Down through the centuries, the Judeo-Christian God has been portrayed by some folks as wrathful, angry and vindictive and as compassionate, loving and merciful by others. This dichotomous portrayal of God has bewildered believers and stoked the skepticism of non-believers over much of the same period. In fact, these opposing viewpoints on the nature of God has prompted some folks to ask: Will the real God please stand up? Unfortunately, more often than not, these contradictory views of God have prompted many believers to attempt to reconcile these opposing views and embark on an apologetics tour. (see Christianity Today: Is God Angry or Loving?) Likewise, many non-believers look at the dichotomy as proof that the whole thing is just a bunch of nonsense that originated in the minds of a few deluded humans. Nevertheless, there are more than a few of us who have expressed our dissatisfaction with either of those approaches and have decided instead that God is one or the other.
For instance, it would be hard to argue against the profound impact that men like Calvin and Knox have had on the Protestant Christian conception of an angry and vindictive God. In America, the influence of folks like Jonathan Edwards (and his infamous Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God) has been widespread. There are more than a few Southern Baptists who have felt the flames of Hell licking at their feet after a Sunday morning sermon or during a revival. Indeed, even in groups which have traditionally been regarded as cultic, the emphasis on the "End Times," and the culmination of God's wrath has placed many folks squarely in the Angry God camp. For these folks, God is pissed, and "He's" taking names and getting ready to kick some ass! Oh sure, they say that all of this anger is really an expression of love; but, for many of us, it doesn't look like any definition of love that we're accustomed to - it just doesn't make sense.
We ask ourselves: If God really does have this plan to save humans from sin and death, then WHY is "He" so anxious to ZAP such a large portion of humanity? How does the salvation of a select few meet any legitimate notion of compassion, justice or love? And, even the folks who say that God will eventually call all humans to salvation (even the ones who have died), how can we justify multiple millions/billions of folks ending up in the Lake of Fire? In short, you (or God) can't have it both ways! Love is either patient and kind, or it isn't! Love is either accommodating, or it demands its own way! Love is either forgiving, or it's condemning. Love NEVER gives up, or it does! Love either endures through every circumstance, or it doesn't! (see I Corinthians 13:4-7, NLT) Paul was either lying, or he was telling the truth! I repeat, "You (or God) can't have it both ways!
The impetus to reconcile these two views of God arises from the need of some Christians to make the Judeo-Christian Scriptures inerrant. The dichotomy cannot exist. "Scripture NEVER contradicts itself!" they indignantly declare. These folks, however, have forgotten that Scripture itself teaches that our Bible was a joint venture - between God and HUMANS (and the human part of that equation is IMPERFECT and prone to make mistakes). In short, these conceptions of an Angry God arise from the perspective of humans who were/are subject to things like anger, vindictiveness and a spirit of murder and hate. In other words, they tend to remake God in their own image.
"But didn't the folks who portrayed God as loving do the same thing?" some will ask. That certainly appears to be a reasonable question based on what we've been saying! However, if we look at Scripture as a whole and look at all of the evidence, I think that we will see that only one of these alternatives is possible (and I'm talking now just to believers). If you believe that God created humans in the image of God and desires to reconcile them to itself, then logic demands that that desire must be accomplished. If you truly believe that God so loved the world that he sent his son to redeem us from sin and death, then logic demands that God's will in this matter will be accomplished! In short, the image of a God who is dangling humanity at the end of a thin thread over the fires of Hell does NOT comport with these concepts. An angry and spiteful God who is bent on punishing and/or destroying the objects of his supposed affections is simply NOT logically consistent with these plans!
The Fundamentalists will say that this is simply human reasoning. They love to quote: "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Proverbs 12:15) They sometimes forget, however, that Paul also wrote to the Romans: "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2) Likewise, they forget about the eighth chapter of that same epistle (see Romans 8:1-30), and Paul's stirring conclusion about the certainty of God's plan: "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (verses 32-39)
Frankly, I don't see how anyone could read those lines and be ready to join Jonathan Edwards' camp of Angry God believers! Yes, Scripture does portray two distinct perspectives on the Divine character - one angry and vindictive and the other compassionate and forgiving. Both cannot be right! And, while the atheist would be eager to judge both perspectives as human and fanciful, most of them have failed to account for the presence of good and evil in our world. For many of us, any explanation of the existence of these phenomena that relies exclusively on the mechanics of evolution is unsatisfactory and illogical. In fact, if our fate is controlled entirely by impersonal forces, then how is it that we can imagine something more? What is the likelihood that we would even find ourselves living on this blue/green/white orb circling an average star in one of several hundred billion galaxies in a universe that may be part of a multi-verse?
Having different perspectives is a phenomenon that is very familiar to humankind, and you are certainly entitled to see an angry or impersonal force at work around you. However, when I look into the night sky, I see a benevolent force at work - one that means to do us good. What about you? Which view of God do you subscribe too?
Thanks for sharing. You certainly gave me new food for thought and deepened my spiritual strength. Roy
ReplyDeleteMiller-Jones why do you still believe in the Bible?
ReplyDeletePatrick,
DeleteThat is a good question. As such a vocal opponent of Fundamentalism, there are a lot of folks who wonder over my continued belief in the Bible. Unfortunately, too many folks (both theists and atheists) are in the grips of a false dilemma relative to Scripture. They believe it all stands or falls together - that it's an either or proposition.
I, obviously, do NOT share their perspective. While I see contradictions, errors and the intrusion of personal prejudice in those writings, I can also discern the presence of the Divine in many of the passages contained therein. For me, Scripture was obviously a joint venture between humankind and God (the Bible itself refutes the notion of Divine dictation). And it simply doesn't make sense to me to chuck the good because of the presence of some bad.
For me, inspiration does NOT equal inerrancy/infallibility. Inspiration does NOT remove our biases, prejudices, weaknesses, etc. - it does NOT remove our human propensity for screwing things up. The Holy Spirit leads, guides and moves us - it doesn't dictate, demand or force us to do anything.
Finally, I am impressed that the religion and writings of an obscure group of nomads which inhabited a small and unimportant piece of land which was perpetually dominated by the great empires of the ancient world came to be accepted by the great majority of the Western World as the word of God. In short, as a student of history, it seems verging on impossible and miraculous that the God of the Hebrews would supplant the gods of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. In other words, for me, there's got to be something more here than meets the eye.