Narasi Penghakiman Allah Dalam Perjanjian Lama Atas Kritik Marcion Tentang Allah Perjanjian Lama

Abstract

This article examines the Old Testament narratives of divine judgment as a theological response to Marcion’s critique, which dichotomizes the God of the Old Testament portrayed as wrathful and immoral from the God of the New Testament, understood as loving and compassionate. Employing a literature-based study with a narrative-hermeneutical approach, this research traces the coherence of God’s character throughout the entirety of Scripture while also reviewing the historical development of Marcion’s criticism and the hermeneutical weaknesses present in previous studies. The analysis demonstrates that Marcion’s perspective is rooted in selective, dualistic, and anti-Judaic interpretations that neglect the theological, literary, and historical contexts of Old Testament judgment narratives. Instead, divine judgment in both testaments reveals a continuity of God’s holy, just, and loving character, as evidenced in events such as the judgment on Uzzah, the conquest of Canaan, and the account of Ananias and Sapphira. This study further shows that contemporary pastoral confusion is often influenced by Marcionistic patterns of thought, indicating the need for an integrative, contextual, and intertextual hermeneutical framework for understanding judgment in light of God’s love and holiness. Thus, this article strengthens the theological relationship between the Old and New Testaments and offers pastoral recommendations for Indonesian churches in teaching judgment narratives responsibly and holistically.