Names of God
I returned to church recently after a 8-year hiatus due to what I discovered were acute mental health issues. We won't go into that here, well not this time at least, but something that struck me was that I was able to see and hear things very clearly, unfettered by some of the habits that one picks up when one has been part of that club for some time. A person leading prayers during the service asked people to shout out characteristics (I'm sure they didn't use that word but its the best I can come up with) of God. The response, I guess, should have been expected, words like, 'wonderful counsellor', 'merciful', 'beautiful' streamed forth from many of the lips of those present and when it petered out I couldn't help speaking that they had only covered part of what God is, they had forgotten words like "jealous God" (Exodus), 'vengeful' (numerous references), "angry" (Leviticus 10:6 et al), 'destructive' (Genes...