Null/Voided Out

[fhansen]

Do you know why people say this God is the God of Wrath and Judgement?

What about God is spirit, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, forgiveness, merciful, loving?

We tend to perceive God according to how well we know Him as I see it. I'm familiar with a teaching that says that man, at the Fall, "conceived a distorted image" of God- "that of a God jealous of his prerogatives". That's to put God down to our human level, above which Adam couldn't see very well I suppose. He hadn't yet garnered an appreciation for this God, let alone come to acknowledge his need for Him, let alone come to love Him. He really didn't place much faith in God, or even want to, perhaps, preferring himself to God as another teaching puts it. In any case Adam was jealous of God and of His power and authority, not the other way around.

Since then, with the rift that occurred between humanity and God, I believe the "default" view of God is of a being who's distant, aloof in His superiority, and angry-kind of the god we often play when we're in positions of authority. And while God hates sin, He absolutely loves man, His handiwork made in His own image, and has always wanted the very best for him. Anyway, enmity came from man first of all, not God. "They hated Me without reason" Jesus said of His persecutors, quoting Psalms.

And I believe that God's nature is actually better described in 1 Cor 13:4-8 then anywhere else even though He could squash us like a bug. But God is uncompromisingly good, trustworthy, merciful, just, and true: virtually the definition of love. And while love is intrinsically opposed to evil He's very patient and kind with us, wanting all to come to Him, but love cannot and will not endure evil forever and if we adamantly persist in it, He'll ultimately allow us to remain eternally separated from Him.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

We tend to perceive God according to how well we know Him
"default" view of God is of a being who is distant, aloof in His superiority, and angry. And while God hates sin, He absolutely loves man, His handiwork made in His own image, and has always wanted the very best for him. ..

That may be a different view according to a gender’s perceived roles in the image. The latter is nurturing while the former is not. Most view one or the other.

 

[fhansen]

That may be a different view according to a gender’s perceived roles in the image. The latter is nurturing while the former is not. Most view one or the other.

It's interesting though that it's usually either one or the other. Anyway, I think we're closer to the truth as we come to understand God as love personified. And that explains why our own love tends to overcome or "casts out fear", because as we come to know Him we come to know that there's no fear to be had in love-regardless of how infinitely, terrifyingly, huge He is. Because He is love. And we come to know intuitively that as we also begin to love as He does, we're now on the same team anyway.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

It's interesting though that it's usually either one or the other. Anyway, I think we're closer to the truth as we come to understand God as love personified. And that explains why our own love tends to overcome or "casts out fear", because as we come to know Him we come to know that there's no fear to be had in love-regardless of how infinitely, terrifyingly, huge He is. Because He is love. And we come to know intuitively that as we also begin to love as He does, we're now on the same team anyway.

I actually think that male and female are seen in the image except when specifically told that women are not in the image of God

 

[prodromos]

God can’t and won’t tolerate the evil or corrupt in His presence

Au contraire, God is not in any way constrained by evil. Read Job 1:6 for example.

 

[Soyeong]

Do you know why people say this God is the God of Wrath and Judgement?

What about God is spirit, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, forgiveness, merciful, loving?

Who are we that we can accomplish something so significant that the almighty and infinite God of the universe would care about it? The only way that God would be bothered enough to get angry at anything that we do is if God loves us so much for who He has created us to be that every little thing that we do gets magnified in importance, and the same goes for justice.

Psalms 37:3-6 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

 

[Dkh587]

Wrath is not the only aspect of God. He is love as well.

our earthly parents can be many things at the same time - why do we stumble at the thought of our Heavenly Father being a God of love, wrath, war & peace, at the same time?

 

[Beanieboy]

Do you know why people say this God is the God of Wrath and Judgement?

What about God is spirit, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, forgiveness, merciful, loving?

We present a God that is the reflection of our heart. A God of joy, forgiveness, mercy is a person filled with joy, forgiveness and mercy.

A person with a lot of anger, even murder in their heart, love OT God, loves reading God's vengeance and killing of his enemies.

A poster here once argued that God doesn't love everyone, only the saved, so she didn't either. I think she didn't have love for everyone, and created a God in her own image.

 

[mlepfitjw]

Wrath is not the only aspect of God. He is love as well.

our earthly parents can be many things at the same time - why do we stumble at the thought of our Heavenly Father being a God of love, wrath, war & peace, at the same time?

Hello Dkh, you agree that wrath is not the only aspect of God. I agree with you.

I believe this, the wrath of God was drank from by the Lord Jesus Christ, in a cup '“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. ... As Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane".

Jesus became really sick, then later on paid for all the sins of the world and die for all mankind.

Only to be risen again by God afterwards justifying the words Jesus Christ spoke about dying and resurrecting back to life at the end of the life we live here on earth.

But that is what I believe about the wrath of God people are talking about, which is when Jesus Christ was praying to God for the cup to pass away from him, but for the Fathers will to be done.

God is love, spirit, kindness, forgiveness, gentleness, forbearance, faithfulness, joy and peace.

 

[mindlight]

Do you know why people say this God is the God of Wrath and Judgement?

What about God is spirit, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, forgiveness, merciful, loving?

I corresponded with a man a while back that had held a dying baby in his arms and concluded that God was pure anger and venegeance and that Christians who believed in the God you described believed in a fake God.

My answer was on the lines that people get trapped in the moment of extreme pain and agony and then generalise from it to make cosmic level judgments they are not qualified to make. We do not see the big picture and God knows best, maybe taking that baby to be with Him, for example, due to the angry, atheistic tendencies of his father.

 

[Saint Steven]

This is usually because they want to scare you into believing their irrational theology, the tenor at which they say "God is the God of Wrath and Judgment, tends to make it sound like they are the god that they speak of, and want you to have faith in them.

Do not be deceived by ghost stories little children.

That is actually a historical religion fact. People tend to make God in their own image.

 

[Saint Steven]

Why not both or all the above?

"Wrath and Judgement" are in conflict with love, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, forgiveness and mercy.

"Wrath and Judgement" are not love.
"Wrath and Judgement" are not joy.
"Wrath and Judgement" are not peace.
"Wrath and Judgement" are not forbearance. (patience)
"Wrath and Judgement" are not gentleness.
"Wrath and Judgement" are not forgiveness.
"Wrath and Judgement" are not merciful.

"Wrath and Judgement" are incompatible with the Spirit of God.
If that is not true, then Jesus died to save us from God.

Agallagher said: ↑
Do you know why people say this God is the God of Wrath and Judgement?

What about God is spirit, joy, peace, forbearance, gentleness, forgiveness, merciful, loving?

 

[Saint Steven]

Perhaps because the Bible says He is?

It might be caused by biased translation work. Imposing an erroneous view of God on the text.

This text below represents it as something closer to healing. Removing impurities rather than destroying the thing being purified.

Malachi 3:2
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.

 

[Saint Steven]

Follow the reasoning, why have we been saved from? A poor life style or from a hell of eternal punishment?

The reasoning? This is worth discussing. Try this on for size.

God loves you so much and has provided for your future. Receive the gracious gift of eternal life today. If you refuse, God will incinerate you. (he has anger issues)

 

[Saint Steven]

This is because God has chosen to utilize both love and fear to gather to Him as many as possible. Different people need different motivation and personally I think the fear aspect is what leads many to Christ in their latter days when they know that their time here is coming to an end. I see it as a push and pull at the same time.

God uses fear to motivate?
Is fear a good motivation to follow Christ. Makes Christianity sound like a totalitarian regime. (with us under the boot)

 

[Saint Steven]

We aren't rewarded for just trying or making an effort. Taking up the cross and following isn't easy. Every day we are faced with trials and everyday many fail, including myself.

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

That message was for a church. What does "spit you out of my mouth" mean in that context? Was that church being damned?

 

[Saint Steven]

However, God is the judge of His servants.

Servants don't judge each other, well - you can, but that results in some punishment from on high.

Everyone seems to want to replace the comma with a period. Saying, "Do not judge." What does it actually say?

Matthew 7:1-5
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

 

[Saint Steven]

Universalism is bogus.

God can’t and won’t tolerate the evil or corrupt in His presence, which is why it says in Revelation that no one who is a liar or does what is wrong will be allowed into the city where God and men shall dwell forever in Revelation 21:27.

Did Jesus die to save us from God?

 

[Saint Steven]

This can be dismissed by the context.

Someone else will probably point that out.

This passage is about condemning people by destroying their weak faith by eating food they think is evil. People tend to avoid this passage because people with strong faith but idolatry of the law want to enforce the mosaic dietary restrictions.

They become condemned because they stop believing. They stop believing because it's based on an ideological premise and not entirely on Jesus.

Good point.
The text says that the one who eats meat sacrificed to idols has stronger faith than one who abstains. (except in regard for another who's faith is weaker)

Romans 14:1-4
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

 

[Saint Steven]

I believe God is love, as said in the Bible. Do you think Love allows evil to continue forever?

He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:8

If evil ends up in a forever burning hell, then it will continue forever.