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' (Genesis 6:13 et al), he is a God that "hates with a passion" (Psalm 11:5) and who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). So I think we are doing a disservice to God and to those who don't know God by often presenting God as this kind, fluffy, huggable old man (I have even heard someone constantly refer to him as "Papa") God may be like that but he is also a lot of scary things as well. Doing so sets Christianity up for a fall and invites criticism such as, "why does God allow suffering" if he's this sweet old guy. We need to talk about all the aspects of God and presenting him as who he really is, we need to be taught to love him but to also fear him (Leviticus 25:17 et al) after all "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).

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