WOF 534: The Evangelical Power of the Old Testament

The Old Testament is not a relic of a violent, capricious deity but the foundational narrative of a God who is radically transcendent yet intimately involved in history—what Bishop Robert Barron calls 'the Lamb standing as though slain' who interprets all Scripture. Drawing on the insights of Thomas Aquinas, the Church Fathers, and Pope Benedict XVI, Barron argues that the God of the Old Testament is not a supreme being among others, but the very ground of being—'I am who I am'—whose independence from creation enables true, self-giving love. Far from being a collection of myths or a source of divine wrath, the Old Testament's stories of conquest and judgment are best read allegorically through the lens of Christ’s crucifixion, revealing a battle against sin in its entirety. The Bible, Barron insists, is not a single book but a library of genres—history, poetry, prophecy—each requiring genre-sensitive interpretation. For evangelists in a secular age, the key is to present the Old Testament not as a burden but as the essential first act of a five-act drama: creation, fall, formation of Israel, the coming of the Messiah, and the Church. This grand story, he argues, is the only framework that makes sense of human identity, purpose, and hope. The episode dismantles common secular critiques—of divine violence, moodiness, and mythic status—by grounding interpretation in the Church’s theological tradition and the hermeneutic of the cross.