[donaldscrankshaw] Donald: Why I believe in God: The Old Covenant and the New

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Posted by Donald:
Why I believe in God: The Old Covenant and the New
http://www.donaldscrankshaw.com/posts/1205282169.shtml


   On a superficial level, Judaism looks a lot like other ancient tribal
   religions. Why would the real God, someone wholly different from the
   tribal gods which so many cultures created for themselves, deign to
   interact with humans in that way? Unless, perhaps, it was to make a
   point. We spend a lot of time demanding that God deal with us on our
   terms. We ask questions like, "Why doesn't he just reveal himself to
   us directly, with clear and undeniable revelation? Set up our
   government, and tell us exactly what he wants us to do? Give us clear
   rules and judges to rule over us? Provide for us and destroy our
   enemies?" We ignore the fact that the story of Israel is the history
   of him doing exactly that. He chooses Abraham, makes him into a tribe
   to compete with all the others, and promises him that he will prove
   that he's greater than all those other gods. Then, in the time of
   Moses he calls the Israelites from bondage, demonstrates his power
   through plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, gives clear
   instructions as to what he wants, physically dwells with the
   Israelites in the form of cloud and fire. And the Israelites reject
   him anyway. They complain and whine, they're fickle and hard-headed.
   Despite all they've seen, they don't trust that he'll fulfill his
   promises: on the threshold of the Promised Land they turn away,
   fearful that they can't beat the Canaanites living there, even though
   God has already demonstrated his ability to defeat the far more
   powerful Egyptians. God doesn't give up, though. He gives them chance
   after chance, as a tribe, as a nation, as a kingdom, as two kingdoms.
   He gives them prosperity and hardship, judge and prophet, king and
   priest, making sure they have every opportunity to see that he's
   faithful, that he's good. And time after time, we see that this sort
   of relationship doesn't work. Obedience predicated on punishment, the
   type which the ancient world so indoctrinated, had a hard enough time
   getting strict obedience: it could not draw out love. Belief based on
   proof is not the same thing as faith, and will soon find excuses to
   revert to disbelief anyway. The story of Israel isn't the story of one
   nation's rejection of God, but rather a demonstration of all humanity
   in a microcosm.
   And that's where the new covenant comes into play. When God called on
   Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he was doing more than testing Abraham's
   faith. He was teaching something as well. Love is demonstrated through
   sacrifice. And for Abraham to sacrifice not just his firstborn son,
   but his only son, the long awaited fulfillment of God's promise
   miraculously given to him and Sarah in their old age, was an amazing
   act of love and faith in God. But why demand it at all, even if it was
   turned away at the end? Wasn't it cruel? It was hard, but it was a
   lesson. At the foundation of the Jewish religion is the story of the
   painful sacrifice of the son averted. At the foundation of
   Christianity is the story of the painful sacrifice of the son carried
   out, not as a sacrifice to God, but as a sacrifice by God for us. I
   won't attempt a full explication of the Crucifixion here, except to
   note that the son went willingly, every bit as committed to saving
   humanity as the Father. This sacrifice changed the covenant between
   God and Man. No longer was God demonstrating his power and asking for
   our obedience; instead, he was demonstrating his love and asking for
   our love in return.