Religion made just right for man, by man.
I believe that it was FK (pray correct me if I am wrong) that identified that God may lie to us for His purposes
Of course, it's in the OT, among other things God does, such as genocide...killing of the firtsborn, etc.
Notice: wicked. It is what they have done, not what they have not done
Yeah, but they will tell you they would have done it if they had lived. They were wicked even if they didn't do it yet. Even the animals God drowned.
I dare say that God has the right to do as He choses. It departs from the Gospels and from much of the Bible
But to some sects and cults the Gospels are merely another part of the Bible, so the Bible is interpreted not in the light of the Gospels but by the preponderance of material. For some Protestants, the NT means re-interpreted +Paul more than Gospels. The rest of the books are "auxilliary" sources.
When confronted, they will tell you the reason is that his letters reresent most of the NT. So it's quantity that counts?
Taken in such light, the OT weights in much more porminently in Protestant sects and cults than the NT, never mind the Gospels. It's obvious that the NT and Gospels in aprticular represent a miniscule portion of the whole bible compared to the OT.
In fact they are appalled that the Apostolic Church considers +Paul's Epistles seondary to the Gospels, that only the Gospels stand on the altar, that only ordained ministers (priests, deacons) can read the Gospels, while +Paul's Epistle's are read by laity and are not on the altar.
It's not the same faith, us and them, Mark. It only bears the same labels. Even what they call "scriptures" is not the same.
Right straight to the heart of things, my friend.
I would like to expand, though, on many of our Protestant friends’ different sects and their use and reliance on different portions of the Bible.
I have run across those who at least nominally read the whole Bible; we have those who place weight on the OT; those who eschew the OT and use only the New; many elevate St. Paul above the Gospels; some rely only on Luke and Acts; and at least one bunch that concentrates on Revelation.