An Unjust and a Loving God.

This post continues by looking at the traits of the gods.

Is God unjust?

Are the gods just? Based on what the Bible says it does not seem so.  We find the gods of the Old Testament to be partial, temperamental and full of revenge.

Cain and Abel each brought the Lord a gift.  We do not find that Cain went contrary to any given instructions, but we do find that the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. Gen. 4:4-5.  It is no wonder that Cain would have been angry at that time.  He had planted, grown and harvested something, just as God had told his father, Adam, to do.  Now that it was harvested, he was legitimately proud of it, and wanted to share it with the Lord; the Lord, however, refused Cain’s gift indiscriminate of Cain’s feelings.

The Apostle Paul asks this same question, Is there unrighteousness with God? Rom. 9:14. For an answer to his own question, he refers to the writings of Moses. He quotes, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 

Moses had also written, Jacob I have loved the Lord said, but Esau I have hated.  Paul continues to answer his own question; Therefore, He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. In spite of all his arguments to the contrary, Paul concludes that the Lord is fair and just.

Without any disrespect intended, the question can be asked, what is more important to God; man’s happiness or His own personal glory?  Speaking to the Pharaoh of Moses’ time the Lord said, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. Rom. 9:17

For this purpose, namely, the glory of God’s name, Pharaoh and his army had to forfeit their lives.  From this incident, Paul draws this conclusion, what if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction. Rom. 9:22.  Jehovah has made all for His purpose; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Proverbs 16:4.

There is also the incident in the life of Christ, which clearly shows that God is more interested in his own glory than in the comfort of humankind.  His disciples asked Him (Jesus), saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. John 9:2-3.  It appears cruel that a man would need to endure many years of blindness just so that Christ would have someone to heal, thereby glorifying God; that is what the Bible says, happened.

There are also the persistent questions asked by atheists, agnostics and Christians.  If God can do anything and if He is love why is there so much suffering in the world?  Why are there so many wars?  Why do innocent children starve to death or why do they grow up in a world that is worse than death? 

If we insist on giving God credit for all the beautiful babies born into the world, then the blame for the overpopulation of the world also lies at His doorstep.  If, after having over-populated the world does He need to send tornadoes, earthquakes and bad weather to keep crops from producing to help control the overpopulation of the world?

Isn't it all a lot more logical to believe that nature is taking its course, as it will, and that Jehovah is not infinite and that He intervenes only when He has a direct interest in a certain situation?   At least, if we see it this way, we are not forced to believe that Jehovah is cruel.

Is God Love

The Bible teaches, beyond argument, that God is love.  Preachers have taught us that since God is love He always loves all people forever but He hates their sins.  This old, worn out cliche has been universally accepted, but is it really true?  The Bible declares, no, that is not true!

The story of Esau is a case in point.  Speaking for the Lord, Malachi, the prophet, wrote, Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated. Mal. 1:2-3.  Some newer translations of the Bible state it more softly, but the difference is really just a matter of semantics.  The statement still stands; God loves some people more than He loves others, and some He hates.

It is not a godlike characteristic to love humans. Their involvement is mostly with themselves and the gods want what is best for themselves.  However, the singular and outstanding quality that distinguishes Jehovah from the other gods is His moral uprightness and love for humans.  This is the strength of the teaching of the New Testament. God is love. 1 John 4:8. God so loved…that He gave. John 3:16.  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:9.

Throughout ancient writings, we find that the gods demanded sacrifices of children. In many religions, it was the first born son in the family that the gods wanted to be sacrificed. 

It is recorded in the Bible that the followers of Baal practised human sacrifice and that the Hebrews when they quit following Jehovah, took up that horrible practice.  This was the way of the gods, and the gods were pleased that their followers were willing to give up so much for them.  Of course, the people were not willing to give so much, but in most cases, they were afraid of what the gods would do to them if they did not make that sacrifice.

One of Israel’s prophets told his people what Jehovah thought of that practice; In the Valley of Ben Hinnom they built places to worship Baal so they could burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to Molech. But I never commanded them to do such a hateful thing. It never entered my mind that they would do such a thing and cause Judah to sin. Jer. 32:33 (NCV)

Jehovah hates human sacrifice, and He did have a plan that would end the need for all blood sacrifices.  It was a plan that would put all the other gods to shame.  Jehovah has only one Son and, because of His love for humans, He gave His Son as a sacrifice to the people of this world.  After Christ had sacrificed His life for the human race, which He did because of Jehovah’s love, the other gods were forced to admit defeat.  There was nothing they could do, that would outperform the action that Jehovah had just taken.  Because of His love, Jehovah had made the ultimate sacrifice.  

Perhaps, it was then, the gods repeated the words of the Psalmist, Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like your works. Psalm 86:8.  They knew that they could not rival a gift like that.  Mr Meek writes, Yahweh, it was true, was the supreme god by right of conquest. 

Hebrew Origins.Theophile James Meek, (Harper Torchbooks. 1960)

By love and sacrifice, He proved Himself to be the conqueror. One of the minor prophets, looking forward to a better day put that same thought into these words, On that day will the Lord be one and His name one. Zech.14:9.  

After the death of Christ, the other gods fade into insignificance, they have lost their role as contenders for the throne in the heavens.

An Emotional God.

No doubt you have heard God referred to with words something like this, "the eternal unchanging deity".  Based on what the Bible writes about Jehovah I challenge that statement.  In many cases, the description given of God, in the Bible, would perfectly suit the way we understand ET's.

Is He sorry for what He has done?

Humankind is emotionally in the image of God. 

• People make mistakes and express sorrow for their errors.  
• People can be imposed upon by the pleadings of others.  
• Humans can enjoy pleasure and experience hate.  

Jehovah is capable of all these emotions, to mention only a few.  For example, And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. Gen. 6:6  

Previously, mention was made about the gods discussing the feasibility of creating man on the earth, and that they decided to do so.  Now we find that Jehovah was sorry that he had anything to do with the creation of man.  

Is the Bible speaking of a God that makes mistakes?  Is it speaking of Gods that decide to undo what they have done and wipe out most of the human race because of their unexpected disappointment with it?

From the Epic of Gilgamesh comes this bit of interesting prose: The gods were frightened by the flood, they retreated, ascending to the heaven of Anu….Ishtar shrieked … how could I say evil things in the Assembly of the Gods, ordering a catastrophe to destroy my people!! The gods—those of the Anunnaki—were weeping with her, the gods humbly sat weeping, sobbing with grief.

Does God Get Jealous?

Jealousy is not a stranger to humankind, and it is also an emotion that the Lord has.  I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the children. Ex. 20:5.  Is this the picture of an omnipotent, all-knowing, all-loving God?  No!  It shows a God who is subject to emotional variations.  

It is the God of the Hebrews that we read about in the Old Testament and there we read that  He is a jealous God; in fact, his “nickname” is, Jealous.  (For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God) Ex. 34:14.  He will not share his glory with any other God, from the people He has chosen.  

This emotion, incidentally, is a redundant sentiment, if there are no other deities vying for glory from mortals.

Does God get angry?

           

He, the Lord of the Jews, is a God who, in anger, disperses his people to other nations as punishment for sins committed, and, when His anger is abated, brings them home again.  These definitely are not pictures of an omnipotent and unchanging God but it is believable that ET's could react like that.

In the Bible is recorded an incident in which Balaam went, with the princes of Moab, to curse the children of Israel, and Then God’s anger was aroused because he went. Num. 22:22.  Is the Lord’s anger short fused?  According to the standards that the church has imposed on the ‘all-loving’ and ‘all-knowing’ God, it seems improbable that He should get himself into a situation in which he must compromise his divine characteristics; characteristics such as love and knowledge.  

It seems so much more in agreement with the Bible to think of God as being a superhuman who came to earth as an astronaut.  He seems to be a God who is physical, temperamental and with mental limitations.  This theory would certainly clear up many contradictions that traditional religion has taught us!

Did the decision of whether or not the Jews entered the promised land depend on His emotional variations?  It sounds as if it might have; He said, So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’  Heb. 3:11.  Conversely, we also hear Him say, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chron. 7:14.  

Can our words or our attitudes, our prayers, in fact, change the mind or the eternal, foreordained plans of an Almighty God?  

What we see here is not a picture of the almighty, creating, sustaining force of the universe; rather it is a picture of a father’s relationship with his child or a scientist's interest in his specimens.  This shows to us that when the gods (astronauts) created us they allowed for themselves to react emotionally.  They are Gods:

1. who repent for what they have done; 
2. who are jealous of other Gods; 
3. who in anger, change their mind about plans they had for the humans. 

This does not sound like eternal, unchanging Beings.  

Yet, such is the God that we read about in the Bible!

A Humanoid God

In The Image of God

We were created in God’s image.  The argument is made that this means that since God is a triune Being: Father, Son and Holy Spirit we are also a triune being: body, soul and Spirit. Let us realign our thinking: Jehovah is a triune Being; but not a Trinity!

He is Physical, Emotional and Spiritual, and in that sense, we are in God’s image. 

The next few posts will deal with these topics: 

1. Is God Visible? 
2. Is God temporal? 
3. Is God physical?  
4. Is God ever sorry for what He has done?  
5. Does God get jealous? 
6. Does God get angry?  
7. Is God unjust?  
8. Is God love?  
9. Is God a spirit only?

Is God Visible?

The church says no!  The Bible says yes and no.  To say that the Lord of the Old Testament is only spirit and whatever the Bible says about Him as being physical is not to be taken literally misses a major tenet of biblical theology.  The overwhelming teaching that Jehovah is absolutely invisible is completely contrary to many verses of Scripture; here are a few of them:

1. And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the Lord, and many of them perish.” Ex. 19:21. 
2. Then Moses...and seventy elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. Ex. 24:9+11. 
3. The Lord God of Israel had appeared to Solomon two times. 1 Kings 11:9. 
4. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne. Isaiah. 6:1. 
5. the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Eze. 1:1. 
6. And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. Dan. 7:9. 
7. a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; Rev. 4:2-3.

Why can’t we, for a change, let the Bible mean what it so pointedly says?  There will be more about this topic later when we study about Moses.

Is God Temporal?

God is eternal, or, at least He has let us believe that He is.  It is important that we do not think in terms of the absolute.  It would be unreasonable for “saucerians” to reckon time by earth years while travelling from one planet to another.  When travelling just below the speed of light, a new kind of reckoning comes into play.  These time shifts are known as, time dilation.  

According to Von Daniken, depending on certain mathematical facts, the following time shifts happen.  In the time that the earth ages eighty years the crew on a spaceship, travelling at just below the speed of light will age only fifteen years.  What is still more amazing, in the time that the earth ages 3,100 years the space crew will have aged only thirty years. Astoundingly, in 420,000 years of earth time, the spaceship crew will be only fifty years older. 
Von Daniken. In Search of Ancient Gods. (Heron and Souvenir Press, New York)

Is it any wonder that primitive people spoke of the astronauts as being eternal?  For that matter, is it surprising, that the gods did not bother correcting them about the error, for, relatively speaking, it is true?  Even if the saucerians would have corrected the false impressions that the early people had, the people could not possibly have understood what the Gods were talking about.

The Bible allows for the fact that God is getting older.  It is true that He was not getting old as fast as humans are, but nonetheless, a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past. Psalm 90:4.  

However slowly He may be ageing, we may as well accept the fact that the Lord is older now than he was 100,000 earth years ago.  Let us dismiss than, the idea that Jehovah is an eternal, unchanging entity.  If this were not true, why would He be spoken of as having white hair?  And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. Dan. 7:9.

Is God Physical?

In the Bible, Jehovah is spoken of as having feet, hands, arms, eyes and other characteristics that humans also have.  The Bible clearly teaches that God does have physical and emotional characteristics.  Why not think of these physical attributes as being actual?  Why not believe that the superhuman being from another planet, (Jehovah of the Bible), in fact, is physical?

For evidence look at Genesis 6:3, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh.  The RSV has dropped the word, also, from the text, apparently, to avoid the problem of having a teaching about a physical God.  Dr Atkinson, an evangelical Bible teacher, allows that the word, also, belongs in the verse as found in the KJV, but he says the, also, refers to animals, which are also flesh, like humans are; he is referring to those animals, which are to perish in the great coming flood. 

His argument appears to be very weak, for up to this point, the flood has not even been mentioned in the Bible.  This would be a strange way to introduce the flood and the death of animals.  The flood itself is not introduced until after the story of the giants on the earth.

If we insist that the, also, does not refer to a physical God the most likely connection of the word, also, would be to the sons of the gods.  These sons of the gods are mentioned in the verse immediately preceding the verse that says, the spirit of God will not always strive with man.  The meaning of that verse would then read like this, the spirit of God will not always strive with humans, for humans, like the sons of the gods, also are flesh.  If we accept this explanation, we are, of course, forced to admit that the gods had sons and that the Gods, including Jehovah, are physical, because the Bible says so.

This will be continued in the next post.