> I belive God didn't fully relise what he had created with the human soul. He didn't understand us until he became of us in the person of His Son. There is a profound diffrence in the behavior of the Old Testement God and the message Jesus preaches.

I can't even come close to accepting that. God understood exactly what he had created. What you suggest imply that God is not only fallible but bound by time -- God exists outside of time. Time was created for Man.

The differences in the way God behaved in the Old and New Testament are a natural part of how God chose to go about his dealings with humankind. First I must amend your statement of the question. The message Jesus preached was instructive of how *we* should act. God's doings in the Old Testament were never intended to be representative of that. So right off the bat, you're comparing apples and oranges. I find it interesting that you quote Jesus as saying "love thy neighbor" as evidence that God acts differently in the New Testament than in the Old, because Jesus himself was quoting the book of Exodus -- "love thy neighbor" is one of the Ten Commandments. God's intention for the way we must act are not so radically different.

But there is a fundamental difference. In the time before Christ, God's view of sin was not masked by its punishment in the form of Jesus' death on the cross. Sin was punished. It may be an ugly truth, but sin and its consequences are ugly in themselves. Following the Law of Moses was, to simply it grossly, a way to "tide one over" until it was time for Jesus to come and make the ultimate sacrifice.

We're getting quite sidetracked, now, I think. You're bringing up an awful lot of issues and effectually demanding a complete understanding of God and sin. You're not wrong to ask those questions, mind you. These are good questions to ask. But usually when I find myself faced with such questions, I tend to get sidetracked myself and lose sight of the fact that there is no earthly way I can give you complete answers. When all is said and done, I accept God on faith. It's not blind faith, for I have good reasons, the best based on personal experience, for taking that step of faith. I know God, and I know God's love, and I can't conceive of a life without it, nor (as God's love doesn't, as you seem to think, restrict my individuality, free will, or room to mature but rather encourages it) would I want to live such a life. So I can address your questions as best my incomplete understanding can be put into words, but don't expect me or anyone else to be able to spell out everything. After all, if I could understand everything about God, that means he's not even as smart or complex as I am. But I do understand some things, and one is that God's love is certainly nothing to feel threatened by.