Published by In considering the lies we believe about God, we must also consider the lies we believe about ourselves and our perception of God. Truth is shadow in the philosophical world of theology. How does one measure truth? Christians use the Bible.
The eloquent members online at WonderCafe.ca have been deliberating upon this subject for two weeks. “Lies we believe about God” is a discussion that was started on the 15th of July, and it has become one of the most popular threads of all time.
There are a great many thought provoking posts from all types of members, and according to them, the five most popular lies that Christians believe about God are as follows:
I Must Earn God’s Love
This is the first and biggest lie that almost everyone believes about our heavenly Father. God’s love is the same throughout the ages, from the beginning of time to the end of time. It’s evidenced in the life and teachings of Jesus. And it’s the testimony of millions and millions of worshipers who believe and accept God’s love everyday. God’s love is always prior to our love. No where in the Bible does it say that parishioners must work to earn God’s love.
God Will Punish Evil Doers
Secular society has always propagated the line “Vengeance is mine saieth the lord” as a defense against the notion of revenge. Here in Canada, our justice system is an injured party’s only acceptable reprisal, and as it’s often imperfect, unsatisfied people take comfort in the lie that God will punish evil doers as they dwell on Earth, and bar their entrance to Heaven.
Some people really want to believe that God is absolute justice, and that He will dispense punishment as merits the crime. But think about it, how can such an all knowing, all seeing, and all powerful deity do anything but love ALL his children? Experience has taught us that the sociopaths are products of their childhood environment – the pain they cause, and all the vengeful prayers from their victims (for the lord’s divine retribution) will never warrant punishment from an all knowing God who can see and understand their formative circumstances.
The Greek word “ekdikeo” appears six times in the New Testament, and means “to execute retributive justice; a determination to execute judgment for; to avenge or punish a wrong.” (Note the following Scriptures: Luke 18:7-8; Acts 7:24; I Thess. 4:6; II Thess. 1:8; Heb. 10:30; Rev. 6:10; 19:2).
The Greek word “orge” when translated is “wrath” which appears 36 times in the NT. This should not be confused with the Greek word “thumos”. These two words are to be distinguished in this respect: “Thumos indicates a more agitated condition of the feelings, an outburst of wrath from inward indignation, while orge suggests a more determined, or abiding condition of mind, frequently with a view to taking revenge.Orge is less sudden in its rise than thumos, but more lasting in nature. Thumos expresses more the inward feeling, that quickly blazes up and quickly subsides; orge the more active, enduring emotion” (Vine’s Expos. Dict., p. 55-56). See: John 3:36; Rom. 2:5, 8; Col. 3:6; James 1:20; Rev. 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:10; 16:19; 19:15.
Pre Tribulation Rapture
Or the belief that God will transform all people who believe in Him, but have not yet died into the same type of immortal body he has just given the dead who rise to be with Him.
As you can imagine the source text, the only record we have in our search for truth remember, is often misinterpreted,
I Corinthians 15
V16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
V52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
V53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.Download a digital copy of the
King James Bible
, and do a search for the word “rapture”. You won’t find it – that’s because the word doesn’t exist in ANY of the Holy Roman scriptures, and the popular notion today that God will return before tribulation for the purest souls is in fact the invention of a fifteen year old Scottish-Irish girl named Margaret MacDonald (a follower of Edward Irving), who in 1830 had a vision that was later published in 1861.
Margaret interpreted the line and this mortal must put on immortality to mean that the most faithful of the flock would be instantly transformed into immortality, while the rest of us are “left behind”. It’s a lie – there is no easy way out.
Our Savior’s Name is Jesus
Our Savior’s name is not Jesus. The name “Jesus” which is commonly used in Christianity today did not even exist in 0AD, and would certainly not be spelled with the letter “J” until about 500 years ago, or fifteen hundred years after Christ.
Most scholars will however agree on the name “Yahshua”.
Modern biblical scholars are also obsessed with the many grammatical errors involved in the early transliteration of the name “Yahshua” into Greek and Latin, which radically changed the form of Yahshua’s name.
The Jews Killed Jesus
This is a lie that’s an absolute corruption of the truth. Most scholars agree that the Gospels were written some 40 to 70 years after the crucifixion (which occurred around 30 C.E.). At that time, the nascent Christian sect was trying to distinguish itself from its Jewish roots for two reasons. First, the Christians wanted to attract gentile converts. Second, because the Jews were rebelling against the Romans, a repudiation of Christian kinship with the Jews could be politically advantageous.
The Gospels assign primary blame to the Jews, not the Romans; and sympathetically portray Pontius Pilate, who is described in other ancient texts as a cruel despot. Additionally, many scholars have stressed Jesus’ identity as a political subversive, which would explain why the Romans chose a means of execution, crucifixion, usually reserved for insurrectionists.
Yes it seems a small clique of Jewish authorities, who were in league with the Romans, does indeed share responsibility for killing Jesus. But unlike modern democracy, these authorities did not represent the majority of the Jewish people, who had in fact for the most part rallied around Christ’s charismatic figure.
That’s really interesting. Putting a new spin on christianity and all it’s beliefs. I might print it out and show it to my friends
Awesome job.
I read your article and have a comment about how you asked, \”How can such an all knowing, all seeing, and all powerful deity do anything but love ALL his children?\”
God does love all His children, but not all people on this Earth are His children. We are all His creation, but the one\’s who are saved through Jesus Christ are actually His children. We must accept His Son before we can become His children. God will not let evil go unpunished. The Bible talks about Him bringing justice to the suppressed and poor. He doesn\’t like anyone messing around with His children.
Also, no matter what history says about the name of Jesus, God knows who we are referring to. The Bible tells us our Savior\’s name is Jesus Christ. It matters to Christians because we believe the Word of God, and His Word is the Bible. It is not for man to take away the name of our Savior. God has many names. Jesus is the name we know as our Savior.
I just wanted to ad to my comment. God does love us all, but until we are reunited to Him through Christ, we are seperate from Him. I mean that is the reason Jesus came to Earth in the first place, to reunite all humanity to God. He wants all of us, but we must accept the sacrifice of his Son. Those who don’t are outside of His family.
Mandy added most of what I wanted to say.
Have you understood the gospel? If you haven’t, but would like to, here is a video which explains in properly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muuKV0mEsIw
The bulk of the commentary given is more liberal than Biblical, especially the part about God not punishing evildoers. The theology given is absolute garbage and belongs on the dung heap of false doctrine. I challenge you to open the Bible, read its pages carefully, and see for yourself whether the Word of God teaches that sinners will be punished. It’s a message one cannot avoid without mutiliating or disregarding the clear revelation of Scripture.