This perhaps is the reason why Old Testament books such as Deuteronomy, Jeremiah and others are cited far more frequently than quotes from Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Furthermore, the bulk of scriptural verbal references are not made to Jesus (proclaimed by evangelicals to be God) but to the "God" of the Old Testament. This suggests that if Jesus is God as is commonly accepted today, then what God said in the Old Testament and what Jesus said in the New Testament come from the same single source.
However, God as quoted in the Old Testament is judgmental, harsh, punitive and a proponent of war and ethnic cleansing. You cannot find corresponding words and attitudes in what Jesus (God-become-mortal) taught as a spiritual foundation of living while mortal himself.
Aggressive Christian advocates and manipulators then quote "God" from the Old Testament while strongly implying that the New Testament Jesus, the "Living God," agrees with and approves their actions and assumptions.
Led by Reverend Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson and other prominent televangelists, the gospel of Christ has been reframed. As Jerry, Pat and gang would have us believe, the following religious objectives of America are contained in the Gospel as they see it:
Empire and a long-term "war" on terror: Publicly proclaimed by their "Christian in the White House," these religious leaders would have you believe that Christ approves of aggressive and violent spreading of the American version of "freedom" much in the tradition of the War God of the Old Testament.
Jesus at no time ever proposed or commanded a "crusade" approach to global evangelizing, yet led by Mr. Bush, aggressive Christian supporters of the president are openly insisting that Jesus approves.
Changing the constitution: Without invoking the "God" of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, there is absolutely no acceptable rationale for changing the U.S. Constitution to reflect theological supremacy over the document. This is a serious reconciliation problem with Jesus' Gospel, typified by "render unto Caesar."
Issues around civil liberties, particularly those specified in both the Constitution and Declaration of Independence continue only as modern crusaders studiously ignore Jesus. If the judgmental and punitive "God" of the Old Testament spoke specifically against homosexuality and with rigid cruelty toward the rights and dignity of women, corresponding rigidity and cruelty are not found among the sayings of the Living-God, Jesus.
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