God in the Old Testament and New Testament - Research Paper Example

God in the Old Testament and New Testament PART I God Almighty is the central figure in all the three Abrahamic religions i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Who is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe, according to the Holy Scriptures of these religions. The Holy Scriptures including the Old Testament and New Testament portray the image of the Supreme Being i.e. Almighty God, Who is the source of every goodness and blesses His creatures with all bounties and mercies. In the same time, He warns the humans and inflicts punishment upon those who are transgressors and follow the commands of Satan. Though both Old and New Testaments reveal the qualities of God describing the creation of the heavens, earth, hell, Adam, Eve and their offspring, yet both these Scriptures differ to one another in tone and interpretation. It is therefore the image of God described in the Old Testament is considered to be the authoritative and commanding one in comparison with the God portrayed in the New Testament, where He appears to be far more benevolent, kind and merciful while making comparison with the Old Testament. The articles under study also reveal the same, according to which God appears to be stringent towards the disobedient, announcing punishments to the wrong-doers time and again, while New Testament draws out the blessings sent by Him from high heavens to His creatures. The expulsion of Adam and Eve on tasting the fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis, 2-3), curse on Cain on killing Abel, Noah’s flood and destruction of his corrupt and defiant nation (Genesis 6-7), where God saved the pious men and all the animals which rode on the arch (John 10:7-11), punishment inflicted upon Pharaoh for humiliating and killing the Hebrew people, and trial of the Hebrew people on worshipping the golden calf (Exodus, 32-34) show that God of Israel or Old Testament deals with the rebels with an iron hand; while God of the New Testament forgives the entire cruel nation, which left no stone unturned to cause pains and sufferings upon Jesus Christ and his companions. Not only this that God in the New Testament did not announce any penalty to the transgressors, but also Jesus himself served as the most polite and forgiving personality, and ignored the butcheries and ruthlessness of his people. Hence, this difference of attitude creates some ambiguities whether the God of OT and NT is one and the same, or they are two different gods maintaining divergent dispositions and parameters while dealing with the human beings. Bassler (1986) has made a comparative analysis of the image of God in both the Testaments in his article and pointed out the causes behind the differences between the two Scriptures while depicting the image of God. He is of the view that the Old Testament (OT) does not define the attributes of God, and the concept of the God of Israelites, according to the Old Testament, reflects the imagination of the Israelites regarding the existence and sustenance of God, which is based on their experience, and thus they are not aware of the actual characteristics depicting the image of God. (Bassler, 1986) The author is of the opinion that since the Israelites receiving the commandments of God were limited in number, the future generations could not obtain true knowledge of God. Lack of proper description of His attributes, affirming His Oneness in the OT, caused the deviation of the Israelites from the basic belief regarding Oneness of God with the passage of time. The Judean religion had been divided into two parts; one followed by the prophets and spiritual leaders, and the other by the masses. The majority of the Israelites consisted of the masses, which did not understand Hebrew language; consequently, the future generations interpreted the concept of God on the basis of their imagination, which put them under the delusion that He remained harsh and unforgiving towards the Israelites. (Bassler, 1986) Their deviation from the right path and going astray also reflects lack of their knowledge regarding the attributes of their Lord. But it does not mean that the OT does not illustrate any idea of God. Psalmist indicates towards the eternity and perpetuity of God. (Ps 139: 17-18) In addition, OT mentions His independence on the one hand, and dependence of all the creatures upon him on the other. (Rev 4:11) In addition, Bassler (1986) speculates that since the God of Old Testament is particularly benevolent to one single nation i.e. the House of Jacob only, He appears to be a jealous God and does not allow any Hebrew break His laws at any cost. On the contrary, God of the NT is kind to all the creatures without discrimination and blesses relaxations and relief upon the people even they display transgression towards Jesus Christ. The address, in the Old Testament, is particularly to the House of Jacob, as God says to Moses that ask the Israelites that bring an animal from their herd or flock while presenting their offering to their Lord (Leviticus, 1:1), while the entire humanity is the subject matter of the New Testament, where Christ addresses to all the humans without any discrimination of caste, clan, community, race, ethnicity or region to worship God and be charitable in his Sermon on the Mount (Mathew, 5: 1-11). Another point raised by Bassler while analyzing the difference between the images of God in the two Holy Scriptures is this that Deuteronomistic writers did not convey the message of God to the illiterate properly, and leave them speculating about their belief and God, nor they highlighted the mercies of God upon them, as God had declared the Hebrew people as the chosen seed and showered His countless bounties upon them. (1986) On the contrary, they stuck to elaborating the wrath and anger of God on transgressors and wrong-doers. Similarly, the Israelites strictly adhered to the monotheist belief, which they considered as the essence of the Old Testament. Thus, the God of Israelites can neither be overcome, nor can be trapped, nor He can appear in human form. (Bassler, 1986) On the contrary, New Testament is interpreted showing holy trinity, where God is thought to be One in three i.e. God, Christ and the archangel Gabriel, where Jesus Christ of Nazareth claims to be the Son of God. (Acts, 2:22) Moreover, God of Israel issues decree to the Israelites to wage war against the non-believers and treacherous people, while God in the New Testament ordered Christ and his companions to be merciful towards the infidels even, due to the fact that Christ himself was present in human form to teach and preach the people, so being the part of holy trinity, he could not impose death and destruction to the people. Similarly, the contents of the New Testament show that God was not alone in making decisions regarding the fate of people. Rather, Jesus Christ influenced His decisions by requesting to be Merciful towards those who announced crucifixion to Christ. To conclude, it becomes evident that Old Testament depicts monotheism, where One single God takes decisions, imposes laws, introduces reforms, announces rewards and punishments and shows one single nation the light of truthfulness and justice. It is therefore, God of the OT appears to be a bit harsh and the God of wrath. On the contrary, NT portrays the concept of Holy Trinity, which takes decisions in consensus, and is not confined to one single nation of seed only. Rather, it gives the message of hope, peace, courage, love, chastity and kindness to all and sundry. Being three gods in one, they seldom agree on announcing penalty or punishment to the people. Consequently, God of NT looks more benevolent, merciful and loving. PART II The study of the Holy Bible, in a critical way, wide opened new dimensions of thoughtfulness and contemplation before me, which I had never experienced in past. It has elaborated the basic concept of Almighty God, which is different from one another in the Old and New testaments. It is fact that Old Testament narrates the stories of the Holy prophets, saints and pious men, who remained preaching their nations for decades, and could capture the attention and devotion of only few individuals. The non-compliance of the majority of the people invites the wrath of God, and the transgressors experienced infliction and penalty on their misdeeds and malpractices. Similarly, OT reveals the unflinching and unabated devotion of the holy men towards God, where Noah leaves his son because he did not comply with the commands of God, and Abraham is ready to sacrifice his son out of sheer love for God. Consequently, the offspring of Noah and Abraham is exalted to the position of chosen seed and remained as the spiritual and political leader of the world at large. On the other hand, the pious and noble personalities not only suffer a lot at the hands of the cruel and ruthless communities, but also lead a life of misery and desolation because of the wrong-doings of their nation. Similarly, the critical study of Bible revealed the relationship of God with man. It showed how much benevolent and merciful god has been towards His creatures, and bestows rewards upon them even on trivial virtues and compliance with His commands. In addition, man’s relation with God is eternal, and will remain intact even in the life Hereinafter. Bibliography: Acts, 2:22 Jesus a Holy Man http://bible.cc/acts/2-22.htm Bassler (1986) God in the OT and NT. Exodus, 32-34. The Golden Calf (Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+32-34) Genesis, 2-3. Fall of Man (Retrieved from http://bible.cc/genesis/2-3.htm) Genesis 6-7 The Corruption of Man (Quoted in http://biblebrowser.com/genesis/6-7.htm) John 10:7-11The Shepherd and His Flock (Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010%20;&version=31;) Leviticus, 1:1 The Lord’s Address to Moses (http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/lev/1.html) Mathew, 5: 1-11 Sermon on the Mountain (http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Matthew+5%3A1-11) Psalms 139: 17-18 Attributes and Mercies of God (Quoted in http://www.allaboutgod.com/truth/psalms-139.htm) Rev 4:11 Description of God (Quoted in http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=4) http://www.comereason.org/bibl_cntr/con090.asp Read More