(June 16, 2015 at 12:20 am)Parkers Tan Wrote:(June 16, 2015 at 12:02 am)Catholic_Lady Wrote: I just want to make a general statement about that since it keeps being brought up so much:
Remember, I am a Christian, not a Jew.
I cannot speak for Judaism, but Christianity is defined by the New Testament - the Gospels, the teachings of Christ. The OT was not perfect, and neither were the people's view of God back then. That is part of the reason why Jesus came. To show us what God is *really* like and to set the record straight on some things. While the OT talks about an eye for an eye, Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek. While the OT justified stoning or killing in some instances, Jesus stopped a whole crowd of people from stoning a woman.
I am not saying any of this to "convert" anyone. I know none of you believe in any of it. I'm just saying it to clear up some misconceptions you may have about my beliefs and my religion. If anything, so that you can be better equipped to debunk Catholicism if you so feel the need to do so. ;-)
This is a silly objection. The god of the OT and the god of the NT are the same god. Either morality changed over time -- indicating that it is malleable -- or your god has acted immorally. Your personal religion is irrelevant, because you worship the god of the Bible. All the Bible. So far as I know, the Catholic Church includes the OT in its holy text. Saying that you don't is probably not something you'd say to your priest, I'm betting.
Parkers-
You are absolutely correct. God is the same regardless of which testament we are discussing. Therefore, claiming that he is no is right out.
It is also true that God does not act immorally - it is more likely that we do not understand God's actions and therefore, we judge it to be immoral by our standards and according to our understanding.
I also reject the idea that morality has changed - at one level anyway. Murder was wrong for Cain and it is wrong for me. No change.
Therefore, ISTM that we have to examine WHY God might have instructed the Israelites to take certain actions at one point in OT history, only to command something different later in the NT.
But in order to discuss that intelligently, we have to agree on some examples of that behavior. To what are you referring when you say that God acted immorally in the past?
