My God is an Angry God

“All you need is love, love, all you need is love.” That is the gospel according to John Lennon. Let’s hear the gospel according to the prophet Nahum.[1]

 Yahweh is an avenger,
     a passionate God;

Yahweh is an avenger,
     expert in wrath.

Yahweh is an avenger against his foes,
     he seethes in anger against his enemies.

Yahweh is slow to anger,
     but massive in strength:
         he will not remit punishment.

Yahweh is in the whirlwind,
     his path is in the storm,
     clouds are the dust on his feet.

He rebukes the sea, and dried it up,
     he made all the rivers dry.

Bashan and Carmel languish,
    the bloom of Lebanon languishes.

The mountains quaked before him,
     the hills fluidified.

The earth became a waste in his presence,
     the expanse, and all who inhabit it.

In the presence of his fury, who can stand?
     Who can withstand the heat of his wrath?

His anger is poured out like fire,
     rocks are dislodged before him.

Yahweh is good to those who wait for him,
     a fortress on a day of distress.

He takes care of those who find shelter in him
     in the overwhelming flood.

He makes a full end to opposition,
     and pursues his enemies into darkness.

What are you thinking with regard to Yahweh?
     He will make a full end.

No adversary
     opposes him twice.

Like a thicket of tangled thorns
     and like those liquored up with liquor,

they were consumed like straw
     fully dried.

From you has left
     the one who designed evil against Yahweh,
     the counselor of wickedness.

Thus said Yahweh:
     Though they were vigorous and many,
     even so they were cut off and have gone away.

I humiliated you [Israel]:
     I will humiliate you no more.

And now:
     I will break his yoke from you,
     and burst your bonds asunder.

(Nahum 1:2-13)

 As Abraham Joshua Heschel (ז״ל) said, “Expositors of the teachings of the prophets are prone to dwell upon passages which seem to conform to their views and predilections. . . . The harsh words, the grave threats, the relentless demands, the shrieks of doom, are usually disregarded.”[2]

Even Christians, who are supposed to believe in the God revealed to them by Jesus, who, in a highly symbolic act, cursed the fig tree which bore no fruit, and drove out the moneychangers from the Temple, declaring it to have become a den of robbers (Mark 11:12-17); the God proclaimed by Peter, a God who struck dead Ananias and Sapphira after they lied about their possessions (Acts 5:1-11); and the God proclaimed by Paul, who spoke freely of “the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness” (Romans 1:18) - even Christians prefer a cuddly God, a warm fuzzy, a wish projection out of a life of velvet slippers, bunnies, bunnies everywhere, even on Easter, to the God of the New Testament.

But what if Heschel got it right when he insisted on the ongoing importance of thinking of God as an angry God? I quote: “the anger of God is not a blind, explosive force, operating without reference to the behavior of man, but rather voluntary and purposeful, motivated by concern for right and wrong.”[3]

Plato, too, recognized that there is a limit to forbearance beyond which it becomes its opposite: a curse rather than a blessing:

The unrighteous and vicious are always to be pitied in any case; and one can afford to forgive as well as to pity him who is curable, and refrain and calm one’s anger, not getting into a passion, like a woman, and nursing ill-feeling. But upon him who is incapable of reformation and wholly evil, the vials of our wrath should be poured out; wherefore, I say, that good men ought, as the occasion demands, to be either gentle or passionate.”[4]

In Heschel’s words again, “The All-Wise and Almighty may change a word that He proclaims. Man has the power to modify His design. Jeremiah had to be taught that God is greater than His decisions. The anger of the Lord is instrumental, hypothetical, conditional, and subject to His will.”[5] If this were not the case, if God were impassible and indifferent to the fate of humans – as indeed Greek philosophers were wont to argue – such a God would indeed be an ogre, an incorrigible wretch, an implacable tyrant.

The Bible is a book of questions, not answers. Even a cursory reading thereof demonstrates the point. “Thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves? . . . Why do you provoke Me to anger?” (Jer 44:7-8).[6]

“There are moments in history when anger alone can conquer evil.”[7]

The gospel according to Nahum is that God had routed the Assyrians according to his steadfast love for the sake of his people, and would go on to destroy their power forever. “Therefore a fierce people must honor you, an outpost of tyrannical nations fear you” (Isa 25:3). They had left the land; soon their yoke would be removed altogether (so also Isa 14:24-27). 

Within the framework of the collection we call the Bible, it is true that the gospel according to Nahum is to be read in tandem with the gospel according to Jonah. In Jonah, even irreformable Assyria is given the chance to repent of its past – and does so!

The “two” gospels are two sides of a single coin. Deface one side, and the other side is also defaced.

---

[1] The Hebrew text on which my translation is based differs slightly from MT on a few occasions. I will present the Hebrew text according to an analysis of its poetic structure on another occasion.

[2] Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets. Part II (New York: Harper & Row, 1975 [1962]) 59.

[3] Idem, 62.

[4] Plato, Laws, 731. Cited by Heschel, op.cit., 65, n. 9 (translation slightly adapted). Plato weakens his argument by stereotyping women.

[5] Idem, 66.

[6] Cited by idem, 74.

[7] Idem, 77.

Comments

[Veronica]

Excellent post.

I am curious why you chose "fluidified" rather "liquified, " which seems a more familiar word for the same thing.

[Iyov]

Yes, Heschel (like Buber) has had an unusually broad influence in general Jewish circles. Thanks for the suggestion -- in time, I'll write more about this.

[Bob MacDonald]

expert in wrath is an awesome translation!

[John Hobbins]

Veronica,

I enjoyed taking a look at your blog. You have a gift with words.

Both 'fluidified' and 'liquified' are onomatopoeic [it helps to know Greek in spelling that one] to some extent, like the underlying Hebrew, the former perhaps more than the latter, which is why I chose the former.

[Kevin P. Edgecomb]

Very, very nice translation! As usual, the best translations reflect a knowledge and command of both languages involved. It'll be good to see your Hebrew text.

(I will never, however, get used to the Tetragrammaton being vocalized.)

[John Hobbins]

The semantic economy of the original cannot be respected, so far as I can see, unless the Tetragrammaton is translated as a personal name, which it is.

At times the sound orchestration of the underlying text comes alive if and only if Yahweh is pronounced as such.

That said, I nonetheless struggle with using the name, though not for fear of taking it in vain, which I fear indeed, but in far weightier contexts.

I remain open to suggestions.

[Kevin P. Edgecomb]

Perhaps leaving just the consonants. I'll go that far, but that's about it. I'm not a "sacred names" type, not in the least. But there's just something about it that doesn't sit right with me, so I don't do it. I'm perfectly content with "the LORD," "my Lord," etc. But I also don't think that this Name itself would've been just a sound-pattern-as-label in the way that we hear names today, any more than Yirmiyahu was, or Dawid, or Azmaveth, for that matter. My preferred translation/understanding of it is simply "He is" in keeping with the likelihood that HWH is simply an obsolete parallel to HYH, in Qal imperfect 3ms. This would be in keeping with the earliest epithets, YHWH-nisi, YHWH-sal(i, and so on: "He is my banner", "He is my rock." The sense would be that of "he" with a capital H, I take it, thus hizqiyahu, He is my strength, eliyahu, He is my God. That's what I read, anyway. It doesn't make for a very interesting translation, though, does it?

This reading is also shared by the LXX translators, who place ΕΓΩ ΕΙΜΙ Ο ΩΝ in Exodus 3.14 where Hebrew has אהיה אשר אהיה, that is "I am He who is" rather than "I am who I am."

(As an iconographical aside, you'll often find in the nimbus around Christ's head in Orthodox icons exactly that Ο ΩΝ, the above-mentioned equivalent of the Tetragrammaton, in keeping with the Orthodox understanding that the Son was YHWH, and came to reveal the Father more clearly, as is implied at various points in the NT.)

[Cristian Ratza]

Very good take on this issue. Thanks for reminding me about this side of the God of the Bible!

[david]

Thank you for your passion and hard work! In America it seems much easier to sell books and tv shows about a God who is love and everything is beautiful...who wants to talk about sin and judgement? The bible is filled with promises of Gods love - but we must remember God is holy - and we must first deal with his holiness (get clean) before we can delight in his love.

[Chariots of Fire 5]

From my understanding people do not utter the name “Yahweh”. Why is this so? I’m confused to why it is okay to say “the Lord” or “God”, but saying “Yahweh” is not respectful or appropriate.

[JohnFH]

The name is not pronounced, and has not been pronounced since before the time of Jesus (except by the High Priest of Yom Kippur) because of the command, "You shall not take the name of Yahweh [= "the Lord" in many translations] in vain."

In that, better not to take it, i.e. use it, at all.

It's a better safe than sorry rule.

[Truman 1]

Truman 1,

After reading this post I have realized that there are times that God acts in very anger ways that seem unlike what we learn about God. As I am reading many of the passages in the Bible I have come across many stories of God destroying a village or something along those lines. I think that although these stories show a side of God there is still a side that cares about his creations and does what is necessary for their survival. God takes both a disciplinary role at times and then a nurturing role at other times.

[Dead Man Walking 2]

I found this post very interesting because it shows that what many churches preach is their own distilled view of the Bible and god. They only preach the all loving sections and that, in my opinion, is just blunt disregard to what the Bible offers. It is also one of my major problems with organized religion. How can one blindly follow their church if their church isn’t telling them the whole truth? How can I trust the church if they are going to hide different parts of the Bible from me? Secondly I will again question why the Bible has such a distinct shift from the old to the New Testament. Personally it leads to the further lack of trust I can put into the Bible. If a book that I am supposed to lead my life based on can’t get its story straight why should I trust and follow it? Also with the continued discovery of more texts that have been left out of the Bible how am I supposed to believe that this book that we have in front of us is not hugely editorialized? The more I learn the more I find problems and question the following of the Bible.

[Pulp Fiction 4]

I would have to agree with the above Truman 1. First they make a very good point about God and his anger. "My God is an Angry God", I don't agree with that. I feel that our God is a Loving God. Yes their are times where he has been upset, but the point that Truman 1 made is "God takes both a disciplinary role at times and then a nurturing role at times." I think that is a great statement. God gets angry, but that is just what makes him more like us, we can't always be happy because in life not everything works out in our favor, or people upset us because they do bad things. God needs to take action sometimes to keep us in line. God sacrificed his only son Jesus to die on the cross for all our sins, so when we disobey him, he needs to act out and make sure we get back in check.

[Pulp Fiction 3]

All of the posts above state some very good points. First, I do believe our God is a loving one. When we have problems in our lifes we pray to God to help look for guidance. This shows how we have faith in him. None of us are "perfect individuals," we all mistakes so when God acts out in anger it is only for the good. We all have emotions and sometimes it is hard to keep our emotions in line. I believe it is the same for God. Sometimes there are bad days where he acts out, but I believe it is only to help us out in the long run. I like Pulp Fiction 4's comment "God sacrificed his only son Jesus to die on the cross for all our sins." This shows how much was sacrificed for us and we have to respect that.

[JohnFH]

A note about the supposed difference between the God of the Old and New Testaments.

A careful of both Testaments will show that severity and love are characters of divinity throughout. The book of Revelation is proof of that, but many more examples might be cited.

[True Grit 1]

I find myself coming to agree with most of the points that Pulp Fiction 3 has made. Although many consider God to not have any flaws and be perfect all around as the higher being, I find myself believing that all people have a right to have a bad day now and then. God can be angry. God can be loving. God can be strong, powerful, and almighty. It is most important to remember those days of goodness and generosity and forget and forgive those days of anger and wrath. As it should be with all human beings.

Another thing that crossed my mind as reading previous blog posts is that God seems to have a reason for his actions. Whether the are angry actions or actions out of selflessness, there always seems to be a point made or lesson taught. In conclusion, it is difficult for me to make the judgement that God is angry and therefore is a bad God because of his temperament. Instead I found he is a God full of meaning and reasons.

[Chariots of Fire 5]

Okay. I now understand why Yahweh is not pronounced. I get that it is a better safe than sorry rule, but it doesn't make sense to me why it cannot be said if it is not being said in vain. I guess it is just one of those rules that it's best to just follow and not bring about any conflict.

[Praying with Lior 2]

I have never thought of God as an angry God, but God has the right to be angry from time to time. We should not hold him up on a pedestal of perfection, when in fact none of us are perfect. I learn from my imperfections and mistakes I have made, as well as other peoples. Everyone can learn from the tiny up roars of emotions that God has.

[Praying With Lior 10]

This post to me is another example of how different believers (or non believers for that matter) view God. I personally do not see my God as an angry God. I see God as a being that has every right to be angry at us, yet gives us so much instead. I guess a good anecdote in my opinion would be similar to the love a parent has for a child. While growing up, we make mistakes and we get in trouble, yet our parents still love us no matter what. Of course, they have every right to be angry at us if we happen to crash their car, but the first thing that they will want to know is if we are ok. God is a lot like that to me. Even if we “crash His car” He will care more about our safety than anything.

[Nell 4]

I would have to agree with Praying with Lior 2, I've never thought of God as an angry God but only as a loving God. God does have every right to be angry with us considering he did die on the cross to save our sins in which we do every day. He definitely is like a parent in my eyes. No matter what we do and the choices we make in life, he will always be there, whether we think so or not.

[Dead Man Walking 5]

I agree with the above posts, I think of God as being always loving and caring for us, but at the same time he has the right to be angry sometimes. I really like the example that Praying with Lior 2 made. I think that your parents is a perfect example of how God is to us. When we make mistakes our parents are there for us no matter what and that is how God is. The only thing he wants back from us is to love him and if we do something wrong, to ask for forgiveness.

[Nell 1]

All of the above posts make very valid points. I also do not consider God to be angry. He is a God full of love and compassion for the human race that he created. We were created in God’s image and that was to be holy like him. However, humans sinned and therefore we are no longer in God’s image. He has a right to be angry with his creation because we went against his commands. God should not be described as angry, that adjective is not the first that comes to my mind. Even though we sinned against God’s commands, he still shows love and offers forgiveness to us. If God were that angry with us, he would have deserted us when the first sin entered the world. However, God is merciful and is always there for us and listens to our prayers.

[Shawshank Redemption 3]

I think of God as being much like a parent. Parents love their children no matter what they do or what happens, but they still get angry with their children for disobeying them. Just think of when your parents would punish you for talking back, not doing your chores, or not following their rules. Even though they punish you, they still love you. That is how I view God. He loves his creation more than anything, but when they disobey him, he gets angry. This doesn't mean he hates us in any way at all. I think that what makes him angry is the evil that makes us sin. I too would be angry if I put a lot of time and effort into creating something I loved just to have it tarnished.

[Chariots of Fire 5]

I agree with many of the comments above. Overall, I do agree that god is a loving God but he does act out in rage and such at appropriate times. He does everything for a reason, whether it is to teach us a lesson or to punish us. There are many ways he signals us on earth to remind us what this is all about.

As Pulp Fiction 4 said, “God sacrificed his only son Jesus to die on the cross for all our sins.” That is huge. God did this for us. We need to live our lives in a way that makes his ultimate sacrifice worth it. Sometimes we need reminders from him, and those reminders may be seen as anger. But can you blame God for being angry since he gave up his only son and sometimes we forget and don’t make God our priority?

[shawshank redemption 5]

John Lennon had it right when he said all you need is love. It might take a while, but love will always prevail. There’s so many fights concerning love but if you truly love, why is there a need to fight? If you love someone and they love someone else, it hurts so badly but if you really love them, you’ll let them go and be happy.
Nahum presents God as angry and full of wrath. In my opinion, though God has all the power in the world, he does not feel wrath. He does what is needed. He is an avenger in the sense that he punishes those who deserve it. I agree that he is slow to anger, he gives many chances. However, once he is angry, the world will know. No one could ever “defeat” him, they’d have to be crazy to try.“Yahweh is good to those who wait for him” is a statement that proves my thoughts. The Lord will always help those who are faithful, they just might have to wait.

[JohnFH]

SR5,

The take you have on anger is widespread. Many strands of Greek philosophy thought of feeling wrath as a weakness, and would never have attributed it to God. Some streams of Buddhism goes so far as to portray any kind of feeling as less than perfect.

There were many Fathers = authorities in the church of the first centuries who emphasized as you do that God is impassible, that he does not suffer in anger or in grief.

Still, if the Bible is chosen as a resource on the topic, it is clear that God is described as slow to anger but when he blows, watch out.

Jesus gets angry too, and not only at hypocrites. He also suffers sadness. Does this make him like us or like God? Perhaps the answer is: both.

[Nell 3]

For me this a more dramatic perspective of the one I have of my God. “Yahweh is slow to anger, but massive in strength: he will not remit punishment.” This is a line that I can understand and relate to biblical scripture. To me this phrase is saying God is a merciful God, but he will not withhold punishment if he feels it needed. Also I think it is referring to the non-believers and the unfaithful. God gives time to become a follower and believer, but if you chose not to he will not be merciful. This is a message that I get out of a lot of readings from the Bible. The other phrase I thought was interesting was: “a fortress on a day of distress. He takes care of those who find shelter in him in the overwhelming flood.” The message I get from this is that God is someone to turn to in times of trouble. He will help you get through things, and those who are true believers will be able to find relief through him.

[Nell 5]

Everyone that posted so far have made many valid statements. I do not consider God to be an angry God, but a teaching God. If something traumatic happens in someone’s life, often times the person will question why God did this to them, or how could he do this to them if he was such a loving God. I am a true believer of the phrase everything happens for a reason. God provides us with tests and tasks to either test our faith in him, or to strengthen our faith in him. He presents these tasks, to also strengthen our relationships with others, or to provide the discipline that we do not provide ourselves, but need. God has a reason and plan for everyone. Even if at times it seems he doesn’t, he loves us all.

[Truman Show 2]

I think that the title of this post is to let us know that the wrath of God is something to fear, and not to assume he is like you said, “a warm fuzzy” God. Certainly we are taught as children that God is full of love and protects his people, but why would you teach children what happens when he is provoked or what is released with the seven seals in Revelation 6? I can’t imagine any child would ever have the courage to go to church again. Yes his anger is chilling, but the Bible shows us what is right and wrong and even shows the multiple times that our God has forgiven and shown mercy on us. We see this many times when Moses is trying to lead the Israel people to the land they were promised. I agree that our God can be an angry God when we provoke him with disobedience, but it is only fair to mention that he is also a loving and forgiving God as well.

[JohnFH]

One problem with emphasizing a loving and forgiving God to the exclusion of a God who holds us accountable is that without a God who is furious with us when we take advantage of his mercy, we feel free to cheat.

Here is a link to a study which supports this conclusion:

http://jimgetz.org/2011/05/05/a-mean-god-makes-better-students/

[Dead Man Walking 3]

I really like Shawshank Redemption 3’s view because it is most like mine. I see God as a parent who is thoughtful and loves his children just gets angry when they disobey him. In Exodus 32 the people that were lead out of Egypt by Moses and the Lord start to worship a false idol. God became furious and wanted to kill them. God can bring such wrath on people, but he also can be forgiving. When Moses stands up for the Israelites God gives them another chance after they mess up. Nobody wants to remember the bad times so they just picture God as a loving Lord.

[True Grit 4]

I think the type of anger the Bible talks about when it talks about the anger of God is different then we think it is. I feel that a lot of people view God’s anger in the Bible as the anger of some sort of villain or evil force. It seems that people view God’s anger as an anger that is created by an uncontrollable and blind rage. I do not feel this is the case. I think that the anger that God displays in the Bible is an anger of a parent. Parents get angry at their children when they do bad things, but that does not mean that the parents love their children less. I feel the same is true with God. He gets mad at us sometimes because we are disobedient and foolish. As with the parents’ anger toward their children it is an anger that comes from love. Parent’s love their children and that is why they get angry when children do something wrong, because they know their children are better then what they have displayed. The same is true with God.

[chariots of fire 3]

`I thought the article was interesting and brought up a different perspective, and it was going against religions, especially Christianity. When he brought up the Christians cursed the fig tree so it couldn’t bare fruit, drove everyone out of the temple and turned it into a den of robbers, he was saying Christians are greedy and faithless. I disagree with the statements brought that were accused, and I don’t feel that it is fair to lump an entire group into one negitive sterotype based on a few people. It was also said that the bible is a book of questions not answers, the bible does bring up many questions that I agree with, but I feel that it also answers many questions.

[Lior 4]

I agree with True Grit 4's comment. I've interpreted God's anger as that of like a parent. I have never viewed God as a being who does things out of spite or just because He can. I believe He strikes out in anger in order to teach the people a lesson. Just like with children, how do they know if they're doing something wrong if they are not punished for it?

[Nell 6]

After reading this I realize that God is not always good. He has destroyed many towns and even killed a few people. There are times when it seems that God is punishing the earth or certain people in it. When I think of God I usually think of God creating things, being good and helping people not hurting people and destroying things on earth. But all the times that God does seem to be doing horrible things to people or the earth it seems that he is teaching us a lesson, this is like when our parents are trying to teach us that something we did was wrong they get angry and as sometimes even yell. God can’t actually yell at us so he has to be able to teach us a lesson in different ways. I like that there are different ways that you can view God and that in the Bible people don’t always view his as good.

[Truman Show 2]

I do believe our God is a loving God, and is slow to anger. He is angered when we turn away from Him. I believe that He shows us His anger because He does love us, and He wants to show us that we are doing things that He disapproves of. When we show Him that we have faith in Him we are blessed, and he will protect us against our enemy’s so harm will not come to use. I believe that God is just doing what is best for us because He loves everybody even if you have turned away from Him.

[JohnFH]

Hi Truman Show 2,

Your well-written comment summarizes a common Christian response to the question, "Why does God get angry?"

How would a non-religious person respond to your comment? I think many would appreciate your faith but also point out that "our God" doesn't work for them, because they don't have a God. But you are right that God according to many Jews and Christians is angry for a purpose.

Beyond that, if this passage from Nahum is understood on its own terms, it has to be pointed out that however much the God of whom Nahum speaks may love and care for everyone equally, expecting and hoping that they will live and worship him appropriately, in practice, the fate of individual Assyrians was sealed in judgment.

Ruin and defeat and death are coming to them, man, woman, and child, the good and the bad alike. For a long time the Assyrians plundered everyone else; individual Assyrians, good and bad, derived prosperity from the strength and invincibility of the Assyrian war machine.

The destiny of individuals, the judgment and grace they encounter in life, depends a lot on historical trends over which individuals have little or no control.

The prophets themselves struggled with these facts. Believers and unbelievers alike, if they do not, might easily be suspected of a superficial understanding of the way things are. For examples of prophets wrestling honestly with these questions, try the book of Habakkuk; or take a look at Jer 11:18, 12:6, 15:10-21, 17:14-18, 18:18-23, 20:7-18.

[Chariots of Fire 1]

The quote by Abraham Joshua Heschel is right on. People tend to read the parts of the Bible that make them “feel good” and ignore the parts that convict them. People do not like to be convicted. We don’t like being told we are wrong and that we need to change. Punishment and discipline are not seen as necessary anymore (unless, of course, someone else is getting punished and it doesn’t affect you). Because God truly loves you, he wants you to learn and grow and do right. That means he has to discipline you. You can compare it to your parent punishing you for doing something wrong. They still love you even though you disobeyed, but they also realize that you have to be punished otherwise you will do it again.

[Praying with Lior 3]

Although this passage starts out by almost scaring us into thinking that God is “jealous and avenging” and “filled with wrath,” it ends with telling us of a “good” God who will be our “refuge” when we need him most. As Christians I think sometimes it keeps us in line to think of the power God has and even though it may make us pass judgment on His actions, we are reminded through scripture and other faithfuls that there is a reason for His works. It is hard sometimes to think there is reason for things we do not understand but as we see in the book of Ecclesiastes, we are to be faithful in our beliefs and not worry that we do not fully understand because Christ does.

[Pulp Fiction 4]

I don’t really see a problem with emphasizing the “cuddly” God of the New Testament over the “avenger” of the Old Testament. One of the most important parts of Christianity is spreading the Gospel and getting other people to follow God, and they are more likely to do so if He is portrayed as being accepting of all people. That’s the reason Christianity spread as much as it did. The religion became less about following specific rules and more about belief and being a generally kind person.

I like the comparison to parental discipline that Chariots of Fire 1 described, but it seems to be limited to those who are already followers. It sort of feels like God has already decided who belongs to Him, and the rest are just disregarded as if there’s no chance of them joining the group. That can be very unsettling if you aren’t in that group yet.

[JohnFH]

Hi Pulp Fiction 4,

You touch on a number of important topics. First of all, is the God of the New Testament a cuddly God? Not that I know of.

Jesus speaks of life as a choice between good and evil, with the gate that leads to life being narrow, and few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14). He says he came, not to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). He pronounces doom on the beautiful people of his day, and offers consolation to the wretched of the earth (Luke 6:20-26). He speaks of weeping and gnashing of teeth for those whose lives are characterized by hate and indifference. It is Paul who speaks of "the vessels of wrath." It is the book of Revelation that sees history as a long string of catastrophes each of which is understood as a judgment of God.

Conversely, it is the God of the Old Testament that teaches his people to love their enemies:

http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2008/02/where-does-the.html

Another important topic: which is more confining, a set of beliefs, or set of practices?

Regardless, so far as I can see, a full-orbed way of life like Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, or Buddhism depends on a complex set of beliefs, a metanarrative (life seen as a "story" of a particular sort), a fully articulated sense of right and wrong, and habits of the heart that express themselves in things like prayer and worship.

It is sometimes said that in Judaism you can believe whatever you want (even if you know you should do certain things) and in Christianity you can do whatever you want (even if you know you have to believe certain things, such as, God will always forgive you), but I fail to see how such statements do justice to either the Old or the New Testaments or to Judaism or Christianity.

When we study the Bible and the religious traditions that base themselves on it, we need to concentrate on the texts and religions we have, not the ones we wished we had.

[Dead man walking 4]

Hi Pulp Fiction 4,

I do see a problem with emphasizing the “cuddly / loving” God over the “avenger”. I do agree that spreading any religion is good but wouldn’t you want to know everything you possibly could about the belief you worship, just not teaching the good and trying to hide the bad. A God that will break, destroy, and humiliate another is some important facts that you will want to have knowledge and information about. I think that is just as important to understand that there may be consequences for your actions. This will give the followers a great sense of what is right and what is wrong in how they live their lives.

[Breaker Morant 3]

I would agree that the beginning of this article talks about a God that most Christians would rather not think about. As Chariots of Fire 1 pointed out, people don't like to read about the God who convicts them and is angry when they are sinful. However, this is the Old Testament, before God sent Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of the world. People in a sense had to "pay" for their sins. In the New Testament, this anger is not portrayed as strongly because indeed, Jesus paid the price for all of our sins. I feel that the portrayal of God as "cuddly" and "bunnies, bunnies, bunnies" is a description taken quite out of context, and seems to be making a child-like joke of God, as portrayed in the New Testament. To reach an appropriate balance, it seems that Christians should consider and try to understand the Old Testament portrayal of God, and how he is angry when we sin; as well as the loving, compassionate portrayal in the New Testament.

[JohnFH]

Hi Breaker Morant 3,

You make some fine observations. On the other hand, it might be helpful to state clearly that the wrath of God does not, according to the *New Testament,* belong to the past alone, before Christ, but to the present (Rom 2:18) and the future (the book of Revelation).

If you are saying that according to the New Testament God is no longer angry with injustice or will not exact a price from those who harm others and harm themselves because Jesus "paid the price for their sins," the New Testament is clear that this is not so.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is one example among many that demonstrates the opposite; furthermore, it is obvious from the facts on the ground.

In both the Old and New Testaments, God is understood to provide a remedy, or substitute: the lamb in Gen 22, the vicarious suffering of the servant in Isa 53, God's own Son in the gospels. Vicarious suffering creates new facts of the highest importance. The facts are understood to impact everyone in a positive manner, to lay a necessary foundation on which one may build - or not.

Still, the forgiveness of God is ineffectual without repentance (change) on the part of the one forgiven. In both Testaments, it is thought that God's approval is impossible without it.

If you are convinced that God is merciless in the Old Testament but all-forgiving in the New, you might want to take a look at Acts 5:1-11.

[Shawshank Redemption 1]

It is a sad fact that many Christians want to believe in this God who they do not take the time to get to know fully. There is never going to come a day when a man can stand and say that he can explain God or His Character. However, it is up to each of us that call ourselves Christians to seek God’s face daily. We can only do this by delving into the word and learning about our God in a manner that isn’t self driven by our own desires, but rather with a pure heart wanting to know Him better. God has a side that is very powerful, and I pray that I will never have to fully feel that wrath, but to not be aware of it and choose to understand only a piece of Him, creates a relationship where a person does not know God at all. None of us can say that we (I say this with the respect of it being a person who raised you) never saw our fathers’ anger, his happiness, and how he was during normal times. It is in seeing these different sides of our father that we get to love, and understand him better, and see him in a more knowledgeable way that is true to who he his. So the same is true with God, who we as Christians call our Father. Is He loving? Yes, He sent down His own Son to die for our sins. Is He vengeful and destructive in His wrath? Yes, but it is up to each of us to understand why He is both loving and vengeful.

[Shawshank 2]

It’s hard for me to think God is angry all the time. I also don’t believe he is always the happiest. Shawshank 1 had good analogy between our biological father and God. I have seen my Dad pretty upset, extremely happy, and I know how he feels normally. God’s emotions are very similar in my opinion. The Bible says that God is slow to anger, yet he will take vengeance against evil doers. All this goes back to the foundational idea that everyone has to have their own relationship with God. For someone to say that God has one way of treating everyone takes out the spiritual relationship between human and God. I do feel at times God is upset at the choices I make and is hurt by them but I also feel God is very proud of me and loves me for trying my best to be in his image. I know that in any situation I can call on him and he will answer. Maybe not the answer I always want but it’s in His and my best interest he did what he did.

[Shawshank 4]

The comment that Shawshank 1 left really helped me to increase my understanding of this topic. At first, I could not comprehend why it was acceptable to say “My God is an Angry God” because I automatically associated negative connotations with the word “angry”. However, it was helpful to be able to draw the analogy between God and my biological father that raised me. Specifically, it was helpful to be able to take into consideration that my father is a loving man whom would do anything for me; however, if I disrespect him or behave in a way he does not appreciate he becomes angry. Saying that our God is angry is not insulting Him, but accepting that he is a complex being just as we all are. If God were not angry, or more so, if He did not have the capacity for anger there would be little point in worshiping Him. God needs to be angry and we need to know He is capable of wrath. If we had no reason to fear our God or His anger would we still strive to be like Him and appease Him? If we had no reason to believe we would not face the wrath of God would we be more apt to sin? This thought is relatable to the question of character: who are you when no one is around? If one does not fear consequences, or being caught in the wrong, does one behave differently than they would if they were being watched? Honestly, I can admit that knowing the consequences for some actions alters the way I act around people that can enforce those consequences. Therefore, we need to know God is the upper hand that has the ability and the right to enforce consequences upon us if we do not behave in the way that pleases Him. Anger is just one more characteristic that makes our God that much more relatable.

[Nell 2]

Many believe in the reasoning that God is perfect and has no flaws. With this said He is also above any higher being. In believing so, I feel as God uses his anger to benefit his people. Much like how God uses His law to teach us lessons. It is clear that God is a loving and forgiving God, but his anger keeps us fearing him. God also focuses His anger to help his people, which can be seen in Nahum, as God warns Ninevah that they will fall to His will. God also explains that after he does this He will restore the splendor of Israel. Like God's law, I feel his anger must not be looked at as a negative trait, but one in which we can learn from as well. It is difficult for one to say that God is a bad God because he does anger. It is true that He does anger, but as it says in Nahum 1, the Lord is slow to anger and great in power. I think it would be a different story if God's anger was a quick response or it happens often. God is seen more as a loving God and not an angry God which says a great deal about who He really is!

[The Mission 3]

To imagine God angry is quite frightening to many including me. We imagine God as being forgiving and kind all the time. God is not going to look down upon us and smile when a person is committing adultery, stealing, or any sin in which he or she knows is very wrong in God’s eyes. If God didn’t have any anger, most people wouldn’t have the fear of God and would do whatever they please without thinking about the consequences. God is luckily slow to anger and He will help you and guide you when you ask Him to – maybe not in the way in which you desire but He has great power and knows what your future holds.

[Truman Show 2]

I am a Christian and I believe that God is a loving God and He is slow to anger. The Lord gets angered when we turn away from Him. God shows us His anger because He loves us, and He wants to show us that we are things that He disapproves of. God blesses us when we show that we have faith in Him and He protects us from our enemies so that they will not harm us. When God gets angry with us He is just doing what is best for us because of his love for everybody even when you have turned away from Him.

[The Mission 7]

"Yahweh is in the whirlwind, his path is in the storm, clouds are the dust on his feet." The imagery of that phrase could frighten even the most fearless man. I don't disagree that God is an angry God, but His actions are almost human because He lets His emotions take over only because He loves us. If you read the Bible, I don't want to say that God has flaws, but rather He as shortcomings, only due to His weakness for humans and their unfaithfulness towards him. There is a reason why one of his many names is Father, because He treats us like His beloved children, and when any child angers their parents, it is a parent's duty to discipline them because that is the only way that child can learn from their mistakes. Like I said, I agree that God is an angry one, but his true nature is being a loving God. He loves us so much that every time he punishes us, He is doing it for our best interest. So, as it is His duty to lead us on the right path, we also must do our very best to stay on that path and prevent ourselves from provoking our Father.

[TheTrumanShow1]

I agree with the conclusion stated by the mission 7 above, but not so much as the steps that lead them to it. I do not believe that God can let His emotions overwhelm Him because He is perfect in every way whether we can see it or not. He does treat us as His children and we are often referred to be in the Bible as well, however He also knows exactly what it is that we are going to do before we even do it. Yes in the Old Testament God tends to be a bit more hostile than in the New Testament, but if one strategy doesn't work for you, then why would one continue to use it instead of searching for a new one. That is why He gave us His son, so that He could die for our sins, therefore giving us the ability to become closer to Him. You cannot have the full effect of the Bible, while only believing in the first part of it.

[Pulp Fiction 3]

I guess I have never viewed God as an angry figure. I view him more as a concerned parent. Our parents would and maybe still get mad and yell at us. We would get upset, but in the end wouldn’t we all realize they were only doing this to protect us in their own way. Sometimes we have to be reprimanded to clearly see that we were in the wrong. While growing up, we make mistakes and we get in trouble, yet our parents still love us no matter what. God is our guidance, and he will always be there to help us through the hard times. Sometimes there are bad days where he acts out, but I believe it is only to help us out in the long run.

[Pulp Fiction 5]

I agree with Heschel when he says “the anger of God is not a blind, explosive force, operating without reference to the behavior of man, but rather voluntary and purposeful, motivated by concern for right and wrong.” I believe completely with his statement. No act of God is without reason. God would not do wrong upon someone simply because he felt like it. That just would not be right. He punishes wrongdoers to prove a point, not only to the wrong doer, but also to his followers. By having sinners in the world, they can be punished for their sins and in turn, everyone can see that sinning leads to angering God and worse life. Now obviously not every sinner in the world will be punished while on Earth. Some will go to the gates of heaven and be judged based on their life. If they have sinned and our not truly sorry about it then they will be punished by being sent to hell, at least that is my understanding of things.

The book of Nahum is a good example of the wrath of God. God is said to be preparing to wipe out the Assryians because of their evilness and the resurrection of Judah. This does not occur in the book mind you, however by looking into the history it can be seen that sometime after this book was written, the Assryians did lose power. This is proof that the vengeance of God will always prevail it just takes time. That is one of the greatest tests for a follower of God. He tests our patience constantly, and those who are patient will be rewarded, those who get impatient and stray away from the Lord will be punished.

[True Grit 4]

I agree, Pulp Fiction 3, with your point about how God seems more like a concerned parent than anything else. Yes, God can use his power and force to prove a point, but in the end, the point was made to correct a wrong or to set a group of people straight who weren't following his commands. If we continually do bad things and go against God, eventually it will catch up with us, like the song says.."Sooner or later God will cut you down". In the end, God loves us unconditionally because we are his creation, his sons and daughter and things will work out in the end as soon as we "get right" with him.

[Dead man walking 4]

Hey Pulp Fiction 5,

You state that: “By having sinners in the world, they can be punished for their sins and in turn, everyone can see that sinning leads to angering God and worse life.” Yes, certain acts can make God angry, but what about forgiveness and that aspect of the Lord? Personally, I don’t grasp messages best when they are done out of negative emotions (anger, revenge, etc.) and neither should Christian followers. To be taught through fear and punishment isn’t going will not always have a positive feed back because people still continue to make the same actions today.

Most importantly where is he today? Nations just like Assyria in the gospel of Nahum exist in the world, why they been stopped? Why didn’t God stop Hitler? No way the Assyria nations could have been worse then what has transpired in our recent history. To myself when Heschel says, “God is not blind” I disagree. If he is not blind, he must see what violence that has demonstrated onto humans and the Lord has done nothing. Or perhaps, God is no longer full of anger and is the “Fuzzy, warm, and loving” figure portrayed in the New Testament.

[JohnFH]

Hi Dead Man Walking 4,

Here is where I would question what you have to say. In the New Testament, according to Romans 1:18, the book of Revelation and other texts, God's anger is a present and future reality, not something he has gotten over.

The God of the entire Bible is kind and forgiving to those who need his help and unrelenting in anger toward those who betray the truth. For example, Jesus' anger at the Pharisees and the moneychangers is palpable. Jesus' mercy and kindness to sinners who accept his yoke is on the other hand even more extraordinary.

For the rest, I wonder whether you understand Heschel correctly. Heschel notes that from the first, with Cain and Abel (not to mention Adam and Eve), God did not intervene in order to stay the hand of the sinner. According to Heschel, that does not make God blind. It only means that he is not a dictator.

[The Mission 2]

If God was only angry at those who betray the truth, then God would be angry at everyone who has and does live on the earth. He would have no reason to love those He hates. But instead God hates evil, He hates sin, and therefore He hates humans. Who can blame Him? He gave humans a few commandments to keep, and what do we do? We break every single one of them! However; He sent Jesus to take away all of our sins and make us pure. We did nothing to receive this mercy, but God’s great love for his creation overflowed to us.

I like how Heschel describes the anger of God as “not a blind, explosive force, operating without reference to the behavior of man, but rather voluntary and purposeful, motivated by concern for right and wrong.” To me, Heschel gets at what Paul writes in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

[Nell 5]

Remember what it says in above..."But the “two” gospels are two sides of a single coin. Deface one side, and the other side is also defaced." You cannot have the true affect and feel of forgiveness without first understanding the opposite side of the metaphoric coin, which is anger. Imagine the anger and sadness that Jesus probably felt when he was put to death on the cross and yet he still asked God to forgive them.

Everything that God does has a purpose. Look at the stories of Noah and the flood for example. God felt anger at all the sin and evil that was happening in the world and started new with the flood. It was not just an act of blind violence, but had purpose. Take this and apply it to your own lives, by thinking first before acting. Let me end with this quote by Abraham Joshua Heschel;
"In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves".

[True Grit 3]

I feel as if God is most relatable to our parents in this sense. My parents have proved to be slow to anger, and in most situations accept my fault and teach me how to to better in the long run. This is not always the case, though slow to anger, my parents can become extremely angry with my actions. When this happens they may act angry and disappointed but it stems from their love for me. Love is key in a parent-child relationship, as well as in your relationship with God. This concept shows throughout the Bible. God becomes angry at times, though slow to show this emotion, he does it out of his love for you. These passages in the Bible are critical for an understanding of how God's love works and how strong it really is.

[Chariots of Fire 2]

After reading the post and comments, I agree with Shawshank Redemption 3’s comment. I would also agree God is a parental figure too. God gives us everything we have just as our parents provide for us. They show us the way of life and watch over us. Although we do not make the correct choices all the time, our parents and God are there for us no matter what. They may scold us and punish us at first, but in the end we come out with a lesson learned and their unconditional love. Unlike parents though, God is responsible for every living thing. When he puts time and love into creating us, he hopes that we will appreciate it and do good. So it is understandable that he may become upset and punish those that have sinned.

[true grit 5]

I agree when God is compared as a parental figure. We often hear the term tough love and can relate it to God’s love for us. At time we want to believe that God remains this image of a cuddly fuzzy animal that wants us to just reach out and love Him, but we forget that it also has teeth and can sometimes bite. I think of parents when you have done something wrong and you expect them to be, “its ok” and proceed to hug you. They tend to grow up sometimes never knowing the tough love. You can’t just expect your child to grow up never being punished for what they did wrong.
That in a sense is God’s reaction towards us. He alone hates sin with a passion. When we do wrong by sinning and keep sinning, we face no consequences and He gives up on us. If we don’t react and feel no guilt in what we do then we aren’t experiencing the tough love. He puts in trials of our lives to make us stronger and His anger is going to turn to love when we know the right from wrong. That is what tough love is all about, to build us up so we know that what we do wrong is wrong and that our parents and God hate it when we disobey them. If God didn’t have anger would we still live in sin and just keep on going on with our lives thinking it’s ok because I’m still going to get hugged and not have to be worried about God being angry at us.

[Praying with Lior 3]

I do not like to think of God’s anger in the way most of us define that word. I do not believe he is angry but more so disappointed. I liken it to how we feel sometimes as a parent. Your child does something they know is wrong, sometimes even try to pass blame on others instead of themselves, and you can feel your blood pressure rise. It is not necessarily anger that you are feeling but disappointment in the fact that they are not doing what they know is right. We have been given God’s commandments and for those of us who read scripture, we know what God’s will is and yet we still disobey. He is our Father and we are his children. And just like we can be loving and caring parents, we sometimes feel ire and disappointment in our child’s actions. It is like the two sides of the same coin, you really cannot have one without the other. Life revolves and grows from the lessons we learn by falling out of line. Therefore there is place in our lives and in the Bible for both passion and anger because it is hard to have one without the other.

[Dead Man Walking 6]

I do agree that God is a loving God. He always loves and cares for what is happening to us. He has a right to punish whoever does wrong or disobeys Him. This does not mean He hates us in any way at all. Simply, God just wants to teach everyone a lesson. An example that relates is when you do something wrong, then your parents must discipline you. The purpose is for you to learn and not do that wrong thing again. Parents still love their children though. Every person has their own point of view about why God gets angry, depending on their culture and religion. People tend to read parts of the Bible that make them “happy” and ignore parts which convict them. I know in the New Testament, punishment and discipline are not seen as necessary anymore. The text states this, but I think punishment is still useful in our real life, no matter what religion you belong to.

[The Truman Show 3]

My God is an angry God? God is a god whom holds back his anger and reconciles with humans. He gets mad, but it rarely shows. Some may say that god sends rain and thunder out of anger followed by a rainbow to show his love... If this is true, why is it so much fun to dance in the rain? Why is a kiss in the rain so romantic? Because it is all love. I would agree with PWL3 that God is not angry, but rather disappointed. Now and then he throws us a curve ball just to make sure we're staying on track and not leading him to unleash his wrath. He genuinely loves us and it shows every day.

[Chariots of Fire 1]

I love the first quote from Abraham Heschel; he states the truth—people think they can cut and paste the Bible so they don’t feel “convicted” or “uncomfortable”. You can’t do that. The Bible is either 100% truth or trash. If you don’t believe or trust part of it, then how can you believe and trust the rest?

[The Mission 21]

I think that it is clear that God is the father figure of all Christians. I remember reading over passages in the Bible and reading about how God tore down an entire village. I think that this shows that God still cares about his creations and wants them to be pure and righteous. As any parenting figure does, if you let your children get away with everything then they will never respect you. This can be said for God as well.

[breaker morant4]

I think that God is like a parent in the fact that God puts you on this earth and lets you live your life but gives you guidelines to live by. just like your parents if you do something your not your parents will be there to reprimand you so you know not to do that any more. God does the same thing but God can do it in a larger scale.

[Breaker Morant 2]

Just as a father can get angry at his children, God can get angry with his children, especially if they have done something wrong. In all of the instances where God has "struck people down", they were doing something against what God wanted them to do, or what they should have done for God. In the list, you talked about Ananias and Sapphira who were struck dead after they lied about their possessions (Acts 5:1-11). They lied, and that was their fault with God. He has also struck down on cities worshiping false gods, and people who go against his basic teachings. I believe that his anger is just a way to get us on track with our lives, and understand that we wants the best for us, but maybe he got so frustrated by us that he had to let off some steam.

[Shawshank Redemption3]

Very interesting. I read many differing opinions in the comments prior to mine and that makes this blog post interesting. A lot of people do view God as our father, and our earthy fathers can get angry. I really like the quote “yes, even Christians prefer to the God of the New Testament a cuddly God, a warm fuzzy, a wish projection out of a life of velvet slippers and bunnies, bunnies everywhere, even on Easter.” A lot of Christians do prefer this God, they do not like to think about God punishing people and cities and all the things that happened. If you look at it this was God made the world, his greatest creation? The soil, the trees, the animals, the water and humans are all his creation. When you disappoint/ let him down they both get mad but think about it, the trees only goal was to produce fruit, and God wants his creations to be flaw less so when it doesn’t he is furious.

[Bao Yang]

I agree with breaker morant4 saying that God is kind of like our parents of how he look over us and guide us to everything. Our parents guide us everywhere we go and they make sure we are safe where ever we go. Same goes to God he make sure we are safe where we go and make sure that we are choosing the right path. God will be angry and mad at us when he knows that the things we do is wrong but still do it. Sinning is the worst thing that God wouldn't want us to do and that he will be angry at us for doing such thing like sin. Comparing God and our parents they are some what similar because they God gets angry when we do sin and pass the line of knowing that we are dong things the wrong way. Same goes as our parents they do get angry about what we do wrong as well.

[Truman Show 4]

This class is great, it has been covering all reaches of the Bible, most of which the casual reader would never have guessed was in this book. However, even if someone only knew a few stories of the Bible, the fact that God could have this great power of destruction should not really come as a surprise. If God is so powerful to create this entire universe in 6 days, certainly He has enough power to destroy so many things on Earth and use that strength of his in ways other than tools for creation. This brings up an interesting question though, if God does all this destruction and causes so much mayhem and grief sometimes, does this mean that God is breaking his own commandments?

[Dead Man Walking 5]

Personally, when I think of God, I do not think of him as an angry God. He seems more like a parent to me, he will love everyone no matter what happens and he will always forgive. Parents get angry with their children for the bad things they do, but they always forgive them because of the connection they have. God is the same way, he will always forgive you for your sins. This makes him more of a cuddly God as you said that is in the New Testament. God put a lot of time into creating this precious world and it makes sense that he gets angry sometimes when people disobey his rules, but like a parent, he will always forgive and love us again.

[Pulp Fiction 6]

God is always there for us when we need someone to listen to us. Whether or not he answers our prayers, is his way of helping us through our lives. He does everything for a reason, even if it seems like he's punishing us, chances are he knows what he is doing. I think it is important to always pray to God, especially when things are going good in our lives, because if we only ask for help when we are in need it devalues our faith in following of God.

[The Mission 5]

I like the comparison of God being like a Father because that is what I was thinking when reading this blog post. I wouldn't say he is always angry, but like a parent, has moments of anger and frustration. That does not mean that he loves his "children" any less. Throughout this course we have read so many passages where God is nothing but loving and forgiving.

[Breaker Morant 1]

I do not agree with the statement, "My God is an Angry God." I think in all reality, it is fair to say that God uses his anger in a form of teaching. Many of us look at the Bible or see a television show that may make us interpret God as a Loving God, which his is, but many of us may tend to forget about other stories in the Bible as well. I don't think it is wrong for God to get angry with us. Gaining knowledge from our mistakes only helps us to be better people. Life is a learning experience, and just as Breaker Morant 4 stated, "I think that God is like a parent in the fact that God puts you on this earth and lets you live your life but gives you guidelines to live by." I couldn't have said this better. God may get angry and punish us, but that doesn't make him an angry God, He is just merely teaching us the ways of life along with the consequences of our actions.

[Chariots of Fire 4]

God is an angry God. He is angry because we continually insist on breaking his rules and ruining his miraculous creation. He is an angry God for good reason. He tries to put us back in line by punishing us for the mistakes we make and teach us to do his work on earth. So yes I think we can all agree that God is an angry God and he has reason to be because we are not perfect and never will be so he will always have to be teaching us.

[True Grit 12]

It seems that God being an angry God almost intensifies his loving side. One side opposes the other, and in a way, strengths then other. As Heschel is quoted, "the anger of God is not a blind, explosive force,...but rather...motivated by concern for right and wrong." God is not angry because of some ulterior cause. His anger comes from his desire for justice. It seems as though a God who is as passionate as that is a God that I would strive to be on the "good side" of.

"The Bible is a book of questions, not answers." This point has frustrated me quite a bit in the past. However, when one accepts the truth of this claim, he or she can, in my mind, finally open up to the other aspects of their faith instead of looking for literal answers to every question in the Bible.

[Dead Man Walking 2]

I think it makes perfect sense that God has two sides to him. HE has the loving and caring side, which we all would hope to be on. Not only does he have this side to him but he has another side to him as well. He can be a wrathful God and use vengeance against his enemies. I don't think anyone would take God seriously or have faith in the religion if he was a push over. He has to have that side of power in order have people follow him and for him to show the people his power that they should not challenge but listen. I believe that is what this passage is saying about God.

[The Truman Show 5]

Of course God is an angry god. He sent plagues down on the Egyptians to prove his power. If God were not a angry god he would never had flooded all those people. It reads in the Bible that we are to love and fear our lord God. That right their tells me that God is not just full of compassion for his people. He holds his people to a standard and if they can not meet it the shall suffer the wrath of God.

[The Truman Show 5]

The whole reason why Jesus died on the cross was for forgiveness. Such a luxury that we all take for granted every day. What most of us don’t realize is that we sin every day, it is unmeasurable the amount of sins that we commit. If it were not for the constant forgiveness of God we all would never see the kingdom of God. Forgiving is not only a gift received but a gift given to others that may have wronged you.

[Praying with Lior 2]

I would like to start by saying that I am a huge John Lennon fan and enjoyed the Lennon quote at the beginning of the blog entry. I learned that at a young age that God was all powerful and forgiving. Only a major sin could anger him. According to Nahum, God has to power to dry up rivers and move mountains. Just hearing this makes me not want to cross God.

[Breaker Morant 3]

The anger of God is a very interesting topic to think about. I like to think of God as ever loving and always pleased with me. However, I know that isn't the case. I know that he is ever loving, but he does get angry. I think that it's a hard concept to grasp, especially because I am not yet a parent and I don't fully understand what it is like to be angry with someone yet love them completely unconditionally at the same time. Even still, no parent can do that perfectly. God's love is perfect, and even his anger is perfect. I don't think that God's anger should even be used in the same context as a human's anger because God's anger is not hateful or spiteful, it is perfect and well deserved.