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Contrasting images of God inthe Old and New Testaments

The characteristic mark of the Gospel of Christboth in the Old Testament and in the New is that...

it evokes contradiction. (Karl Barth, The Epistleto the Romans, p. 349)

Old Testament New Testament

God Almighty A r!"i#ied God

$n the %eginning GO& "reated the 'e es!s* was with God in thehea+ens and the earth. (Gen. -) %eginning. Thro!gh him all

things were made. (ohn -/3)And they stripped him es!s* andp!t a s"arlet ro%e !pon him, and mplaiting a "rown o# thorns they p!tit on his head, and p!t a reed inhis right hand. And 0neeling%e#ore him they mo"0ed him,saying, 1'ail, King o# the ews2

And they spat !pon him, and too0

the reed and str!"0 him on thehead. And when they had mo"0edhim, they stripped him o# the ro%e,and p!t his own "lothes on him,and led him away to "r!"i#y him.(att. 5-6/3)

1'e God the 7ather* "r!"i#ied'im God the 8on*. (. 8. ewis)

The eternal God is yo!r re#!ge, and And at the nineth ho!r es!s!nderneath are the e+erlasting arms. "ried with a lo!d +oi"e, Eloi, Eloi,(&e!t. 33-5) lama sabachthani :hi"h means

1y God, my God, why hast tho!The O;& is my ro"0, and my #ortress, #orsa0en me my God, my strength,God is o!r re#!ge and strength, a +ery 1:hen the world shoo0 and the

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present help in tro!%le. (?salm 4@-) s!n was wiped o!t o# hea+en, itwas ... at the "ry #rom the "ross-the "ry whi"h "on#essed that God

was #orsa0en o# God. And now letthe re+ol!tionists "hoose a "reed#rom all the "reeds and a god #romall the gods o# the world, "are#!lly

weighing all the gods o# ine+ita%lere"!rren"e and o# !naltera%lepower. They will not #ind anothergod who has himsel# %een inre+olt. Nay, (the matter grows toodi##i"!lt #or h!man spee"h,) %!t letthe atheists themsel+es "hoose agod. They will #ind only one

di+inity who e+er !ttered theirisolation> only one religion in

whi"h God seemed #or an instantto %e an atheist. (G. K. hesterton, Orthodo!")

Ah, O;& GO&2 Behold, o! ha+e 'e sa+ed others> himsel# hemade the hea+ens and the earth %y "annot sa+e. $# he %e the King

o!r great power and o!tstret"hed ... let him now "ome down #romarm. There is nothing too hard #or the "ross and we will %elie+e him.

o!. (er. 3-5) (The mo"0ers at the "ross, att.5-4)

1$ am mee0 and lowly. (es!s,att. -9)

... ews demand signs andGree0s see0 wisdom, %!t weprea"h hrist "r!"i#ied, a

st!m%ling %lo"0 to ews and#olly to Gentiles, %!t to those

who are "alled, %oth ews andGree0s, hrist the power o# Godand the wisdom o# God. 7or the#oolishness o# God is wiser thanmen, and the wea0ness o# God

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is stronger than men. (8t ?a!l, or. /=)