I would like to point out that most of God’s violence in the Old Testament — both in terms of his harsh indictments and punishments against Israel and his genicidal tendencies toward foreign nations ending with “ite” were in relation to idolatry.

Now perhaps it is anachronistic of me to state that idolatry is not lawlessness on a societal scale because it does not seem inherently connected with social chaos, and in fact sometimes serves to foster social cohesion.

Perhaps the problem with God’s anger had to do with expectations. I’ll admit outright I’m projecting human emotions onto God, but certainly I feel most engraged when people I love break important commitments to me, or expectations I have for them. Granted many expectations contained in the OT were for Israel only, but let’s just say Yahweh had a “subconscious expectation” that all of humanity should love, recognize and worship him, on account of the fact that this was perhaps always God’s deepest heart’s desire. And maybe that’s why God got so T—d off when people were unfaithful to him or didn’t treat one another properly, worshipped cute wooden dolls etc. Perhaps God coped with his anger over unmet expecations through various means, from ritual sacrifice to prophets and occasionally losing i and wanting to get rid of the whole human project and start over (like someone who wants to escape a relationship, only to find that the next one will have the same difficulties.) All this was of no avail until he accepted the way of the cross. It turns out, accepting suffering and death — the consequences of someone else’s sin — is the only way to heal our own anger and turn toward the one who hurt is with open arms of compassion.This approach would explain both the congruity and incongruity of the two testaments without dismissing either one.

I would also like to point out that there is a difference between suggesting that Jesus and compatriots intentionally scammed the Jews into accepting a new religion and postulating that, like many Christian liberals today, Jesus may have loved his tradition but also criticized or disagreed with certain Hebraic interpretations of history or even God.

How many scholarly pastors particpate in the liturgy, “This is the Word of the Lord” after a scripture reading, without holding a belief in biblical inerrancy? Perhaps Jesus did a similar thing as a Rabbi in the 1st century.