There are many stories in the Bible about God getting angry. One even pits God as so mad that he needs to take some time off, some time away to cool down, because if he doesn’t he’s gonna lose it! And when God loses it, God turns and destroys people. A lot of people. This portrait of God is alive and well today. Some point to God getting really angry over some very specific sin - sin they are never guilty of - which is convenient. But there is a more subtle way of talking about a god that is kind of a jerk. Not long ago I spoke with someone who spoke of how their god got her attention by causing her to be in a terrible accident. What? This is how god got her attention? By hurting her, putting her in the ICU for 3 ½ weeks and scaring her family because they thought she’d die?
It’s important to note that any parent who did something similar to their child to “get their attention” would be arrested and imprisoned. Rightly so. But this is how we talk about God (I guess there is some kind of divine excuse for abusing people that we as humans don’t get)? And we do it quite often. How can we love a god like this? Trust a god like this? Believe in a god like this? Worship and pray to a god like this?
But this is the portrait painted in many passages of the Bible: God. Is. Angry. But what if this is one portrait of God and teaches us something, not about God, but about humans? What if this is a reflection of the ancient, primitive, backward view of a fire-breathing deity who needs to be satiated by our good deeds and proper behavior at every turn? Perhaps God’s anger has something to teach us - not about God but about us.
November 1, 2020: Set Apart for No Mercy – Michael Hidalgo
October 18, 2020: He's Really Nice, But. . . .– Michael Hidalgo
October 11, 2020: The More the Merrier – Michael Hidalgo
October 4, 2020: Never Stop Exploring – Bekah Stewart
September 27, 2020: What Did You Call Me? – Michael Hidalgo
September 20, 2020: The Divine in Flesh & Bone – Michael Hidalgo
September 13, 2020: The Scattered, Holy Stones – Del Phillips
September 6, 2020: The Good and the Hard – Michael Hidalgo
August 30, 2020: Prophets of Rage – Scott Oppliger
August 23, 2020: This Feels Impossible – Michael Hidalgo
August 16, 2020:Holding Back Tears – Michael Hidalgo
August 9, 2020: The Weightier Matter – Jasper Peters
August 2, 2020: Holding Steady – Scott Oppliger
Spiritual Formation Gathering – Confronting Systemic Injustice
July 26, 2020: Hungry for Joy – Bekah Stewart
July 19, 2020: Follow the Leader – Nick Elio
July 12, 2020: The Courage to Rest – Amanda Lum
July 5, 2020: Flesh & Blood – Dave Neuhausel
June 28, 2020: Just This – Michael Hidalgo
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