Sotd: Is Mom More Merciful Than God

The short answer, if you are a religious person (when I say that, let’s understand I’m talking Christianity here), is no. God is much more merciful, but. Now, I don’t know about the rest of you, but that seems to me like a really interesting way to say it. Yes, God loves everyone, but here are the conditions. Conditions? From an omnipotent, omniscient being that, if you believe some people, literally IS love? Isn’t that the very height of hypocrisy?

My mom always used to tell me that she would love me no matter what I did and I believe her. She might not approve of some of the things that I do, but she is going to love me and talk to me and invite me over for supper sometimes. She certainly isn’t going to get all wrath of God on me and send me to Hell for disagreeing with some of her pronouncements and I think that is all of the difference. Now that’s not to say that Mom doesn’t get upset, heaven knows that she does. But, she doesn’t get Biblical on me.

Many people tell me that God is like my mom. Not that my mom is God, although sometimes… God loves me no matter what I do. God will always love me and talk to me and invite me over to His church for supper on Sundays to partake in ritualistic cannibalism. Well, that’s true as far as it goes. But, there are certain things that God is a little stricter with than my dear mother.

For instance, if I were to tell my mom that I was gay (I’m not, but let’s just say I did), she’d be disappointed, but she wouldn’t send me to burn in Hellfire for all eternity for it. Not God. He doesn’t have any truck with that kind of behavior and rather than send me to my room without supper, it’s straight to the pits of Hell for me. In fact, according to my Bible, “No man is to have sexual relations with another man. God hates that.” (Leviticus 18:22). I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that when the all powerful ruler of creation is hacked off at me for having sex with another man, a good time is not going to be had by all.

I could also tell my mom that I didn’t believe that her only son (me in this case, but bear with me) is the only path to salvation and I know that she would be good with that. She wouldn’t like it, but I wouldn’t have to take the long dirt nap in Hell for it either. Not the Big Guy. If you don’t believe in His only Son as the one true path to salvation you are, quite simply, toast. Matthew 10:33 states, “But, if anyone rejects me publicly, I will reject them before my Father in heaven.” Yikes. So, am I cool if I don’t reject Him publicly? Nope, He’s not down with that either. John 5:24 reads, “I am telling you the truth: whoever hears my words and believes in him who sent me has eternal life. He will not be judged, but has already passed from death to life.” Pretty clear, God figures if you don’t believe in what his Son has to say (aren’t they the same person? Weird.) then it is off to the exotic location of Hades for you.

Mom also rarely made pronouncement from the Chair about things like having no other Mom before her or telling me that it was really uncool for me to use her name in vain or that I’d better honor her or there was going to be trouble. Mom just didn’t do those kinds of things. God, on the other hand, has all kinds of rules like that. And the consequence for not following His rules? Ding, ding, ding, hand the reader a prize! It is a one way, all expenses paid trip to the depths of Hell. You’ll spend all days and all nights basking in the warm glow of the pits of sulfur, burning for all eternity, listening to the calming sounds of fellow damned souls screaming in agony while being having your shin whacked by a malicious (is there really any other kind?) demon.

Now, I don’t think that God is that bad of a guy. He had to put the hammer down on those early Hebrews, what with all of the rebelling and golden calves and sinning and all, but aren’t we past that? He probably had to be pretty hard on those later Jews too. They hadn’t listened to a prophet in a while and frankly, I think God was pissed. But, to even suggest that the all powerful ruler of the Universe really thinks that I need to go to Hell for all time because I didn’t think that his Son was the only path to salvation or had gay sex seems to me, well, a bit on the harsh side.

Mom had a wooden spoon (it’s not child abuse, she just isn’t a very big woman) and the nuclear option (Dad, shudder) if I screwed up. But, afterwards, she would take me in her arms and tell me that she loved me and that she wanted me to grow up to be a good person, so she needed to correct me. Nothing that I could do, ever, would make her love me any less. Nothing that I could ever say could make her love me any less. She would eventually either overlook or forgive the transgression and we would move on. God doesn’t do that. God puts the permanent hammer on you, for some really trivial stuff if you believe the Bible. Unless of course, you toe the line.

So, I choose to not believe in the Biblical God. I don’t like the guy much and I think He’s a little out of line, especially in the Old Testament, with all the smiting and boils and plagues and genocides and all. I also don’t hold a whole lot of hope out for a guy that says that if I don’t believe in Him (that’s Jesus, it gets confusing) as the Son of God, it’s off to Hell for me. You see, I just can’t buy that my mom, whom I love more than I can say, would be more merciful than a God who is the embodiment of love, peace and mercy.

References
1. Good News Bible: The Bible in Today’s English
American Bible Society New York, New York 1978