Understanding the Old Testament

OT’s difficult stories draw us deeper into mystery of the Triune God

Speaking at St. Paul University July 2, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Scripture
scholar Edith Humphrey addressed the ways even problematic parts of the
Old Testament can draw us more deeply into the mystery of the Trinity.
Deborah Gyapong / CCN.

The B.C. Catholic has a story from CCN's Deborah Gyapong about a theology scholar who explains how the Old Testament links to the Holy Trinity:

It may be tempting to ignore the Old Testament, or to spiritualize its more bloodthirsty or seemingly contradictory stories, but wrestling with them can lead to a deeper understanding of the Gospel and the nature of the Triune God, says Scripture scholar Edith Humphrey. 

Whether it is the story of Abraham being told to sacrifice his only son Isaac, God’s genocidal ban placed on some of the peoples who already inhabited the Promised Land, or God portrayed as angry, jealous, or vengeful, these difficulties have sometimes led to heresy, and they continue to tempt Christians today to avoid the Old Testament. 

“When God enters the world, He enters this world with all its limitations, corruptions, and conditions,” the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary professor told a plenary session at the Metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies' annual Study Days at Saint Paul University July 2.  “That route is messy, and ultimately led to the cross and beyond the cross to Hades itself – which Our Lord conquered, not by waving a wand or by mere proclamation, but by entering those domains and destroying them from the inside.”

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.