Is The God of the Old Testament incompatible With Jesus?
- It seems to me that the real question being asked is regarding the infallibility of scripture. Is the biblical God nothing more than an anthropomorphic projection of
human thought? And, if he is, is God real—or merely us, projecting “Us”?
Here’s an interesting question. Can God have unfulfilled expectations? In the story of Noah, God has regrets. That would imply that God had an expectation
regarding humanity and then experienced disappointment and regret because their behavior was something other what he intended.
This very finite view of God is also expressed when God comes hunting
for Moses with a burning, homicidal rage. God appears to have the expectation that Moses should do the right thing, and when he doesn’t, God gets seriously miffed. Seems like an anthropomorphic projection to me. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that God is nowhere to be found.
Children learn by imitating their parents. Their behavior, however, isn’t always a
reflection of their parent’s actual intent, but more reasonably a childish version of an adult’s perspective. In other words, they learn, they evolve, and they mature. How thy express themselves at any given stage of development depends on how much “light” they have—or how much “enlightenment” depending on the cultural metaphor.