In article <1993Apr23.142414.20665@sei.cmu.edu>, dpw@sei.cmu.edu (David Wood) writes: |>  |> mlee@ra.royalroads.ca (Malcolm Lee) writes: |> >These laws written for the Israelites, God's chosen people whom God had |> >expressly set apart from the rest of the world.  The Israelites were a |> >direct witness to God's existence.  To disobey God after KNOWing that God |> >is real would be an outright denial of God and therefore immediately punishable. |> >Remember, these laws were written for a different time and applied only to  |> >God's chosen people.  But Jesus has changed all of that.  We are living in the |> >age of grace.  Sin is no longer immediately punishable by death.  There is |> >repentance and there is salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.  And not just |> >for a few chosen people.  Salvation is available to everyone, Jew and Gentile |> >alike. |>  |> Sorry if this is late for the thread, but... |>  |> I thought God was supposed to be constant and never-changing.  How do |> you reconcile this common Christian view with the paragraph above? |>  God never changes.  He still loves us.  Sending Jesus was one of His attempts to reconcile with mankind.  The nature of God has not changed.  |>  |> Also, while we're at it: |>  |> 1. How do you reconcile "A KIND and LOVING God!!" with the |> Judeo-Christian view that sin was at one time "immediately punishable |> by death"?  Was killing people for sinning God's way of showing |> KINDness and LOVE? |>  Sinning in the face of God was punishable by immediate death.  There are several OT passages to back this up.  God is God.  He cannot tolerate the prescence of sin in His midst.  And the Israelites knew this!  And still, some of them chose to disobey and were destroyed.  Were these people KIND and LOVing themselves?  God gave them every break He could but in the end, He really had no choice in the matter.  Seeing as how we were failing to achieve salvation on our own, He sent His Son to die for us - to be the ultimate sin offering.  Now we live in the age of grace.   |>  |> 2. Is the fact the He no longer does this an admission on His part of |> having made a mistake? |>  He sent His Son as a consolation to us, out of love.   |> 3. Now that we are "living in the age of grace", does this mean that |> for our sins, God now damns us to eternal hell after we die, rather |> than killing us immediately?  If so, is this eternal damnation an |> example of "A KIND and LOVING God!!"? |>  Hey, let's be fair for a moment here.  KIND and LOVING does not mean a free ride.  There is an amount of give and take as in any relationship. Parents are supposed to be kind and loving but does that mean that  children can do whatever they want?  NOT!  Part of being a parent means administering punishment when the child is at fault.  Part of being a  parent means giving instruction.  God tests us through the trial of life such that we may grow stronger.  He teaches what is right and  what is wrong.  The consequences of our actions are made clear to us, be it Heaven or be it Hell.  If God did not follow through with what He has warned us about, He would not be a very good parent.  In parenting, if a parent issues a warning but does not follow through with it, the children will not take that parent's words very seriously. God does the same by telling us who have ears to hear what to do and what not to do.  By life's trials, we see the folly of doing our own will rather than His.  He warns us about the consequences of rejecting Him when it comes time for Judgement.  Do we follow Him?  I will.  Peace be with you,  Malcolm Lee  :)