CHISTIANS PLEASE EXPLAIN

[truthBtold]

Hi Lek.

If I may. I'm coming at this from a (broadly) Christian perspective and I still have a problem with it. Perhaps you can help me.

1. An offense against God is more serious than one against people is a concept I understand. However I see little consistency. Many of God's prophets were abused and attacked (as you said) but only occasionally is retribution forthcoming. Why was a bit of mockery of the prophets baldness deserving of such punishment. Bear in in mind that if they'd just seen him walking up the road then they had no way to know that he even was a prophet.

2. The God I know, from the NT is as you say a merciful God. Do you have any trouble reconciling the God who deals so fairly with the woman at the well and who asks God to forgive the soldiers who nailed the son of God himself to a cross, with the one who kills 42 youths for making a crack about somebody being bald. Does it seem consistent to you?

I'll try to answer your questions the best I can as to my understanding and it's hard to do in a few words. I'll acknowledge that at first read it appears that God is inconsistent. First of all I feel the best way for people today to understand the entire bible is to begin in the new testament and then study the old testament. The reason I say this is that salvation comes from faith in Christ and the new testament contains the story of his life, death and resurection as well the testimonies of those who walked with him, listened to him and witnessed the events which were written about. If you believe that Jesus is the incaration of God, then you will believe his testimony concerning his father. Concerning the God of the old testament, if you read the first and second chpters of the book of Romans, Paul shows at great length why everybody who ever lived is worthy of God's wrath, the same as Adam, because we also sinned against God. God told Adam in the garden that if he ate of the tree of good and evil he would surely die. God was rougher in the old testament which was before Jesus' atoning death on the cross. His justice was being carried and it was fierce, but it was all to unravel his plan to make the ultimate sacrifice for us to avoid the final act of justice which was eternal death, culminating in Jesus taking upon himself athe wrath of God. He saved us from the punishment we were facing. The bible ends with the final victory over evil and the creation of the new earth which will be inhabited by those who accept his gift. It's like "paradise lost and paradise restored." Why God acted the way he did I don't understand, but according to his son who paid the penalty for us I believe that is he loving and just. We can't totally understand God, but we can know Jesus and believe him.
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In ur bible it says god doesnt change.. how could u say that he was rougher in the old testament before jesus? U ever hear of preordained?? Jesus was one the waitng list, waiting for his calling..