Toss the Old Testament?
(Taken from "The Pastor's Desk" by Alan Smith )

June, 2006

I've been interested in a recent group of letters discussing whether the Old Testament should be used because of the view of God that the Old Testament provides. Of course, those wishing to do away with the Old Testament as scripture are probably trying to get rid of other scripture as well.

That this discussion should be held among those who have access to the Inspired Version of the Bible completely misses the differences in understanding of God in the Old Testament that the Inspired Version provides.

The God of the Inspired Version Old Testament makes it clear:

• that God created all things spiritually before they were created physically.
• the reason God cast down Lucifer was because he rebelled against God and sought to destroy the agency of man which God had given them and because he wanted God to give him his power.
• that God taught man from the beginning about the gift of Christ and the way of salvation.
• that the God that could destroy most of he world in a flood was a God who wept over the wickedness and misery of those he was about to destroy.
• that God called people to respond to his love by following his commandments that Zion could return to the earth and people could dwell with him in righteousness, peace and joy.

The God of the Old Testament of the Inspired Version is much like the God of the rest of the scriptures. Those who reject the Inspired Version may or may not find reason to reject it as scripture. Those who believe the Inspired Version is scripture have no such problem.