IS THE GOSPEL GOOD NEWS?

Part 3: Is God a Cosmic Bully?

Some people see God as a cosmic bully rather than a loving Father. For many, this is due to having experienced sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse from their biological father or a stepfather. When they read or hear the word “father,” their first reaction is fear, rejection, bitterness, or hatred.

Other people reject God because of having been forced as a child to attend a church or church school where the pastors, priests, or teachers were controlling, punishing, or manipulative. Their view of God has been shaped by their experiences from authority figures who supposedly represented and spoke for God.

Both groups, seeing through the filter of their abuse at the hands of fathers (and mothers who did not protect them) and the harsh and judgmental treatment from adults who claimed to represent God and the Church, often find it difficult to believe in a loving heavenly Father. Having escaped the bonds of their tormentors who ruled by fear at home or in church, they are determined not to allow themselves to be put in bondage again by anyone, including God.

Even when they desperately want to believe that God loves them, they find it difficult to overcome their mistrust. When they read verses in the Bible that tell us to fear God and to submit to Him, the defense mechanisms they developed for survival are triggered. The fear of God and the God of fear becomes just another in a long line of bullies in their lives that must be resisted.

But what if God is not a God of fear, but a God of love? What if God is not who they, our tormentors, have told us He is? Then, what does it mean to “fear the Lord?”

There are two kinds of fear we need to be aware of when we are trying to understand what the scriptures are telling us when the “fear of the LORD” is mentioned. One, and the one most of us think of first, means fear in the sense of judgment and punishment. This is the message, be afraid, be very afraid. It is the kind of fear the “fire and brimstone” message produces.

The second kind of fear in “the fear of the LORD” can mean either reverence for the LORD or an acknowledgment of His power and authority. In the Old Testament the phrase ‘the fear of the LORD’ was understood to mean” reverential trust, including the hatred of evil.” ¹

John Gill, a theologian of the 1700’s, explains that  ‘the fear of the Lord’ is not meant as “a servile fear, a fear of punishment, of hell, wrath, and damnation,” but a relationship of child to parent kind of fear with the “ knowledge of God as a father, of his love and grace in Christ, particularly of his forgiving love.” Based on faith or trust of God, this kind of fear is to have a “reverential affection and devotion to him.” ²

In the following verses, the same root word for fear is used in the original Hebrew text (see Strong’s Concordance #03372), and carries the following meanings:

to fear, be afraid to stand in awe of, be awed to fear, reverence, honour, respect to be fearful, be dreadful, be feared to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe to make afraid, terrify

These verses make much more sense when we read them with the understanding that the fear being spoken of is reverence, awe, honor, and respect, rather than terror. Try it yourself, substituting one of these other meanings for the word “fear” in the verses.  

Deuteronomy 6:13    Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

Deuteronomy 10:12  And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 10:20  Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name

Proverbs 8:13            To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Proverbs 9:10            The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.

Isaiah 11:2, 3             The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD – and he will delight in the fear of the LORD…

Jeremiah 32:40         I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.

What did Jesus believe about the “fear of the LORD?”  

 Matthew 4:10           “…Begone Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” 

Jesus was reminding Satan of what was written in Deuteronomy (see above), and Himself replaces the word “fear” with “worship.”

The answer to the question “Is God a Cosmic Bully?” is a resounding No!

He does not want us to serve Him or obey Him because we are afraid of Him and what He might do to us if we don’t.

Does He want us to love, respect, honor, revere, worship, and stand in awe of Him? Yes!

And why shouldn’t He? And why shouldn’t we? He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe! The Creator and Sustainer of us! In fact, He is our very breath! Why would we not stand in awe of Him? Why would we not honor Him and worship Him? Why would we not love Him?

God is not a bully. He is not forcing His will on us. He loves us with a love so unconditional, so pure, and so complete that His desire is to adopt us into His family to be co-heirs with Jesus. He won’t bully us into accepting this gift, but He weeps when we do. He weeps because He knows the splendor of what He is offering, and the degradation and death our rejection of Him brings to us.

Whether our wounds are from abusive parents or an abusive church or something else, God’s love and acceptance are the keys to our healing.

^{1)Scofield Reference Bible Notes. See Psalms 19:9 notes   2) John Gill Exposition of the Bible}:

THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION

·       Have I experienced abuse by those who were supposed to protect me? How has that shaped my view of God?

·       Do I fear surrendering control of my life to God? What am I afraid might happen if I did?

·       Do I think or feel that God loves me? What difference in my life would it make to know that God loves me?

Join us next week for

Part 4: God is a Loving Father

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I pray you are blessed by today’s sharing, and I invite your comments and prayer requests.

Love, Hugs, and Blessings!

Syandra