Questions about the God of the Old Testament

[_sock puppet]

as one who believes God can and has intervened in human history,

Why was God so active then, and now not so much a word or whimper in centuries? I have not seen mainstream Christians accept what it is claimed God is telling certain men, prophets, for nearly two millennia now. Why then? Why not now too?

[_Aristotle Smith]

as one who believes God can and has intervened in human history,

Why was God so active then, and now not so much a word or whimper in centuries? I have not seen mainstream Christians accept what it is claimed God is telling certain men, prophets, for nearly two millennia now. Why then? Why not now too?

I think your Mormon bias is showing through on this one. Both Christians and Jews have radically different views, compared to Mormons, of what constitutes a prophet (and apostle for that matter). If you start as an atheist and assume that all believers see the world through basically Mormon presuppositions, you are guaranteed to have problems.

[_sock puppet]

as one who believes God can and has intervened in human history,

Why was God so active then, and now not so much a word or whimper in centuries? I have not seen mainstream Christians accept what it is claimed God is telling certain men, prophets, for nearly two millennia now. Why then? Why not now too?

I think your Mormon bias is showing through on this one. Both Christians and Jews have radically different views, compared to Mormons, of what constitutes a prophet (and apostle for that matter). If you start as an atheist and assume that all believers see the world through basically Mormon presuppositions, you are guaranteed to have problems.

Agreed it is a Mormon bias, but I think it is a fairly framed question that the Mormons pose to the rest of the Judeo-Christian world. Why do they believe God was talking to man from say 4,000 BC to about 120 AD and then stopped?

To phrase it for Mormons, why do you believe God was talking to man from say 4,000 BC to about 120 AD and then stopped, and did not restart until 1820 AD? What about the intervening 1700 years? Why did God not talk to men then? And why doesn't God say much, particularly for the last 33 years?

[_Aristotle Smith]

Agreed it is a Mormon bias, but I think it is a fairly framed question that the Mormons pose to the rest of the Judeo-Christian world. Why do they believe God was talking to man from say 4,000 BC to about 120 AD and then stopped?

Still a Mormon bias. Why do Mormons think that Jews and Christians think that God stopped talking to the world around 120 AD (or CE for our Jewish friends)? Because that's what Mormons think happened.

[_sock puppet]

Agreed it is a Mormon bias, but I think it is a fairly framed question that the Mormons pose to the rest of the Judeo-Christian world. Why do they believe God was talking to man from say 4,000 BC to about 120 AD and then stopped?

Still a Mormon bias. Why do Mormons think that Jews and Christians think that God stopped talking to the world around 120 AD (or CE for our Jewish friends)? Because that's what Mormons think happened.

Where are the supplements to the Bible? Where are these new God-speaks written?

[_Jersey Girl]

Where are the supplements to the Bible? Where are these new God-speaks written?

Not claiming to read the mind of Aristotle, I don't think he is referring to scripture. Do you perceive what I am referring to?

[_huckelberry]

People have had some tendancy to view the world as harsh and dangerious. Children died all the time. Why? They saw God as reflecting the harshness of the world. God was dangerous and utterly beyond our judgements of just.

The Bible is a long cultural history in which people hunt long and hard to find evidence of a God less brutal than they themselves are. It does not start with any such assurance.

Let's take this a step further. Mankind has a long cultural history in which people have hunted long and hard to find a way to explain the brutality of life, the brutality we inflict on each other and so ancient man made a pinata (God, as a concept) that we could then take whacks at (attribute to God these atrocities). But this made life even scarier, more bleak. So beginning shortly before what is referred to as the Meridian of Time, instead of blaming God for the atrocities, we've given God a make over. In more recent times we've turned the ogre that we blamed things on into an all good, all loving individual that is looking out for us and will right all of the injustices we're enduring 'in this life'.

Are you speaking of the Old Testament God whose love endures forever, who sets free slaves, who is protector of women, children, and the helpless, who protects his people and asks that they love one another and take care of the helpless? Even if invented, which is not my view, I can not imagine he was invented to explain the harshness of life.

[_Stormy Waters]

I think your Mormon bias is showing through on this one. Both Christians and Jews have radically different views, compared to Mormons, of what constitutes a prophet (and apostle for that matter). If you start as an atheist and assume that all believers see the world through basically Mormon presuppositions, you are guaranteed to have problems.

God used to work great wonders. Like turning the Egyptians water to blood, parting the red sea, walking on water, and raising the dead, and give us a prophet. Why doesn't he do those things anymore? Why the change?

[_huckelberry]

Where are the supplements to the Bible? Where are these new God-speaks written?

All sorts of Christians think that God inspires peoples communication. I do not think that there is any reason to add them to cannon. In recent years Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King have spoken Gods word. I do not see any shortage of predecessors. Consider Thomas Aquinas.

isn't it odd that I consider fallible human thoughts as inspired? I do not imagine that Mr King or Aquinas had perfect thoughts, understood God perfectly. Composed of the searching thoughts of men lead by the inspiration of God is how I understand the Bible to be inspired in its formation.

I might add the clarification that I do not think disregarding harsh and difficult portions of the Old Testament is a good way of understanding the whole.

[_Stormy Waters]

Are you speaking of the Old Testament God whose love endures forever, who sets free slaves, who is protector of women, children, and the helpless, who protects his people and asks that they love one another and take care of the helpless?

Did he tell his people to love one another as they exterminated the Amalekites? Did he tell them to take care of each other when they killed the infants?