OT vs NT Conceptions of Justice 2

Well, I’ve done some reading and thinking, and I have some more reflections. What follows is less of what I believe is empirical analysis, as I normally try to do with contemporary issues, but conclusions I have come to based off my personal relationship with my faith. I’m not sure what is “with” Catholic teaching and what isn’t, but I think nevertheless reflecting on matters of your faith is a healthy thing to do. 

I’ll start off by introducing a new word with a familiar concept: immutability. When we say God is immutable, we mean his internal nature is unchanging. Our conceptions of Him can change, but God, in his nature, is unchanging.

As Catholics, we believe in God’s immutability, and it’s easy to see why. No one wants a God who changes. A changing God makes the foundation of our beliefs seem uneasy and unstable. Here’s what another Christian blogger, John Whitsett, had to say on this:

“But to say God is not immutable--that His character is not fixed on His nature is changing and evolving as time marches on--is equally disquieting. For if God’s character is not fixed, then the foundation of our faith is unsettled. What’s to say He won’t, at some point, change back? A God who fluctuates, vacillates, and is subject to change cannot serve as an anchor for our faith. He becomes a God of mythology--capricious, unpredictable, and fickle”

This is a great way to articulate these issues. For anyone who’s studied the Euthyphro dilemma, it’s a similar problem there. So we’ve already decided one thing: if we take the OT and NT contradictions and face value, and say it comes from a God who changes, then we end up with an unsatisfying conclusion. That can’t be the answer. We have to keep looking!

And we’ll look again next week. Until then.