"The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations...He hath delivered them to the slaughter...[He] hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of [Edom]...for it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the [cause] of Israel." Isaiah 34:2, 6, 8
I believe this is what atheists call the "ugliness" of the Old Testament, i.e., the horrors of the genocidal wrath of God, a topic that we poor, deluded Christians try to ignore instead of deal with (unfortunately, there are Christians who ignore it). I do not plan on dealing with it, because despite our late twentieth century inherited squeamishness and wussy "let's just all get along" attitude, there is nothing in the Old Testament I have to deal with, as though it were detrimental to my faith. I will, however, attempt to answer the accusers as best I know how:
How can I describe the Indescribable
To those who want just the facts..."
-Jon Vowell
I believe this is what atheists call the "ugliness" of the Old Testament, i.e., the horrors of the genocidal wrath of God, a topic that we poor, deluded Christians try to ignore instead of deal with (unfortunately, there are Christians who ignore it). I do not plan on dealing with it, because despite our late twentieth century inherited squeamishness and wussy "let's just all get along" attitude, there is nothing in the Old Testament I have to deal with, as though it were detrimental to my faith. I will, however, attempt to answer the accusers as best I know how:
- God is a person. He is not mere brain, a machine, a life force, or emotive energy diffused throughout the universe. He is a person, which means He can love and hate just like (and infinitely more than) any other person. He carries all the emotive capacities of personality. Where exactly do you think we, His creation, got the same capacities from? We are in His image, and our personality comes from Him. He is just as much (and much more) a person as we are. Why people get so hung up with the fact that God can be as (and more) passionate as any person can be is beyond my understanding.
- God is holy. I cannot stress this enough: Sin must be dealt with. Those who choose Sin over God will be destroyed along with Sin. If His holiness offends you, then that's just too bad. You cannot expect fallen creatures to fully grasp or appreciate the holiness of a perfect God any more than you can expect an ignorant child to fully grasp or appreciate Dante's Divine Comedy in the original Latin; it is something beyond the scope of their comprehension. Just hear this: God is holy, and therefore He punishes Sin.
- God is in love. God has a bride, folks. He has a chosen people who He has called away to His divine intimacy. That people get bumfuzzled at God's destroying His chosen people's enemies simply blows my mind. God is as chivalrous as any burning heart of passion and zeal can be. His actions are not an ounce less than what any man would do to someone who attacked, insulted, and dishonored his wife before his eyes.
- God is love. God does not want people to be destroyed, He wants them to be a part of His chosen ones (II Peter 3:9). Christ proved God's love when He came to make us part of the bride (Romans 5:8). If anything, Christ is the ultimate answer to the "ugliness" of the Old Testament: God has made a way for us to escape the destruction of His and His people's enemies.
How can I describe the Indescribable
To those who want just the facts..."
-Jon Vowell
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