Bob Dylan and the God of the Old Testament

Bob Dylan, a singer that is considered to be one of the greatest musicians in the history of recorded music, is 65 years old. He has recorded forty-four albums and his songs have made an impact on the lives of millions of people.

Bob Dylan has recorded a new album, “Modern Times.” This new album will be released in the next few days, but it has already received mixed reviews. One reviewer said that the album is disappointing, while another said that it is powerful and the work of a master songwriter.

I have to confess that I am not a Bob Dylan fan, and if tortured to the point of death, I could not name the title of any of Dylan’s songs. The only thing I know about Bob Dylan is that he has an Old Testament rasp and I wrote about it here.

In his review of “Modern Times,” Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote:

Any real Dylan fan knows better than to expect truth in advertising from this musical icon, perverse imp and arch-ironist nonpareil, and "Modern Times" is in fact one of the most retro albums he's ever made. The music is firmly rooted in his beloved country-blues and other sounds predating the rock 'n' roll explosion that began in the second half of the last century, while the lyrics -- with a few notable and jarring exceptions -- are steeped in Old Testament visions of a harsh and sometimes vindictive God, with the biggest hope of redemption coming not in the afterlife but in the arms of one's true love, here and now.

Read the review by clicking here.

I may know nothing about Bob Dylan, but I know a lot about the God of the Old Testament. The statement that the God of the Old Testament is “a harsh and sometimes vindictive God” is too one sided.

In the past several months I have read over and over again that the God of the Old Testament is a harsh, vindictive, violent, and an evil God, whose only purpose is to bring punishment upon innocent people, especially women and children.

This view of God is one sided for two reasons. First, it fails to realize the true nature of the God of the Old Testament. In the book of Jonah we read that the God of the Old Testament is “a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.” The God of the Old Testament is also “eager to turn back from destroying people” (Jonah 4:2).

This is the true nature of the God of the Old Testament and the true nature of God never appears in secular newspapers, radio, or television. The true nature of God never appears in blogs that are written to discredit Christianity, the Bible, and God.

The second reason the view that the Gold of the Old Testament is “a harsh and sometimes vindictive God” is one sided is because it fails to look at the reality of sin, of rebellion, of disobedience. We live in a society where sin is a “no no” word and people are unwilling to face the fact that there is sin and sin brings consequences.

How nice it is to live in a world where a person can do anything and never be accountable for what one does. When people lose the reality that they are sinners, then there is no consequence to sin. When people fail to realize that there is a Creator, they also fail to realize that they are accountable to that Creator.

One of the greatest statements of freedom and liberty is found in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The only reason we have these unalienable rights is because we have been endowed with them by the Creator. We are not creatures of change because those who are endowed with unalienable rights must receive these rights from someone who has rights to give.

It is sad that in Bob Dylan’s songs “the biggest hope of redemption” comes “not in the afterlife but in the arms of one's true love, here and now.” This view is far from the biblical teaching of the certainty of redemption that the resurrection of Christ brings. As the Apostle Paul wrote: “If our hope is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

In his review of Bob Dylan’s “Master Times,” David Bauder, the Associated Press entertainment writer wrote:

Dylan's songs are as inscrutable as ever, and listeners are best advised to find what they want in them.

However, if DeRogatis’ review is accurate, one thing listeners will not find in Bob Dylan’s songs is a true representation of the true nature of the God of the Old Testament.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Bob Dylan, Modern Times, God, DeRogatis