Appropriately enough, this member agrees with the old hand. I'm keepin' my hands off that one! Yipe!

the vast difference (even total opposition) between the portrayal of God in the Old Testament and the New.

It is strange, isn't it? I've often thought that the Old
Testament may be that way due to the simplistic beliefs of the time, e.g. that weather events were not random, but
purposefully chosen by some unknown Being, who had better
be appeased. And yet, civilization was hardly advanced by the time of Christ's birth! Dare I say it?--he might have
been real.