Reconstructing Faith

What Is Your Picture of God?

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Who is God? What do you imagine this Divine Being is like? Your picture of God is likely shaped by a variety of factors, including what you were taught in your faith community, the way clergy modeled themselves, your relationship with parents, or significant life events. These can intersect with each other. For example, you might have learned to view God as a father based on Scriptures that use this metaphor. This in turn is associated with your relationship with Dad. If Dad was patient and kind this can lead to a positive image of God. But if Dad was distant or abusive, a picture of a harsh God might develop. Many of us also have impressions of God based on life circumstances. When tragedy strikes, we can become disillusioned. Does God not care? Why didn’t God intervene?

We cannot see God physically and so we naturally draw conclusions based on what we do know: our relationships and life experiences. The biblical authors did similarly. They described God using images from real life. God is a king ruling the land (Psa 47:7-8), a humble shepherd in the field with sheep (Psa 23), an impenetrable rock (Deut 32:4), a pregnant woman writhing in labor (Isa 42:14; see also Deut 32:18), a warrior in battle (Ex 15:3), a mother hen protecting her young (Matt 23:37). God is even described as clothes you can put on (Gal 3:27).[1]  As Paul the Apostle said, we see through a glass darkly (1 Cor 13:12). Our ability to describe God in human words is limited. But this does not mean we are left only with an image of God we have invented. Just as the Israelites and early Christians encountered God, so also we can experience God.

How do we experience God? It may be in the beauty of the Creator’s sunrises and sunsets. Or in the kindness of a friend. Scripture says that the character of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). We can recognize God’s presence or absence by these traits. In fact, even though we cannot see God, we experience God in the love we give to one another (1 John 4:12). This is why many people have discovered God even in difficult times. While circumstances might not always change, it is possible to feel a supernatural peace in the middle of a storm. These spiritual experiences, along with the witness of the biblical authors help us to develop an accurate picture of God.

Our perception of God is significant because it affects how we understand ourselves and the way we treat other people. Who we imagine God to be is who we become. If God is hard to please, then we will naturally use others as the measuring rod for our own performance. Judging others will make us feel superior, less sinful, and therefore worthy of God’s love. On the other hand, if we know the truth of God’s incredible mercy toward our imperfections, we are more likely to offer the same. As Jesus said, the one who is forgiven much, loves much (Luke 7:47). Coming to experience God by noticing the fruit of the Spirit displayed in people around us and seeing God in the Person of Jesus (John 1:18), will transform our picture of God, and therefore, us as image-bearers.

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This post is excerpted from Karen R. Keen, The Jesus Way: Practicing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.

[1] See Lauren F. Winner’s lovely discussion on this along with other metaphors for God in her book Wearing God: Clothing, Laughter, Fire, and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God (New York: HarperCollins, 2015).

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Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

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“You Asked” is a blog series that answers questions people have submitted to Karen via e-mail or asked in person that relates to the faith life or Scripture.

Question: “I wonder if you could provide some of your thoughts on how one should interpret eternal punishment in the Bible? . . . Like many others, I cannot imagine how a loving God would like to see those who have failed to repent to end up burning in the lake of fire eternally. . . The reason I have been thinking about this question especially recently is partly due to the fact that my grandfather is going to die very soon due to lung cancer.”

Thoughts to Ponder: This is a difficult question, and one I have pondered myself. While it would take more space than I have here to thoroughly answer this question (and I don’t claim to have all the answers!), I do want to offer some food for thought. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. The Old Testament does not have a concept of hell. Instead all people are thought to go to Sheol, a gray, neutral place of sleep. In fact, the Old Testament says little about the Afterlife. Moving into the Greco-Roman period, we see a change in Jewish writing exhibiting a strong duality of heaven and hell. This movement seems to be based in part on concerns about justice for those suffering.

In ancient Near Eastern belief, including Israelite, God rewards good people with good things in this life and punishes bad people with a miserable life (e.g. Deut 28). But we see a couple Old Testament writers question this perspective, including in Ecclesiastes and Job. For example, Qohelet (the writer of Ecclesiastes), wrestles with the fact that rewards and punishments are clearly not fairly meted out in the present life (e.g. 8:14). Bad things do happen to good people, while evil people prosper. The circa 1st century BCE Jewish text Wisdom of Solomon (included in the Catholic Bible), provides an explanation for the conundrum: fair reward and punishment will surely be given in the Afterlife instead.

So originally, the concept of hell did not develop out of a belief that God is easily angered and ready to smite humanity. Rather, it stemmed from the existential crisis of Jews living under foreign rule who wanted assurance that somehow, someday the wrongs inflicted by cruel people would be made right. If justice for the suffering was not evident in the here and now, surely God would bring justice in the Afterlife.

2. The second thing to keep in mind when reading hell texts in the Bible is literary genre, including the ancient Jewish form called Apocalyptic Literature. Just as we would not read poetry the same way as we read a newspaper article, so also we have to attend to literary features in the Bible to read it correctly. Notably, the book of Revelation, which contains key hell texts, is an example of the apocalyptic genre. As a genre it contains highly symbolic language. So we have to ask ourselves whether a particular text might be conveying an important figurative meaning.

3. Thirdly, some prominent Christian theologians dating back to the early church have believed through Christ universal salvation is possible. Origen (c. 185-254 CE) was one of the most prolific and respected Christian thinkers of his time and believed in universal salvation. For an excellent article on Origen, see “Saint Origen,” by David Bentley Hart. For more recent commentary from an evangelical, see this brief video (How Do You Reconcile Universalism with Hell Texts) by Dr. Robin Parry. And also check out this intriguing post on what the Bible says and doesn’t say about hell.

Evangelist Billy Graham was once asked about the salvation of Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and secular people. He replied: “Those are decisions only the Lord will make. I believe the love of God is absolute. He said he gave his son for the whole world, and I think he loves everybody regardless of what label they have” (Newsweek interview, 2006).

Regardless of where one falls on this question, we know that God loves us while we are sinners (Rom 5:8), and we are not saved because we do right things, but because of mercy (Titus 3:3-7). This marvelous grace woos us such that we follow Christ out of love and not fear. Perfect love casts out fear.

PS: What about Heaven? Have you ever wondered what that is like? Read this great article by New Testament scholar N.T. Wright on what the Bible teaches.

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When Death Comes Too Soon

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During Lent this year, death hovered near. My friend Bill, a beloved pastor in the community, underwent chemo for an unexpected brain tumor. The spouse of someone I provide spiritual care for was suddenly hospitalized. And well-known Christian writer, Rachel Held Evans was placed in a medically induced coma after the flu took a dangerous turn. On Holy Saturday I mentioned each of them in a tweet and pleaded, “This Holy Saturday I am crying out for life!”

All three of them died this week. Tomorrow I am attending two memorial services.

Bill was only 56 years old and blessed the lives of so many, including refugees. He persuaded his congregation to turn the parsonage into a home for transitioning immigrants. Bill died just weeks after the birth of a grandchild who will grow up without him. Rachel was 37 and had a profound impact through her writing and speaking, challenging the evangelical world to follow Christ more fully. She leaves behind a three old son and a little girl not even a year old.

It always startles me when good people die young. It goes against my gut sense of justice that God should and surely will look out for the faithful. Yet, even Jesus and his disciples died unfairly. The gospel does not offer the protection that I so wish it did.

I first began to reckon with this truth several years ago when I encountered another unexpected death. At the time I was ending a stable career, packing my bags, and moving across the country to pursue a new vocational dream, namely, a Th.M. degree at Duke Divinity School with hopes of going on for a Ph.D. in Old Testament. But amid my hopeful beginning, David died. I didn’t know David, but his death hit me hard. His dreams mirrored my own dreams, having just completed his Ph.D. in Old Testament at Duke.  …

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Where Is God in a World of Suffering?

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If God loves us and has a purpose for our lives, why is there so much suffering? What does it mean that God doesn’t stop tragedy from happening? Is God truly good?

Trying to make sense of suffering is as old as Job. One common tendency is to suggest a person did something wrong to incur God’s disfavor or discipline. However, the author of Job rejects claims that bad things only happen because God is angry. Innocent people do, in fact, suffer. When asked why a man was born blind, Jesus denied the cause was sin (John 9:1-3). Instead he says God is actively working to bring good into painful situations. Similarly, the author of Acts describes God directly opposing the forces that cause suffering (10:38).

Anglican pastor and theologian, Rowan Williams, says when it comes to trusting God sometimes the first baby step is to look to people who take responsibility for God:

Faith has a lot to do with the simple fact that there are trustworthy lives to be seen, that we can see in some believing people a world we’d like to live in . . . This turn of phrase, about taking responsibility for God, I owe to one of the most striking believers of the twentieth century, one of the many who made God believable by their resistance to the nightmares of modern totalitarianism and violence. Etty Hillesum was a young Jewish woman in her twenties when the Germans occupied Holland . . . Imprisoned in the transit camp at Westerbork . . . she wrote, “There must be someone to live through it all and bear witness to the fact that God lived, even in these times. And why should I not be that witness?”[1]

As you continue to process your image of God, be patient with yourself. Talk with a spiritual director, mentor, or friend who can walk alongside you. Trusting God takes time. Wrestling with pain takes time. The question “Why?” may never be answered, but it is possible to arrive at the same understanding as witnesses before us: God is light and in God there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:15).

During this time, the following suggestions may be helpful:

1. Ponder the stories of others who have suffered such as Nicholas Wolterstorff’s Lament for Son or Etty Hillesum’s An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork.

2. Engage in practices of lament. This could be as diverse as praying the Psalms, writing your own lament, or symbolic acts (e.g. tying a burden to a helium balloon and sending it into the sky etc).

3. Daydream about previous experiences of God in your life. When Mother Teresa went through long periods without sensing God’s presence, her distinct and memorable call to ministry as a young woman kept her going.

4. Meditate on Scriptures that remind you of God’s love, even if part of you still struggles to believe them. For example, consider contemplating stories of Jesus’s caring ministry to those around him.

5. Practice self-care, including recreation/exercise, talking with trusted friends and family, eating healthy, journaling, listen to comforting music, etc.

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[1] Rowan Williams, Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007), 21-22.

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Doubt: When You’re Not Sure What You Believe

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Several years ago, I was walking down the street on an ordinary day when suddenly a thought inserted itself out of the blue: What if there is no God? Given that I was not pondering the subject at the time, the intruding thought felt strangely self-animating. But rather than disturbing me, I felt relieved. My body began to relax and an exhilarating sense of freedom washed over me. I was surprised by my reaction. Why would I, a devout Christian, dedicated to studying the Scriptures feel relief at the thought of no God? As I pondered my response, I realized I was afraid of God. If there was no God I didn’t need to worry about getting all the answers right. I didn’t need to worry about getting the answers wrong. It was like someone telling me I could skip the nerve wracking exam.

This incident came at a time when I was increasingly discouraged and disillusioned about finding answers to certain theological questions. Biblical research had challenged long held beliefs and provoked numerous questions. My presuppositions about the Bible were being rattled. Like many other students whose faith is disrupted by biblical scholarship, I came from a tradition that puts considerable emphasis on correct doctrine. Pinning down answers is of utmost importance. Apologetic books abound and parishioners are warned not to read material that might contradict the approved doctrines. At the root lies considerable fear of getting the answers wrong and facing a punishing God.  …

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World So Full

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I recently came across a song called “World So Full” by Jon Dee Graham. It is covered below by Gloria Showalter who writes, “My major is Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies, which means that many of my classes deal with some of the worst stuff in the world. My four years here at Goshen College have been challenging as I look at the pain of the world in my academic study, and in my own life. Sometimes, amidst the study of PTSD, sexual violence, systemic oppression, and genocide, I have felt pretty hopeless.. . . Working towards God’s vision of healing and reconciliation is not the sort of thing that feels good all the time or always yields the results I want. Yet, my time here at Goshen has deepened my hope and strengthened my commitment to working to bring that just and peaceful world a little closer to reality. In the words of this song, ‘I’m still in love with the world so full.'”

Excerpts from the song include:

Little stars hang on tight
to the roof of this night.
Don’t turn away,
Don’t turn away
From the world so full.

Make me willing,
Make me strong,
Make me brave as the day is long.

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