WBC promises not to protest 9 year old's funeral

[pheonix561 2080]

Are they not worshipping the same god as I

The point I was making was that no, they are not worshipping the same god as you. It's the same name, but your god and theirs are two very different things.

[Max 10]

It's all from the same book.

[pheonix561 2080]

Right, but they still have a habit of interpreting it differently. That's why Christianity has so many denominations.

[Max 10]

Right, but the Bible very clearly says that God is all forgiving and all loving.

[Skippy 82]

It's all from the same book.

Yeah, exceot they devote their entire belief off of leviticus, which was negated by the teachings of Christ. The New Testament supersedes the old testament in Christian faith.

[Chase 390]

People tend to focus on one part of the Bible and nothing else. Human nature, I guess.

But, as a whole, it's obvious that the Bible is about God's plan of redemption for us. Not protesting funerals.

[pheonix561 2080]

Right, but the Bible very clearly says that God is all forgiving and all loving.

Sure, it says that in one point of the bible. And if we were following the bible chronologically, then it seems the last time we heard from god he was a pretty cool guy. But throughout the bible, God does not maintain this stance. Leviticus, being the example Skippy provided and the book the WBC seems to love to enforce, shows god being very controlling. And in other instances of the bible, he is very wrathful. Which is why the bible itself is open to so much interpretation and debate, and from it stems the many different denominations of christianity.

[Chase 390]

But anyone who thoroughly studies the Bible would know that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament aren't that different. In fact, they're exactly the same.

People tend to think of God as wrathful in the OT. That's, well, because he was. We had not been forgiven through Christ yet. Sin was still very much a real danger for everyone. God was pissed off because people kept sinning even though he said not to. But those with faith, such as Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon, Job, etc., found favor with God. They were considered righteous. And, if you'll notice, all of them (with the possible exception of Job) were not blameless. They were not righteous of their own accord. David, especially, was a heinous sinner. But righteousness comes from faith and not by works, so they were righteous because of God and not themselves.

This is paralleled in the NT. After God delivered on his promise with an ultimate sacrifice, Jesus, we no longer have sin to worry about. While we do still sin because we are in imperfect, mortal bodies, God does not hold us accountable as long as we have faith in Christ. Faith that Christ has the power to rise from the dead and forgive sins. Faith that Christ is God. Everyone in the NT with faith, such as Paul, Peter, John, etc, etc, were all sinners (especially Paul, who was a CHRISTIAN KILLER) but all were counted as righteous because of their faith in Christ.

There are also cases in the NT where God shows wrath, such as the case of Ananias and Sapphira. They sold a plot of land and pretended to give all their money to the church, but they lied and only gave part of the money. Paul accused them of lying to the Holy Spirit and they were struck dead immediately. They lacked faith, so they were not forgiven their sins. I'm pretty sure they didn't even ask to be forgiven.

So, as you can see, God is the same throughout. The NT just focuses on his infinite love and grace because it gets to the whole reason for the Bible in the first place. Jesus.

[pheonix561 2080]

Its not a question of is god the same throughout the bible or not. He is, for the most part. Sure, he's more wrathful in different parts and more loving in others, but he's still the same god. Its not who he is, its who we are, and how we understand the bible. Or rather, how we as individuals do so. Different people will add more emphasis to different books, or take something more seriously than something else.