God Does…What?

Its a Setup!

In August of 2005, a Category 1 hurricane formed over the Bahamas and crossed southern Florida. When it reached the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina strengthened to a Category 3 storm and made landfall over southeast Louisiana on August 29th.

Due mostly to the storm surge, Katrina produced the most damages ($81.2 billion in 2005, $90.9 billion in 2011) and worst loss of life (1,836 confirmed fatalities). To this day, the state of Louisiana still feels the effect of Katrina.

We all have heard about the government’s response, the delays, the anger and frustration about how it was handled. But, what was the faith community’s response in the wake of such devastation?

Most churches sent aide in the form of either bodily help (relief teams) or financial support. Of course, many churches prayed and offered their condolences to the people affected. There were even many churches in the surrounding area that offered shelter to refugees of the storm.

All and all, a very measured and predictable response to a national catastrophe. However, there is one response I’d like to focus on:

Pat Robertson, of the television show, “The 700 Club”, suggested that the storm was God’s punishment in response to America’s abortion policy.

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Now, this is where I struggle as a minister and a Christian. I struggle because, for me (AND ONLY ME), that statement seems to be out of character with who I believe God is. Based on my experience and understanding of God’s nature, I cannot believe that God had any hand in purposefully creating such a disaster as Katrina. I choose to see God’s hand in the millions of people who descended on Louisiana to help and contribute. I saw God’s hand in the miracle sightings of people who had been left for dead. I saw God in the wake of the storm rather than in the eye.

And that is why Pat Robertson and I will probably never see eye to eye about our beliefs in God but yet both of us claim to worship the same God.

So where did you see God in the Hurricane Katrina crisis?

What role did God play throughout that ordeal?

I Told You It Was a Setup!

So, last week we came up with a list of names and images we use for God or how God interacts with our world. However, the interesting thing is that most of us use those same words to create completely different images and ideas about who God is and how God works. This week, we take a look at America’s Four Gods to refine how what we say about God may sound similar to others but may look vastly different in action and application.

Start here:

http://www.thearda.com/whoisyourgod/thegodtest/

This survey was created by sociologists at Baylor University to examine the diversity of views of God in the United States. While not an extensive survey, it does give a good starting point to how our views of God’s judgment and God’s engagement in the world shape our own moral and philosophical worldview.

So, when Pat Robertson views a God who hands out punishment to those who don’t follow “the rules”, he believes in what the survey labels an Authoritative God. And he’s not alone. Over 28% of the US believe in a God who is strict and highly engaged in the activities that happen on this earth.

However, when I view God as being the moving force for all the aide and help after a tragedy, I’m believing in the Benevolent God: still highly engaged but offering to love and support the world. And I’m not alone either.  Over 22% of the nation believe God wants only good for creation and actively participates in bringing about that good.

Those are only two of the four views that these researchers came up with after thousands of telephone surveys and hundreds of in-depth interviews. The other two views, Critical and Distant God, have a view of less involvement in the activities of earth but still either high (Critical) or low (Distant) on judgment. To get a better sense of the four views, click here for the full explanations.

After you’ve completed the survey, please post your thoughts about what the results were and whether they are consistent with how you view God.

Does the survey mirror your ideas about God?

How do the other three views of God help/hinder your understanding of who God is?

What would look different in your faith/life/experience if you looked at God in one of these other worldviews?

Is there room in your understanding of God for these other views of God?

How do these views of God affect how you look at the Bible? (more on this next week)

Setup Schmetup…Your Point?

My point, thus far, has been that God is MUCH bigger than we can possibly imagine. So big, in fact, that God’s most prized creation (again, a limited view…are we really the most prized creation? What about aliens? God could like aliens more than us) has many diverse and sometimes conflicting views and ideas of who God is and what God does.

Even with limited examples like authoritative, benevolent, critical, and distant, we still can’t narrow God down to just one (although many try). As some of the youth said, “I don’t fall under just one category. God is a bit of all of those.” Yet, when we hit those moments of conflict (i.e. Pat Robertson and yours truly), some will fight tooth and nail to defend their view as the truth.

The truth is that our view of God says more about ourselves and our relationship with God than it does about the actual nature of God. God is authoritative (no matter how much I hate that), benevolent (no matter how much I love that), critical (no matter how much I don’t get it), distant (no matter how much this scares me), and so much more.

If we can approach others and God with the idea that:

a.  we have a view that is personal to us,

b. other’s views are personal to them and their relationship with God, and

c. those views can coexist and still represent God’s interest and ideal then

we become part of a community that worships, serves, and meets with a fuller and more complete notion of who God is and what God does

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