Originally Posted by nighthawk
Going from OT to NT is interesting. At mass you get an old testament reading, a new testament reading, and a Gospel reading. Followed by a sermon that explains the readings, how they all relate, and what it means to us in our lives. Often the old testament reading prophesies what's fulfilled in the new testament.

That's the general theme, the OT is the promise and NT the fulfillment so they cannot be at odds. If you consider the the OT was written to teach moral truths, not history, not "The Art of War" and was written to address the people of the times much can be reconciled. The Jewish patriarchy was particularly strong (ferinstance "father" was all-controlling and could be translated as "lord," call no man lord) and rulers were cruel and absolute


The problem is not the morals of the people at the time, being atrocious enough by our standards, but the given descriptions of the god they believed in. Which is more a reflection of their own morality than any timeless values you'd expect to see from a compassionate god, a God of Love as described in the NT. As the saying goes, we create our gods in our own image.