Why New Scripture?

Because Old Scripture is sick and will die

In order to put a case for the creation of New Scripture you meed to show what might be wrong with Old Scripture.

Thankfully that is not a particularly difficult thing to do.

Although scripture contains much that is beautiful and moving and true, huge amounts of it are either morally corrupt, spiritually deranged, or just complete batshit crazy.

No matter what angle you approach scripture from, you very quickly run into this objectionable material.

Let’s take just one example from the preface to my work Selah! Loving the Psalms.

WARNING: the following will sound vile and hateful and deranged but only because because it contains a true representation of some aspects of Old Scripture… and not even the worst aspects, not by any stretch. It is full of horrors but only to convince you that we need to do better.

***

There is a dark theological question which has troubled me for as long as I can remember, and that is: have you ever stopped to wonder why God so desires our love?

Have you wondered why an omnipotent God, complete with every perfection, should be so desirous and commanding of our love; and so wrathful, violent, even murderous when it is not surrendered to Him?

Who says: I love you, indeed I Am Love; but my love for you is conditional upon you obeying me, praising me, bowing down before me and worshipping me, accepting my every power over you even unto death.

Saying: I am everything, you are nothing, you are wretched, I am your master, this is Love.

Have you wondered at the nature of such a God?

A God who would toy with the obedient Abraham, saying: prove that you love me. Kill your own son, who makes me burn with jealousy, whom I fear you love more than you love me.

Yes: stab and kill and burn this delightful, helpful little boy, to prove that I am your one, your only, your favourite in all of the world.

A God who would toy with the faithful Job, conspiring with the powers of evil to visit unimaginable suffering upon him, because God fears that Job’s good fortune might be the motivation for his godliness and devotion.

You say you love me? You don’t love me.

Let’s see how much you love me when I ruin your life, b-tch.

A paranoid God who hates losing control, who is jealous of any and all competitors for our love. Who would have us killed rather than choose another God, even so mild a God as a statue of a golden calf, a symbol of fertility and thus an intolerable challenge to this sterile, impotent, Old-Man-God.

If this were an actual man, a man of flesh and blood acting this way towards his wife, or his children, would we praise him and worship him and honour him all the days of our life?

Or would we call the police, and say to his wife and kids: get out, get out now, this man is a monster, he will murder you, this is not love but a terrible corruption of it… a disease, not love at all but hatred, violence, control –

So: do we worship a Loving God?

Or is this a God who hoards our love, drinks of it deeply, so that there is little or none left for the rest of us?

***

Sheesh.

Any questions?

Anyone?

I hope that’s sufficient to convince you that the New Scripture project is urgent, and possibly show you the kinds of direction we need to take the project in.

In the opposite direction of Old Scripture, of course.

I might write one further article drawing out some other aspects of the deep sickness written into Old Scripture.

But if you are already convinced — and no doubt you have come across this kind of material before — you can navigate to my books of New Scripture by following this link to my website.

P. Julian

Winter 2025

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