This week on the Thinking Matters Podcast we spent time with Theologian and Christian Educator, Dr Matthew Flannagan discussing the God of the Old Testament and how some people can struggle reconciling that God with the God of the New Testament. We also have Matthew answer the question: ‘Is God a Moral Monster?’ responding to some of the questions that arise out of Richard Dawkins description of God found in his book The God Delusion (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006) and which are still viewed by many all these years later.
‘The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, blood thirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.’ (p31)
Dr Flannagan’s bio:
Matthew is a theologian with proficiency in contemporary analytic philosophy. He holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Otago, a Masters (with First Class Honours) and a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of Waikato, and a post-graduate diploma in secondary teaching from Bethlehem Tertiary Institute. He lives in Auckland with his wife Madaleine.
LINKS TO THINGS MENTIONED:
- Matthew blogs on: MandM — Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Theology and Jurisprudence http://www.mandm.org.nz/
- The book Matthew mentioned in the podcast is: The Quest for the Historical Adam, Dr William Lane Craig.
We hope this episode gave you a better understanding of the Old Testament.
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