How Do You Decide What God Is Really Like?
By Mike Edwards
I try to answer this question often in my blogs over the years. After all, I named my personal blog some 15 years ago “What God May Really Be Like.” I use the word “may” because I got tired of preachers always being certain what God is like. I recognized such an attitude because I offended enough people early on being so damn certain! I ended up leaving the institutional church because religious folks often assume their interpretation of the Bible was correct and can’t discuss differences. My moral intuitions didn’t always agree with their interpretation.
It matters what you think God is like
Our understanding of God can determine the depth of our relationship with God and how we might treat others. If God really created Hell, we may think we should emulate God in our attempts to judge and punish. If God condemns gays, we will condemn gays out of devotion to God. If we believe God thinks men have authority over women at home or in church, that will filter down to our wives, daughters, and friends and stifle their gifts. See It Matters If Your God Is Nurturing Or Authoritative!
You can’t always depend on the Bible
Some interpret the Bible to claim God condemns gays. Others who have the same respect for Scriptures interpret the Bible not condemning monogamous gay relationships. See here. Sometimes, biblical writers seem to contradict one another. Hebrews 10:26 says: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.” But I John 1:7 says “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” So, did the Cross forgive us from our ongoing addictions, though we know we are hurting ourselves and others? Or are we screwed in God’s eyes if we continue willful behaviors after we see “the light?”
God must be perfect!
I imagine anyone who believes in a God/Creator thinks that such a Spirit must be perfectly moral. No other God is worth believing in. If you believe in a Creator, surely you assume such a perfect Creator would create us in their image? I think the best analogy to a perfect God is what a perfect Mother or Father is like. We all have a clue being a child of parents. Now, knowing perfection isn’t always black and white. Does justice for the victim’s family include capital punishment? Should I allow my child to hit bottom in their addiction or intervene. It may depend on their age I suppose. But should I allow my son to be abusive to his dates? Hell hath no fury!
Trust your moral intuitions unless . . .
If your biblical interpretation is contra to your moral intuitions, why would God create you to intuitively feel differently? You can also assume that maybe biblical writers didn’t always understand God perfectly at the time. Do you think your God believes that you have authority over the opposite gender that they don’t have over you (I am talking to you men), please reconsider! Give me an inch and I may take a mile. We don’t always know what a perfect God would do. But a place to begin in imagining what God is like is how you believe you ought to treat others — unless you are a terrorist that relies on your interpretation of a supposed inspired Book!
How Do You Decide What God Is Really Like?
Mike Edwards has been writing for Done with Religion for some time and has been a great addition to the site. He couldn’t find enough people to discuss God openly so he started blogging years ago. Mike also has his own site where he writes that can be found at What God May Really Be Like He can be contacted by email at: medwar2@gmail.com
