We are all making sense of God \u2013 and many of us have looked to the Bible to do that. Yet, the Bible often sends us conflicting messages about who God is.<\/em><\/h2>\nThis blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book\u00a0<\/em>How The Bible Actually Works<\/a>. You can read the first posts in this series here<\/a> and here<\/a>. <\/p>\nThe Bible is, if anything, a book, the purpose of which is to tell us what God is like. Some say that \u201crevealing\u201d God to us is the Bible\u2019s true purpose. <\/a><\/p>\nSo when the Bible says something
\nabout God, people of faith tend to take it to heart, which we do with some
\nenthusiasm when we read that God is the defender of the poor and oppressed,
\nsavior of the widow and orphan, champion of the downtrodden, just king and impartial
\njudge of all, shepherd of sheep, rock of security, flowing stream of
\nrefreshment, comforter of the sick, and above all (for Christians) the one who
\nsent us Jesus.<\/p>\n
I am drawn to this God, believe in
\nthis God, though with good and bad days, as have many people of faith for a
\nvery long time. But, to be honest, I\u2014like Pascal\u2014have a lot of trouble squaring
\nthis attentive, supportive, and available God with a God who is responsible for
\nthis ridiculously large, impersonal, cold, dark, largely empty, frightening,
\nand not at all comforting or inviting universe we live in.<\/p>\n
What does it mean to make sense of God?<\/h2>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong, I have nothing against the universe. I like the universe, and I\u2019d hate to leave it. But from a faith perspective I\u2019m not sure what it means to say the sorts of things that Christians say about God without a second thought, like God is \u201cup there looking down\u201d and cares for each and every one of us personally\u2014or as Jesus put it, Even the hairs of your head are all counted<\/em> (Matthew 10:30).<\/p>\nConnecting with the God of the
\nBible would be a lot easier if we didn\u2019t know as much\u2014which would be pretty much
\nany time other than this point in time in world history that all of us were
\ndropped into. Take me back to the carefree days of medieval Europe, with its
\nsmall, flat, young earth and a dome overhead rather than an infinite universe
\nand infinite time.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just a lot to take in is all
\nI\u2019m saying.<\/p>\n
And as if science weren\u2019t enough
\nto process, believing in the \u201cGod of the Bible\u201d is challenging for another
\nreason\u2014at least it is for most people I\u2019ve encountered.<\/p>\n
God seems uncomfortably touchy. It
\ndoesn\u2019t take much to set him off to kill, plague, or otherwise physically
\npunish these frail human vessels God has created. Swift physical retribution
\nseems to be this God\u2019s go-to means of conflict resolution.<\/p>\n
We only need to get to the sixth
\nchapter of the Bible to see God already so fed up that he drowns all flesh in which is the breath of
\nlife\u2014humans together with animals
\n(for good measure, I suppose)\u2014except for Noah and his family
\n(eight in all) and two of each kind of animal that God will need for pressing
\nreset and repopulating the earth, plus more animals so the proper appeasing
\nsacrifices can be made, which, given the circumstances, seems like an excellent
\nidea.<\/p>\n
Even if we think (as I do) that
\nGod didn\u2019t actually drown all life on earth except eight humans and a boat full
\nof animals, and that the story of Noah isn\u2019t historical, but one of many
\nancient stories from greater Mesopotamia to explain (it seems) a cataclysmic
\nlocal (not global) deluge of some sort, that doesn\u2019t get us off the hook
\nentirely. <\/p>\n
We still have the problem that the God of the Bible is portrayed as doing something rather brutal <\/a>in the first place and so early in the game.<\/p>\nWas that the only solution? Was
\nthere no backup plan? Was this the only conceivable way forward?<\/p>\n
Is this what the God of the 546-sextillion-mile-in-diameter universe is really like? Is the God of all there is, was, and ever will be also be so quick to erase humanity off this speck of dust we call home like someone hosing grass clippings off the driveway? <\/p>\n
That just seems out of character
\nto me for a God who set in motion the galaxies, with all their mystery, awe,
\nand incomprehensibility. Is a God like that really going to melt down in
\nGenesis 6 like a frazzled ill-equipped parent of a toddler?<\/p>\n
And this same God will later, with
\ndisturbing regularity, rain down plagues, pestilence, and war on his own
\npeople, the Israelites, when they disobey, not to mention command the
\nannihilation of Israel\u2019s enemies and hand out death sentences to adulterers, perjurers,
\nyoung men who dishonor their parents, and those who falsely claim that a woman
\nis a virgin.<\/p>\n
The Bible says a lot about God that is comforting, encouraging, and inspiring, but at other times not so much. <\/p>\n
The Bible sends us conflicting messages about what this God is like. <\/h2>\n
The Lord is my shepherd<\/em> and Even though I walk through the darkest valley <\/em>(Psalms 23:1, 4) aren\u2019t always enough to balance out I am going to \u2026 destroy \u2026 all flesh in which is the breath of life<\/em> (Genesis 6:17) and Take the blasphemer outside the camp \u2026 and stone him<\/em> (Leviticus 24:14).<\/p>\nMaking sense of this God creates challenges for me, and when I bring the universe into it, I don\u2019t mind saying once again, I have a hard time connecting the God of back there and then with my world here and now.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019m not the only one, of
\ncourse. I know many people of faith who
\nstruggle regularly with the God of the Bible, because this God seems so locked
\nin a world we don\u2019t recognize, a world that is so distant from ours\u2014a world we
\nhave worked hard to get over. I know others who say this God isn\u2019t worth the
\ntrouble and therefore choose to believe in no God at all.<\/p>\n
No one should underestimate the force of this dilemma or the stress and pain it creates for people trying to believe and make sense of God. <\/p>\n
Those who have a hard time with the God of the Bible can\u2019t be dismissed as faithless rebels against God\u2019s word. Some want to have faith\u2014but they also want to have integrity. <\/a><\/p>\nThey live here and now, not there and then, yet they have this ancient Bible and a Christian faith bound fast to it, and the way forward feels like walking on a razor\u2019s edge between two options\u2014belief in the absurd God or belief that the idea of God is absurd.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thebiblefornormalpeople.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/ENNS_HowBibleActuallyWorks2_3D.png\")
<\/figure>\nLooking for more? Continue the conversation and grab a copy of\u00a0How the Bible Actually Works.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Bible is, if anything, a book, the purpose of which is to tell us what God is like. Some say that \u201crevealing\u201d God to us is the Bible\u2019s true purpose. <\/a><\/p>\n So when the Bible says something I am drawn to this God, believe in Don\u2019t get me wrong, I have nothing against the universe. I like the universe, and I\u2019d hate to leave it. But from a faith perspective I\u2019m not sure what it means to say the sorts of things that Christians say about God without a second thought, like God is \u201cup there looking down\u201d and cares for each and every one of us personally\u2014or as Jesus put it, Even the hairs of your head are all counted<\/em> (Matthew 10:30).<\/p>\n Connecting with the God of the It\u2019s just a lot to take in is all And as if science weren\u2019t enough God seems uncomfortably touchy. It We only need to get to the sixth Even if we think (as I do) that We still have the problem that the God of the Bible is portrayed as doing something rather brutal <\/a>in the first place and so early in the game.<\/p>\n Was that the only solution? Was Is this what the God of the 546-sextillion-mile-in-diameter universe is really like? Is the God of all there is, was, and ever will be also be so quick to erase humanity off this speck of dust we call home like someone hosing grass clippings off the driveway? <\/p>\n That just seems out of character And this same God will later, with The Bible says a lot about God that is comforting, encouraging, and inspiring, but at other times not so much. <\/p>\n The Lord is my shepherd<\/em> and Even though I walk through the darkest valley <\/em>(Psalms 23:1, 4) aren\u2019t always enough to balance out I am going to \u2026 destroy \u2026 all flesh in which is the breath of life<\/em> (Genesis 6:17) and Take the blasphemer outside the camp \u2026 and stone him<\/em> (Leviticus 24:14).<\/p>\n Making sense of this God creates challenges for me, and when I bring the universe into it, I don\u2019t mind saying once again, I have a hard time connecting the God of back there and then with my world here and now.<\/p>\n And I\u2019m not the only one, of No one should underestimate the force of this dilemma or the stress and pain it creates for people trying to believe and make sense of God. <\/p>\n Those who have a hard time with the God of the Bible can\u2019t be dismissed as faithless rebels against God\u2019s word. Some want to have faith\u2014but they also want to have integrity. <\/a><\/p>\n They live here and now, not there and then, yet they have this ancient Bible and a Christian faith bound fast to it, and the way forward feels like walking on a razor\u2019s edge between two options\u2014belief in the absurd God or belief that the idea of God is absurd.<\/p>\n Looking for more? Continue the conversation and grab a copy of\u00a0How the Bible Actually Works.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nabout God, people of faith tend to take it to heart, which we do with some
\nenthusiasm when we read that God is the defender of the poor and oppressed,
\nsavior of the widow and orphan, champion of the downtrodden, just king and impartial
\njudge of all, shepherd of sheep, rock of security, flowing stream of
\nrefreshment, comforter of the sick, and above all (for Christians) the one who
\nsent us Jesus.<\/p>\n
\nthis God, though with good and bad days, as have many people of faith for a
\nvery long time. But, to be honest, I\u2014like Pascal\u2014have a lot of trouble squaring
\nthis attentive, supportive, and available God with a God who is responsible for
\nthis ridiculously large, impersonal, cold, dark, largely empty, frightening,
\nand not at all comforting or inviting universe we live in.<\/p>\nWhat does it mean to make sense of God?<\/h2>\n
\nBible would be a lot easier if we didn\u2019t know as much\u2014which would be pretty much
\nany time other than this point in time in world history that all of us were
\ndropped into. Take me back to the carefree days of medieval Europe, with its
\nsmall, flat, young earth and a dome overhead rather than an infinite universe
\nand infinite time.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m saying.<\/p>\n
\nto process, believing in the \u201cGod of the Bible\u201d is challenging for another
\nreason\u2014at least it is for most people I\u2019ve encountered.<\/p>\n
\ndoesn\u2019t take much to set him off to kill, plague, or otherwise physically
\npunish these frail human vessels God has created. Swift physical retribution
\nseems to be this God\u2019s go-to means of conflict resolution.<\/p>\n
\nchapter of the Bible to see God already so fed up that he drowns all flesh in which is the breath of
\nlife\u2014humans together with animals
\n(for good measure, I suppose)\u2014except for Noah and his family
\n(eight in all) and two of each kind of animal that God will need for pressing
\nreset and repopulating the earth, plus more animals so the proper appeasing
\nsacrifices can be made, which, given the circumstances, seems like an excellent
\nidea.<\/p>\n
\nGod didn\u2019t actually drown all life on earth except eight humans and a boat full
\nof animals, and that the story of Noah isn\u2019t historical, but one of many
\nancient stories from greater Mesopotamia to explain (it seems) a cataclysmic
\nlocal (not global) deluge of some sort, that doesn\u2019t get us off the hook
\nentirely. <\/p>\n
\nthere no backup plan? Was this the only conceivable way forward?<\/p>\n
\nto me for a God who set in motion the galaxies, with all their mystery, awe,
\nand incomprehensibility. Is a God like that really going to melt down in
\nGenesis 6 like a frazzled ill-equipped parent of a toddler?<\/p>\n
\ndisturbing regularity, rain down plagues, pestilence, and war on his own
\npeople, the Israelites, when they disobey, not to mention command the
\nannihilation of Israel\u2019s enemies and hand out death sentences to adulterers, perjurers,
\nyoung men who dishonor their parents, and those who falsely claim that a woman
\nis a virgin.<\/p>\nThe Bible sends us conflicting messages about what this God is like. <\/h2>\n
\ncourse. I know many people of faith who
\nstruggle regularly with the God of the Bible, because this God seems so locked
\nin a world we don\u2019t recognize, a world that is so distant from ours\u2014a world we
\nhave worked hard to get over. I know others who say this God isn\u2019t worth the
\ntrouble and therefore choose to believe in no God at all.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n