|
|
Bible Questions and Spiritual Discussion
|
Family divided
|
|
Religion has divided my family but not in a way that most people experience. I was raised in a Christian upbringing and my parents currently attend a Presbyterian church. My brother has become what some might consider an extreme Christian and he has approached our parents in concern for their salvation because their church does not teach the word of God the way he believes it should be taught. My parents might be what some consider a more liberal belief, less wrath and brimstone. The struggle this is causing me is I am on a continual journey and struggle to get to know and understand God. I can be a bit of a doubting Thomas. I started this year listening to the DAB for the first time ever in the hopes that it would help me on my journey. But I struggle because where people see love and warmth I see anger and wrath and I see where my brother is coming from. I feel God’s presence in the kind acts people do for one another, nature and little miracles that seem to pass by as just coincidence but I don’t see the same God in the Bible when I read it. I want to believe fully but I don’t want to do it out of fear and the idea that if I believe then I have to believe that everyone I love who does not believe is going to hell. Please help, any advice, inspiration or pray you can spare me would be so appreciated.
|
|
Heather 01/31/2012 15:04 |
|
| |
Catholica
|
01/31/2012 16:46 |
Heather, this is a great question and one that many people struggle with when they read the Old Testament in particular. I can offer some ponderings on how we might understand God's actions in the Old Testament. I speak out of my own thoughts and not from things I have learned, but perhaps I can't help but incorporate Catholic beliefs in how I see the world and scripture.
It seems that God was violent in the old testament, and even in the New Testament church we look at things Christians did from time to time and see them as violent. Yet we look at these things through our 21st century lens and it can hardly make sense of these ancient cultures. In all cultures, there are simply human customs, or ways of living, or societal structures in place. Sort of like in every person, we are at a different place in our walk. When God comes to you and me, he meets us where we are at. Similarly, I speculate, when God worked in ancient cultures, he met those people where they were at. So when we see God being violent, that was something that was necessary at that time to convey truth or his will in the minds of those people.
As a father, I have to know my children and treat each one differently. I have to be extra sensitive around my daughter. I have to tell my son I forgive him immediately or he panics. Similarly God communicates through not only his words but his actions in a way that makes sense to those people. It doesn't change who God is, it just speaks to what the audience needed at the time.
One thing to keep in mind in the OT is that death is not evil from God's hands. Ultimately, one person killing another person is an act of injustice, because one man's life is not another man's life to take. That is because all lives belong to He who created them, God. Our lives are in God's hands, and they are his to give and his to take. It may seem brutal to us, but to God, He sees the whole picture.
Another thing to keep in mind is that, in certain theological circles, these acts of God are seen in a spiritual light. I don't know what particular things are bothering you, but I bet if you brought them forward I could come up with a spiritual interpretation that reflects reality of God. Just know that God detests sin, and loves and protects his children. Non-Israelites are like those who are opposed to God in the OT. They cannot stand against God or they will perish.
Why does God hate sin? The simple answer is because sin makes us less than who God intends us to be. God wants us to be perfect and wants to root sin out of our lives for our own good. Sometimes that is painful and God can seem like a tyrant for it, but ultimately it is for the good of our souls and for our salvation.
As for your brother, he seems to be being influenced by a very condemning pastor. Yet scripture explicitly says "judge not, lest ye be judged". This does not mean that we are not to convict another when we see them sinning, but rather we are not to say that a certain person is going to hell because of this, or because of that. God sees into the heart of every person, and I mean every person. They will all be judged fairly (justly) according to what they have received. A person coming along telling someone that they will go to hell unless they repent, well, he doesn't know that they will go to hell, and it is a sin to tell them that they are. He can't know what God is doing in their life, how God is moulding their hearts to be ready to accept Him. His actions might be going against the work of God and the will of God.
Truly, the gospel is to repent and believe the good news, the good news being that God has showered forth his mercy upon sinners who turn to him with a contrite heart, and that we can now know God intimately and be with Him for eternity. Jesus certainly did not come telling people that they are going to hell, not once. Jesus gave people what they each individually needed to be saved, and sometimes they rejected that, but they didn't reject Him because he hit them with a great big "hell-hammer" but simply because they were too tied to their own sin to humble themselves.
Ultimately, each person needs to be loved into heaven, not scared into heaven. Our God is not a God of fear, but rather one of encouragement who says frequently "be not afraid". I would pray for your brother because it seems he has fallen into a rather abusive sect and though he wants to do what's right, he has been taught to go about it the wrong way. Surely his soul will realize this eventually and he might reject Christianity altogether (because of his association of the two) so he needs you to pray for him, a lot. And I think we can all pray for those who have been under the impression that God is a tyrant rather than a Father who is encouraging and wants the best for each of us, the best being himself, whom He willingly gave all of for us.
It would be a good thing for you to stick around this forum and talk to other Christians so that you can see through their light and love that the same light and love is God shining through them, and then you will come to know God himself. I highly recommend reading the psalms because they are very comforting and can give you a good idea of the strength, and love, and care, and the compassion that is characteristic of our God.
|
|
