A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Fred G. Zaspel
In the second century AD, Marcion explicitly rejected the Old Testament, and although the church repudiated his teaching, for many Christians there is a lingering uneasiness with the content of the Old Testament in comparison with the New. Many liberal critical scholars diminish the Old Testament’s theology, ethics, and history. It is imperative that this next generation of Christians be taught the value and truth of the Old Testament as the Word of God. Rather than ignoring it, the church should provide answers to the challenges and tough questions that people wrestle with in regard to the OT. Jesus is central in the message of the Bible, but we must never set Christ in opposition to the rest of revelation. We must take up the questions and accurately depict the true God and all that he has done. Since the OT represents about 75% of God’s revelation in Scripture, to ignore it is to ignore the majority of what God has revealed.
Table of Contents
1 The God of Mercy or the God of Wrath?
2 The God of Peace or the God of Ethnic Cleansing?
3 The God of Truth or the God of Deception?
4 The God of Evolution or the God of Creation?
5 The God of Grace or the God of the Law?
6 The God of Monogamy or the God of Polygamy?
7 The God Who Rules Satan or the God Who Battles Satan?
8 The God Who is Omniscient or the God Who Doesn’t Know the Future?
9 The God Who Elevates Women or the God Who Devalues Women?
10 The God of Freedom with Food or the God of Forbidden Food?
Quote & Unquote
- “Jesus is indeed central to the message of the Bible, but we must never indulge in a Christo-exclusivism that downplays the rest of the teaching of the Bible.” (11)
- “God’s name, character, reputation, works, and purposes were beautiful, righteous, just, fair and upright. It is with this purpose, then, that we propose to tackle these tough questions.” (14)
- “God’s anger is preceded, as well as it is followed, by his love, grace, and mercy. It is for these reasons that we refuse to make a difference between the way God is represented in the Old Testament and the way he is represented in the New Testament.” (25)
- “Israel was privileged to receive the Law instead of it being a burden or grief to them! How were the people of Israel, and more importantly, how are contemporary Christians, supposed to respond to the Law of God?” (75)
- “In an age where the trajectory of many social movements is toward unlimited personal autonomy and freedom, the Law of God remains an objective, eternal witness to that which is good, righteous, and holy.” (87)
- “Satan is not presented as one of the main characters of the Old Testament, but it is clear that, from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, his hand was evident even though his name was not always highlighted.” (116)
- “It is not that one of God’s standards, his nature, or his being has changed. Rather, in keeping with what we know of other living persons (who can change their actions when a person who has offended them turns and repents), so God as a living person can likewise change in his actions when there is a basis for doing so while retaining the stability of his character and nature.” (130)
- “The God who made the world is the same God who made our minds, thus a direct connection between my mind and the world is possible. To deny objectivity would be self-defeating, for it would again reduce to a violation of the law of non-contradiction.” (138)
Buy the books
TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD AND HIS ACTIONS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.