Introduction
This paper is one I wrote in college. Dated Sept. 25, 1981, it was submitted to Drs. Agnes B. O’Donnell and Donald E. Byrne for Honors HCC-201.
Paper
The Bible records and interprets the development of Judaism and Christianity, two faiths under one God. Christendom’s Bible contains two testaments under one cover. The Old and New Testaments are also called the Old and New Covenants, agreements between God and humankind, binding together privilege and responsibility with a developing code of laws. Through the Law, which evolves from the stories of Genesis to the Good News of Jesus Christ, the people of the Bible relate their conception of God with their own humanness, attempting to understand both.
Genesis first reveals the biblical concept of humanness and its relationship to God, where man is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and where God charges man with the duties of earth’s steward (Genesis 1:28). Genesis’s writers perceive God to be the omnipotent, omniscient, and fully good Creator and Initiator of all things, who defines humankind’s role as caretaker of the world (Genesis 2:15), but still part of it (Genesis 3:19). The laws originate in God (Genesis 2:16), and when humans disobey them, God exacts a sentence (Genesis 3:16-19). The almighty God circumscribes the boundaries of humanness.
During the Exodus, the relationship between the people of Israel and God further develops, and they learn to know He is their God (Exodus 3:16). In addition, their humanness entails being His people and the object of His concern (Exodus 3:7-10). To achieve the salvation they recognize coming from God (Exodus 15:2), the people of Israel seek to follow the Decalogue (Exodus 20:1-17), God’s dictation of humankind’s responsibilities to Him and others in the covenant relationship. The Ten Commandments and other forms of divinely inspired Hebrew law define that relationship and prescribe the method for living as God’s chosen people.
Where the Pentateuch explains the relationship of humankind and God with laws and obedience, Hosea’s prophecy explores that relationship through the symbols of marriage’s love, faithfulness, and mercy (Hosea 2:18-20). The Hebrew picture of God has changed from an image of the judgmental and stern father to an image of the compassionate and forgiving husband. Hosea feels the Hebrews, as human beings and God’s children, must seek their sins’ remission, relying on God’s capacity to forgive (Hosea 5:15-6:2). He also experiences God’s power to regenerate through love, saying He “…will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3b). Hosea’s prophecy develops the awareness of the God of Love, who further reveals Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God (Mark 1:1), presents the fullest understanding of God’s nature and the best model of humanness by existing, acting, and speaking. Within the context of the Mosaic and prophetic view of the divine-human relationship, Jesus complements, not supplants (Matthew 5:17). He does, however, break with Old Testament Law when dealing with salvation, which one cannot achieve by observing the Law, but which God gives to believing Christians (Galatians 2:16). Throughout His life, He exemplifies the ideal of humanity and the reality of divinity, exhibiting boundless love, compassion, understanding, devotion, dedication, self-sacrifice, intelligence, insight, and strength. When He says the greatest commandment is that “…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mark 12:30), He defines what should be the aspiration of all humankind. Jesus simultaneously illustrates complete humanity and divinity.
The Bible reflects a changing understanding of the Law of God, which parallels a developing conception of humanity and divinity. The writings seek to discover the nature of these two forces by analyzing the relationship between them. In the Old Testament, the relationship works with laws, making the contrast diffuse. But in Jesus Christ, the comparison is immediate and intimate. The questions of what it means to be a human being and who or what is God or transcendence demand answers, yet appear unanswerable when tackled. But the compulsion to keep trying is rooted deeply in the human psyche, as witnessed by the existence and continuing popularity of the Bible and similar works from other traditions.