Seeking God and trying to understand God’s nature has been an unending effort of the human race in all cultures and religions and in every age and epoch. How God is perceived even within a single monolithic religion may not be the same across all its shades and periods. The Bible is no exception; its contents span a period of about two thousand years and in all probability with different schools of thought existing simultaneously.
Theologians by and large agree that God of the Old Testament is a ‘God of Law’ while God of the New Testament is a ‘God of Love’ and it is true to a great extent. My reading of the Bible tells me that it is only a partial truth; we find five distinct faces of God in the Bible including the above two. So, the God of the Bible is a Panchamukhi.
- God of Concern (Genesis): Genesis portrays God as a fraternal figure and a caring father meting out only corrective punishment. He created Adam and did not leave him alone; He settled him in Eden. He then created Eve as a partner for him as He felt it is not good for man to be alone always. God did not chase away Adam and his madam at random when they disobeyed God and got dispossessed out of Eden; He made them leather garments for their protection and settled them to the east of Eden.
Fr Alex Mascarenhas SJ
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