bummed

I was super excited about Boyd's series of posts on the violence in the Old Testament. I like Boyd a lot and had high hopes. But I have to confess that I'm pretty disappointed.

Now to be fair, he did warn that he didn't anticipate wrapping any easy answer in a pretty little package ... (and I don't think his series is actually done yet) but I did hope for more than what there has been.

Boyd seems to end a lot with this general thought: "Until then, remember that our picture of God is to be rooted in Jesus Christ alone, and our attitude toward enemies is to be derived from Jesus Christ alone."

I like that sentiment. I believed that for a long time. But my question remains .... why. How can we justify that?

Christians use parts of the old testament all the time to define their picture of g-d .... his relationship with David or saving Rack Shack and Benny (I KNOW those weren't their names, okay?) from the fiery furnace, or parts in the psalms. Personally, one of my favorite verses was always the one in Jeremiah (... for I know the plans I have for you ...) though I always just ignored the fact that I took the verse totally out of context to fit my own random scenarios.

But I don't think we get to pick and choose the g-d of our wildest dreams -- conveniently omitting all the parts that don't square with our pretty picture. It's not a cafeteria plan.

And obviously I don't at all think Boyd is suggesting a cafeteria-plan Christianity.

But though Boyd is discussing the questions ... and he seems to look at some possible explanations, I am frustrated that he always seems to conclude, that the answer doesn't really matter. The gross atrocities in the old testament shouldn't affect our faith, because our faith is rooted in Jesus.

It's a nice thought. But our whole image of Jesus that is supposed to define our picture of g-d is rooted in the very same bible that paints g-d in other places as violent, misogynistic and angry. How can we say look at one, not the other? Can we really keep one picture and toss the other one out because it's not helpful or pleasant? To me, it's like wearing blinders ...

And the answer absolutely matters. Or else, why would we even bother asking the questions?

So much for Boyd salvaging my faith in one fell swoop. I was kind of hoping he would do my dirty work for me. Oh well.

PS: This is an interesting article about biblical violence and aggression.