Is God A Moral Monster Analysis

Paul Copan’s book, Is God a Moral Monster, seeks to answer many of the charges of what he calls “Neo-Atheists,” who seek to discredit the God of the Bible as part of their agenda. A large part of their argument is their critique of God of the Old Testament. The God of the New Testament is a forgiving and loving God while the God of the Old Testament is a jealous and wrathful God. Copan seeks to dispel these arguments, ultimately arguing that if reading the Old and New Testaments faithfully, there is an unchanging, righteous, and loving God in both.

One major argument made by Neo-Atheists is that the God of the Old Testament is impetuous, intolerant, and incensed, showing him to be a frivolous and insecure deity. Copan first distinguishes between

When the children of Israel worshiped other gods and idols, this became a rejection of God himself. Idolatry is a form of adultery and Israel had broken that covenant. God reacted like any jealous or concerned lover would. This theme of jealousy and idolatry is even found in the New Testament. Jesus shows genuine but justified righteous anger when he casts out the moneychangers in the temple who had converted the house of worship into a marketplace in Mark 11. This seems to go against the picture many people have of Jesus: a meek, mild, and benevolent teacher. While this description is true, it leaves a lopsided and impartial view of Jesus. Not only was Jesus a friend of sinners, but he was a radical, a controversialist, and a convicting and frightening character. Copan makes the distinction that anger is not necessarily wrong for the Bible teaches that the one who is slow to anger is virtuous. Proper anger, much like jealousy, springs from love and concern, not from hurt pride or immaturity. It is also important to note that God’s jealousy and anger are others-centered. His emotions are aimed to protect the relationship and protect his children from self-harm. When a person engages in life-denying ways instead of life-giving ways, God’s jealousy surfaces so that that person might return to the abundant life they have in God. God’s jealousy and anger, found both in the Old and New Testament, is

While appearing harsh and maniacal at first, upon a further understanding of the context of the story, it is clear that this is not the case. Abraham had confidence that even if Isaac died, that God would fulfill his promise to make a great nation of Abraham by raising Isaac back to life. This was a testing of Abraham’s faith where he had to rely on God’s will instead of his own. He had to have to confidence that God will still fulfill his promises in the Abrahamic covenant. Even more, God stops Abraham before he slays his son since Abraham had passed the test. God even provides a ram for the sacrifice, pointing to the second Isaac, Jesus, who would later pay the sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. God is not acting in an angry or barbaric way in this passage as the atheistic view would suggest. Instead, God’s desire for Abraham to trust in Him completely shows evidence to his further desire for intimate relationships with his people. A proper understanding of God’s righteous jealousy and anger helps to understand His reasoning for asking such a difficult task of Abraham and further dispels the claim that God enjoys child