Sex outside of marriage and the Bible

[keith]

God of the Old testament is the same as the New, although his interaction with us has changed.

this has always confused me a bit.

Did he finally buy a new mattress, get a good nights kip and suddenly think;
'I've been a bloody mean spirited sod for the last few millennia, maybe this whole creation lark might run more smoothly if I lightened up a bit.'

either that or a mid immortality crisis?

Answers on a postcard please.

[achilleus]

God of the Old testament is the same as the New, although his interaction with us has changed. No more fiery bush or Pillar of cloud or Pillar of fire to lead us around the desert. Instead we have to seek him out and be prepared to listen (to that small quiet voice) if we want to interact with him.
I'm just guessing, but I think that because God was so much more present in the lives of the people that contributed to the more stringent penal code of the time. There is less room for appeal, when the Judge is standing right next to you saying "Don't do that".

As I said above, that's one way of looking at it. Considering the number of different authors of the Bible, it's not the interpretation I would choose...

[Soldier]

Well, that's one interpretation.

Realistically, the Old Testament God is very different from the New Testament God. The reason being is because of how the people perceived their God has changed over time. Thus, their interpretation of God and his laws changed. This change continues even today...

For example:
The OT God gave Moses The 10 Commandments and when Moses returned from the mountain, found many of the people worshipping a different god (the golden calf whose name I forget...). What happened? Moses and the faithful killed the heathens. At the time, Thou Shalt Not Kill, only applied to how you treat other Jews.

The NT God, or his son Jesus, had 2 Commandments, Love God and Love Thy Neighbor. This was a loving God, not a vengeful God.

Reconciling the two God's is always a difficult matter.

Not quite. The reason for the difference between the Old and New Testament God is Jesus. Old Testament, God kept people in line by giving them a bunch of rules to follow. If they failed to follow them, they were in for it. Strictly legalistic; the rules were the rules.

The whole reason for Jesus in the first place is forgiveness. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can now be accepted even when we break the rules, so long as we're really sorry and want to get better.

It's like the difference between getting caught by the cops, who have to arrest you, put you through due process, etc., and being reprimanded by your parents, who will love you anyway, see that you're sorry and trying to get better, and cut you some slack.

[Soldier]

Also, Jesus didn't give those commandments. When the Pharisees tried to trick him (as usual) by asking him which of the commandments was the most important, he pointed to loving God and loving thy neighbor as the two most important ones.

And, by the way, the "heathens" that Moses and his lot killed after coming down from the mountain, were Jews. They were the ones who refused to stop worshiping the golden calf.

[achilleus]

Also, Jesus didn't give those commandments. When the Pharisees tried to trick him (as usual) by asking him which of the commandments was the most important, he pointed to loving God and loving thy neighbor as the two most important ones.

Right. Which is a vast departure from the God we saw in the OT.

And, by the way, the "heathens" that Moses and his lot killed after coming down from the mountain, were Jews. They were the ones who refused to stop worshiping the golden calf.

You are correct, I misspoke. They were Jews, but were worshipping the golden calf. The point, was that if they didn't worship the OT God, it was OK to kill...

Thanks for the correction.

[Soldier]

Didn't mean to be disagreeing with you, I don't think; was just throwing in some side clarifications.