Is Our God an Angry God?
Dear Lord,
At different times and in different denominations, You are portrayed differently – sometimes a God of fury and rage who sentences most people to a fiery afterlife, sometimes as a loving, forgiving Father. Below, I will try to see which is true.
Once I had a dream. I was in a dirty, stinky basement, with an old woman and a young boy on either side of me. They were singing “Our God is an angry God” to the relentless beat of many drums. I said to them, “Let me teach you a new song.” And I began singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Immediately, spring seemed to blossom in that basement and lovely harmonies swelled up from a magnificent orchestra.
At that time in my life, I was seeing a wonderful spiritual director who repeatedly emphasized that our spiritual growth is closely tied to our image of God. I told her my dream. She was appalled at the “angry God” part, but was relieved to hear the results of the “Jesus loves me” song.
My conclusion at the time? – God’s love trumps anger, and consequently, God’s mercy trumps judgment.
But what about God in the Bible?
Just now, a few hours ago, I finished reading chapter 16 of Revelation, in which the seven bowls of God’s wrath are poured out upon the earth. They are devastating…more than devastating:
The great city [wicked Babylon] was split into 3 parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered great Babylon, to make her drain the cup of the fury of his wrath. (Rev 16: 19) (emphasis mine)
So is our God an angry God? Are we to fear Him, as is stated many times in Holy Scripture? I have heard many preachers say that the word “fear” should be better understood as “revere” or “respect.” But a God who could pour out 10 plagues upon Egypt, including the slaying of first-born sons, and who can order the devastations recounted in the book of Revelation, is certainly simply to be feared, much more intensely than the words “revere” or “respect” imply. Remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, when he sees the vision of God in His throne room:
…the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’ (Isaiah 6:4-5)
Even gentle Jesus gets angry: In the story where Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, when He saw that Lazarus’s sister was weeping, “he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled [literally, ‘angered.’].” (John 11:33) (Here, I believe Jesus was angered at His great enemy, Death.)
A more overt example of Jesus’ wrath is contained in the story of the money changers in the Temple:
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, ‘Take these things away; stop making my Father’s house a place of business.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house will consume me.’ (John 2:13-17)
And there is more. In Luke chapter 3, John the Baptist proclaims this about Jesus:
….As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:16-17)
For those who are familiar with Biblical parables, the above passage clearly refers to Jesus and His final judgment of the righteous and the wicked.
So what are we to think? The history of the Church – both Catholic and Protestant – has produced many theologians and preachers who emphasized God’s power in judgment, with the resulting fear of God’s ire. This is no longer the “fashion.” Is or is not our God an angry God?
First of all, anger does indeed have a place in God’s economy. Anger burns away rebellion and anything that hurts God’s people. God’s wrath takes down Satan, the Accuser – he has no place in God’s kingdom. Without God’s anger, we would be in sorry shape. I believe preachers should include this in their teaching.
However, I believe that love does trump wrath, and mercy does trump judgment. Here are some passages to support this point of view:
Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-30, emphasis mine)
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3-16-17, emphasis mine)
And in case you think that love is attributed to Jesus alone, and not God the Father, consider many passages from the Psalms, including this one as an example:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion….the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. (Psalm 103:1-4; 8 emphases mine)
Also, if you believe as I do, that the Song of Songs is at least half a lavish paean of luscious love songs of God to His people, you will be overwhelmed.
And here is the prophet Isaiah, who does indeed speak fervently of God’s wrath against sin, but who also shows how close is the relationship between God and His people:
For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the Lord of hosts; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you, like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected. (Isaiah 54:5-6 emphasis mine)
I believe God’s love and anger can work together. Here is an example:
And He [Jesus] called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:2-6)
Here, Jesus clearly loves little children and those who humble themselves to become like children in their faith, but is fierce towards those who cause the “little ones” to use their faith.
So, do I believe God is an angry God? Yes, but His wrath is directed at those who try to bring evil into the world. He must be angry towards them (primarily Satan and his minions), because His love is SO GREAT!
Most people, even those who have consistently chosen evil in their lives, need to hear most of all of God’s love and mercy. We need to know that God will forgive what is evil in us when we repent and confess our sins and turn to Him in confidence that His love trumps all.
Here is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, which completely sums up what I believe about God’s love towards us:
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
Dear God, I believe that rock bottom truth is this: “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Amen.