Pastor’s Pet Peeve #1: Anti-Old Testament

Last updated on: February 2, 2018 at 8:54 am by Adam Ericksen

Pastor’s Pet Peeve #1: Anti-Old Testament 2018-02-02T08:54:43-05:00 Adam Ericksen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Below is the first video in a series on my Facebook page called Pastor’s Pet Peeves.*

I’m concerned about a growing anti-Old Testament movement on Facebook. I’m seeing this even on Progressive Christian pages. Many people claim that the Old Testament portrays a tribal God who only cares about God’s people Israel. And so thank God for Jesus and the New Testament for moving beyond such a horrible god. This view is formed from a misunderstanding of the Old Testament. And, unfortunately, this anti-Old Testament view can lead people to be anti-Judaic.

Christian history has scapegoated Judaism and the Old Testament for long enough. It is time we stop.

The Old Testament, or Hebrew Bible, or better yet, the Tanakh,** is not a book about a tribal God. Sure, the Bible was written during a time when particular groups of people thought that they were more special than anyone else. And, you know, I’m so glad we moderns don’t think like that anymore … America first and all …

For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, our common story is rooted in the call of Abraham and Sarah. The story of their call is in Genesis 12. They were called to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. They were not called to keep their blessings to themselves. Rather, Abraham and Sarah received God’s blessing so that they could imitate the God who blessed them by sharing God’s blessing with all the families of the earth.

All. The. Families.

The foundational story of the Old Testament is not tribal at all. In fact, it subverts any tribalistic view found in the Bible with the message that we are to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. So, please, let’s stop denigrating the Old Testament by accusing it of being tribalistic. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Old Testament for moving humanity beyond a tribalistic mentality.

*These are not pet peeves I have as a pastor of my church, Clackamas United Church of Christ, near Portland, Oregon. These are pet peeves that I have from what I see on Facebook.

**Some might claim the title “Old Testament” is denigrating. We could call it the Hebrew Bible. Or we could call it the Tanakh. But the book that Christians use isn’t the Hebrew Bible or the Tanakh because Christians place the books of the Bible in a much different order than our Jewish friends do. I talked with a Rabbi about this dilemma many years ago. She told me to just call it the Old Testament. So, that’s what I’ve done here.

Image: Copyright: ollega / 123RF Stock Photo

Stay in the loop! Like Teaching Nonviolent Atonement on Facebook!

Previous Post

January 29, 2018

Sermon: Jesus and the Demons - #MeToo

Next Post

February 2, 2018 Peace Journalism, Governing By Scapegoat, and the State of the Union - The RavenCast

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement and Current Events Curriculum Faith and Families Interviews Jesus the Forgiving Victim Lent Montessori politics Reviews The Bible Explained Uncategorized Valentine's Day Wednesday Sermon Who is God?

Select a Month July 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz