Is there a single unifying theme in the Old Testament?
I think if I had met the question of a unifying theme in my earlier years I'd have said, "God", or "It's about God and humanity isn't it?" It is interesting to see that students of the Old Testament cannot really agree about a unifying theme, indeed some completely reject the idea that there is a unifying theme at all. It is hard to see how there could be a unifying theme when there have been so many authors, compilers, editors at work over so many hundreds of year, which means that if we ask the question, "What is the Old Testament about?" the answers will be as varied as its history of compilation. However at its most general it is the story of a certain people's relationship with God. Its laws and other pronouncements should all be seen in that light. If we see its pronouncements as determinative for today, we get ourselves into quite a mess. We have to figure out why we want to exclude some of the pronouncements and la...