I'm inclined to agree with you about the OT and I don't go there often myself.
I also find the testing of Abraham and the testing of Job, etc. rather hard to understand ... that's if those events did actually happen as recorded.
Same as with all of the other violent OT events.
Maybe they happened, maybe they didn't ... if they did happen then God in those days was very different to the God I believe in now.
Churches need to stop regurgitating that stuff. It just turns people off.
Do you remember that old Normie Rowe song, "It ain't necessarily so"? Maybe some truth in that.
OK so now I think I understand what you're on about with your "abomination" comments.
I won't use the term myself just in case it all did happen as written and if it did, it's certainly not for me to judge God or his actions, but I just don't want to be constantly reminded of it.
The church I briefly went to focused on the NT stories and rarely touched the OT stuff, thankfully, so like you, the NT Jesus is the person I'm most interested in hearing about.
I still have trouble understanding why Jesus had to suffer such an horrendous death, and I don't think I could ever participate in the ritual cannibalism, aka Communion, stuff.
Re. Revelations, I haven't studied it closely, but I find the 666 bit very intriguing, and the war in Heaven leading to Satan and his demons being cast down to test us does make sense to me.
Just my personal opinion, but I think it pays to be aware of the other stuff, without taking it TOO seriously, and watch how events unfold just in case the Armageddon scenario is on the horizon as many seem to think ... "be alert but not alarmed" ... because we don't know what the future holds.
It is interesting to see how the jigsaw pieces SEEM to be coming together, but hopefully it's all just an illusion and our lives will continue on as normal.
These reincarnation stories that I keep coming across, but few others seem to be interested in, are compelling evidence to me that souls/spirits are real, and therefore ... to me anyway, angels, demons, Satan and God are also real and it's all very fascinating!
Good luck with your arguments with your priest.
Cheers
