I remember listening to a talk by an atheist who said the most monstrous things about God. But every word of accusation he uttered against God was perfectly true. He called God, among other things, a homicidal, infanticidal ethnic cleanser. I knew enough of my Old Testament to know that every word was true. But I could feel my anger rising within me as he continued his just tirade against God.
Why do I feel anger? The truth is we all feel anger because deep down, we know God is INCAPABLE of reacting to the insults of the atheist. We pretend that he will deal with blasphemers in his own time but we all know that's a lie. We know there are enough examples of God striking dead people who did far less offensive things against his glory but these are examples that only appear in the Bible and there is not a single instance of it in real life.
We also feel anger because the insult is in a sense directed against us personally. The atheist is saying that we're DUMB. We kneel and serve a being who can't do a thing against the atheist's scurrilous taunts. Every Sunday, I play my instrument in church in praise of a supposed Creator who is powerless against the reasoning of a mere atheist. My pride is hurt and I direct my anger at the atheist.
Do we really believe in God? If we did, we shouldn't feel the slightest anger. Surely God must at least be able to fend for himself? We should blind ourselves to reality and pretend that God still strikes like the omnipotent being he's supposed to be in Scriptures.
But most believers who claim to truly believe in God are outraged at the things some strident atheists say. They feel a need to protect God who is otherwise defenceless against the attacks. In doing that, they are exposing their lack of belief.
First, I beg to differ about what you said, "The truth is we all feel anger because deep down, we know God is INCAPABLE of reacting to the insults of the atheist" If you ask me, i feel angry is not because I think that God is incapable but because He is my Friend,Father,Saviour,Provider and many other things. Won't you feel any form of anger if someone insulted your friend or your dad?
ReplyDeleteAnd secondly, the events that are stated in the Bible actually happened in real life. Its just not during our time and the reason why God strikes in the Old Testament is simply because we were sinful then and that every time we'll need to offer sacrifices to atone for our sins. It was all until He sent Jesus down to die for us and that He resurrected 3 days later so that He can be our living sacrifice. You don't see God striking anymore in the New Testament, do you?
i beg to differ too. its natural to feel angry when someone u love is insulted. u probably do not love God enough.. It is only on our deathbeds do we realise what was the most important thing in our lives, and the atheist will definitely be punished on judgement day. it seems he is escaping scot free and God is powerless but hey, we will soon find out.
ReplyDeleteYour analogy about someone you love being insulted is incorrect. A better analogy is a super powerful King is insulted in his presence. You wouldn't feel angry because you'll just look to the super powerful king to see what he's going to do. You may feel sorry for the blasphemer because you know he'd be in trouble. You may be right about me not loving God but you probably don't believe in him enough or more likely, you think of him as a weak impotent creature which would explain your anger towards the blasphemer.
ReplyDeleteOf course there are examples of God's violence in the New Testament. Ananias and Saphira immediately spring to mind. Of course a God who sent she-bears to tear up children for teasing a prophet "bald-head" cannot be expected to give up his violence after only a few centuries, can he?
ReplyDeleteYeah, greneknight feels the same as you do. Isn't that ........interesting.
DeleteYou're right to say that there are still forms of violences in the New Testament. But how often do they occur as compared to the Old Testament?
ReplyDeleteAnd your analogy about a super powerful is not exactly right. God refers us as His children more often than He refers us as His servants. So He's more like a Father. And why God isn't doing anything about the blasphemer we won't know till we meet Him. Then you can ask Him about it. But I'm sure He's watching everything that we're doing and when people say things against Him, I'm pretty sure that He's upset. But not because the things said are against Him but that they have chosen to go down that path. God can simply forced everyone to believe in Him but He loves us so much that He gave us freewill.
In the end when the end time comes and you meet Him, will you be able to say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." and do you think He'll say "Well done good and faithful servant."
How beautifully stated. I pray Gods blessings on your life as well as all who visit .
DeleteI'm not sure what my nickname will be in this google account but I'm Ernest, Teng's friend. I don't like to appear anonymous. It's rubbish to say he loves us so much he gave us freewill. That's a cop out. If God is real, he must be the most evil thing alive. He's invisible, there's not a trace of evidence that he exists, there are about a million equally valid religions with competing Gods. You've got to find a needle in a haystack and if you choose the right one, it's "Welcome my good and faithful servant" and if you choose the wrong one, it's to hell with you. Anyone who can believe in this sort of thing has got to be deluded and there's a good book called "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins which will tell you why all religions, particularly mine (Christianity), is so laughably false.
ReplyDeleteI've just gone through the comments and ultimately, I think what most believers really assume to be true is everything will end with either heaven or hell. Will it? I should have a post one day to deal with this question. Do we have souls or consciousness that can live on and exist quite apart from the brain or is that a ludicrous suggestion? Or are we just assuming there is a soul because we want so badly (who doesn't?) to live on and on and on.
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