev.24:16 “He that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him.”
lev 20:27 “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”
 
Cjhubbs97 said:
Yes I came across Dawkins in my biology class. I actually am taking biology through an online Catholic Academy and we spent 3 weeks on evolution and were presented both the creationist view, the theory of evolutions and varying beliefs in it as well as what the Church teaches on the subject. We also had to watch a film called "Expelled; no intelligence allowed and Dawkins was in it. I find the topic of creation and evolution fascinating even if the theories presented are not absolutely true so I have been trying to do more research into this topic and found out more about Dawkins. Thank you all for the help so far. I think I am starting to understand that what you all are saying and I do not think Dawkin’s view is accurate. However, how do I explain these passages to myself and my Catholic and non-Catholic friends alike, in the light that Christ came and is the messiah.

Ex.22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.”
Lev.24:16 “He that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him.”
lev 20:27 “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”
Click to expand...
In these passages God is speaking to his Chosen People, the ones who he particularly wanted to be faithful to him and to the truth, because from them was to come the Messiah who would redeem not only them, but the whole world. So, they were to be pure and holy in all things unlike their pagan neighbors who worshiped idols and consulted mediums instead of trusting in God alone.

Also, God’s justice is just as important as his mercy. This was before Christ was incarnated. Justice was immediate and swift, not put off since the outpouring of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. The people of Israel were to tolerate no sins of these kinds among them and the penalty of death was immediate. We too are not to do these things, but we will pay for our sins, if unrepentant, when we die. The coming of Christ is the factor that changed how and when God exacts his justice, but now it is Christ who judges us because he became one of us. He is also the one who pleads for us that God will grant us his mercy. Just be thankful you live in the age of grace and not of immediate justice. 😉
 
Cjhubbs97 said:
However, how do I explain these passages to myself and my Catholic and non-Catholic friends alike, in the light that Christ came and is the messiah.

Ex.22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.”
Lev.24:16 “He that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him.”
lev 20:27 “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.”
Click to expand...
The worst thing that can happen to any human is to experience eternal death in Hell.
Start to look at God’s commands as designed to do all He can to keep us from living in such a way that Hell is where we would spend all eternity.

I love the words God spoke thru Isaiah:
Isaiah 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: ** "Sons have I reared and brought up**,

I remember thinking about that - and thinking about how I raised my 3 sons. When they were young I had to threaten them with punishment sometimes in an attempt to keep them from doing something that could harm them. If they wouldn’t just obey because they wanted to please me, hopefully they would out of fear of the consequences if they disobeyed! I did it because I loved them. My parenting methods changed as they got older - but the purpose was always the same.
I found a parallel to this when I thought of God “rearing” His son Israel. God’s people, Israel, were like young children at the time the Mosaic Law was given.

Those who go to hell choose to reject God – choose to not love, respect or want to be with Him. For example, the behaviors described in the 3 verses you cite express a rejection of God for other gods (Ex 22), serious disrespect for God (Lev 24), and seeking a personal relationship/communion with satan and/or evil spirits (Lev 20). That behavior comes from a rejection of God in one’s heart and mind. And, to choose to reject God is to choose Hell. God did not give those commands against such behavior out of meanness, but rather out of love – to get them to abandon behaviors that would land them in hell for all eternity - if not out of love for Him, then out of fear of physical punishment.
 
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