[Forest Keeper]

Seems to me that by your logic, your only choice is to scrap the OT or scrap the NT.

Not at all. That logic would have the OT and NT being incompatible. My position is that they are complimentary. They are both 100% correct and true. God can walk and chew gum at the same time. Therefore, He can be a God of total love and a God of total justice simultaneously.

I see a denial of a part of God's essence because by human standards it makes Him appear to be mean or cruel. My view is that our human standards are irrelevant when contemplating the essence of God that is actually revealed to us in scripture. He is Who He is. God obviously does not reveal to us ALL that He is, but what He wants us to understand about Who He is. That's why I can't give up on the OT. I think God is really trying to give us some information there about Him. And I, for one, am just as comfortable with the revelation about Him in the OT as with that in the NT. I can say that if I refuse to apply human standards to God.

[Kolokotronis]

"...when contemplating the essence of God that is actually revealed to us in scripture."

The essence of God is completely unknowable, FK. Humans cannot know or contemplate Ο ΩΝ.

[D-fendr]

My position is that they are complimentary. They are both 100% correct and true… He can be a God of total love and a God of total justice simultaneously.

I notice you didn't parallel love and hate; or love and anger or forgiveness and vengence or life and death. That would be contradictory, and require human standards for you I'm guessing. So those pairings need avoiding.

I see a denial of a part of God's essence because by human standards it makes Him appear to be mean or cruel.

We do get that with a literal reading of parts of the OT don't we?

My view is that our human standards are irrelevant when contemplating the essence of God that is actually revealed to us in scripture.

I wouldn't use the word "essence" here, but yes if you take everything literally, some standards are gonna have to go to keep your "compatibility". Actually, the standard of compatibility would have to go from a 100% literal reading.

That's why I can't give up on the OT.

Who says give up on the OT? You can keep it and even some of your human standards.

I, for one, am just as comfortable with the revelation about Him in the OT as with that in the NT. I can say that if I refuse to apply human standards to God.

That would be one way: A kind of 'just keep one-eye closed' approach. :)

thanks very much for your reply..