Actually, the Old Testament God is really an asshole. A murdering genocidal, kill kids type of asshole.
The Gnostic folks tried to resolve this dilemma of God is Holy, while being a true asshole, by concluding that there was a different Old Testament God than the New Testament God of love who cares for man. They theorized that the New Testament God was superior to the lower status sorta evil Old Testament deity. It might’ve been a tad simplistic, but it certainly helped to resolve issues with God slaughtering so many innocents. And really, what type of supposed Supreme Being is hung up on smelling the barbecue goodness of an animal offering to him?
That dichotomy is also a nifty way to side step the band on eating shrimp, poor boys and the refusal to adhere to menstruation tents. I had a conversation with my minister on this subject, and I asked him how seminary education dealt with that vengeful Old Testament God thing. He replied that they were far more important things to focus on, like the salvation of man.
Has anyone had a similar discussion with their pastor?