In a nutshell: Bible scholar Peter Enns (who has written a good number of things that I have previously found helpful) has been on record as suggesting that, while the Old Testament portrays God in a violent, vengeful way, this is completely the opposite of Jesus's example and that attempts to explain it away simply don't work and that this is "simply a matter of reading the Bible... with both eyes open". Not surprisingly, he has been accused of the Marcionite heresy (that the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament are not the same, as the former is evil.)
In a blog post today, he denied this, but to be honest, I didn't find his explanation to hold very much water. There was a kindly written, helpful comment written by "Jerry Shepherd" where he challenged this, and all Dr. Enns said in response was "C'mon Jerry. You were trained in biblical theology better than that." I happen to think Jerry, whoever he may be, is probably right on this matter.
In general, it seems to me that Marcionite ideas have been popping up more and more lately among some Christian crowds - some Christian professors have become simply dismissive of the standard apologetic defenses of violence in the OT. Maybe they can't find a way to reconcile it with Jesus's teachings, but I suggest they are simply refusing to think beyond their own personal views, which we can't do when it comes to theology.
In a blog post today, he denied this, but to be honest, I didn't find his explanation to hold very much water. There was a kindly written, helpful comment written by "Jerry Shepherd" where he challenged this, and all Dr. Enns said in response was "C'mon Jerry. You were trained in biblical theology better than that." I happen to think Jerry, whoever he may be, is probably right on this matter.
In general, it seems to me that Marcionite ideas have been popping up more and more lately among some Christian crowds - some Christian professors have become simply dismissive of the standard apologetic defenses of violence in the OT. Maybe they can't find a way to reconcile it with Jesus's teachings, but I suggest they are simply refusing to think beyond their own personal views, which we can't do when it comes to theology.
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