Is God really mean?

Today I heard something that was very interesting to me.

A guy was trying to make a point on a radio talk show.
The host had on, as a guest, a Catholic man, who apparently recently wrote a book, which states, in summary, that there really is no conflict between science and religion.

I would actually have to agree with that idea; and my conflict is not lying there! My issue was a Christian at one point called the show and made a mistake that MANY Christians make.

He was not prepared.

I would therefore like to offer the rebuttal that ought to have been made at the time.
I need to offer the argument as it progressed, then I will jump in to the debate with the response that I feel is appropriate.

First though I ought to lay some groundwork. For some reason the caller had brought the conversation around to the rapture. Catholicism doesn’t believe in the rapture so the caller was trying to point out the support for it in the Bible. And, this may be the real start of the problem, he kept belaboring the point though it really wasn’t the issue that he called about.

But he did declare at one part that the Entire Bible was the inspired God breathed work OF God. And that we ought to take it as such.

The host of the show responded with citing a law he claimed was in the book of Leviticus, which states, “If a child is disobedient you must kill that child.”

The caller said, “well that’s how God used to be but he doesn’t do that anymore.”

And right there is his big mistake.

The host then responded “well if that is the God you have I don’t want to have anything to do with that God.” The implication was, he believed that to be an unloving and hateful God.

I hope I would not have made the caller’s blunder but I do want to try to respond.

First of all I tried to find the verse alluded to and I couldn’t find it off hand.
The closest I came was Leviticus 20: 9a. “If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death.” This is not particularly pertinent to my argument/rebuttal though.

I do want to make it clear, I believe the ENTIRE Bible to be the word of God Inspired/breathed by the Lord and that all of it is for our edification. (Same as the caller.)
I also believe that being such it is entirely True and all of it can be taken at face value. (s.a.t.c.).

I do NOT believe that God has changed.

Those laws do still exist, and God still requires the conditions of those laws to be met, the same as he always has. He has not changed.

The difference is that we do not have to hold to the law the same way that we did because JESUS PAID THE DEBT!

I would like to make an example here, it is like if someone broke a law about littering. The fine for littering is $300.00, which MUST be paid. It is the law.

The offender is taken to court, and he/she pleads guilty as charged. As soon as the offender admits the guilt the judge stands up and pulls 3 hundred dollar bills out of his wallet and slaps that down on the “bench” and declares the debt to be paid in full.

The law still exists, but the penalty has been paid.

See when Jesus came to the earth he said that he “fulfilled the law and the prophets.” Meaning we were no longer under the burden of the law.

All we have to do is accept the generosity of the judge who paid the penalty for us.

You see? God never changed he is the same now as he was 2000 years ago and as he will be 2000 years hence.

Our Radio host chose to take the fact that the law existed as being the result of a mean God. But instead the point we need to take here is that God loved us so much that he PAID for us that which we could not pay on our own.

When I say that the whole Bible is good for our edification, I mean it but I do not mean that I am going to go out and kill all the people who break the laws of Leviticus.

What I get out of Leviticus then is that there are a lot of laws out there. And I could never hope to follow them all, but they are there for my benefit (and yours).
Just like there are a lot of human laws that I cannot follow. Consider this example.

I remember reading about a street worker working in a ditch dug for pipeline to be laid in the middle of the street.
All of a sudden the sides of the ditch collapsed and buried him alive. Nearby pedestrians quickly ran to his aid and dug him out. They saved his life! Then OSHA got involved and fined the good Samaritans a lot of money because they broke the law. It seems in their efforts to dig him out they all forgot to run off and find hard hats to wear and so they were all in violation of the law.

See? Same thing!

That law was there for their benefit. Wearing a hard hat in a construction zone is important! It saves people from injury or death. BUT if those people had stopped to follow that law, the street worker would have died.
We cannot always follow the law but the law still is there. God loved us enough to send his son to pay the cost of it.

That is why God is loving, not mean or vengeful.

The problem is that we have to accept what Jesus did. He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but by me.”

That is where people like the host balk. They do not want there to be only the one way. That would mean accepting the God that gave us Leviticus. They choose not to see the love of God but rather they see the bad stuff or the rules that seem so unfair to them, even if they aren’t.

Then they say, as the host did, “I can not accept that God.” Well now here we have a whole ‘nother kettle ‘o’ fish.

See God isn’t in it for popularity. He isn’t sitting around wringing his hands saying, “oh I hope they will accept me, I hope they will love me.”

This is a poor analogy but… It’s kind of like if there was an asteroid large enough to obliterate the entire planet heading for us.
Saying “oh I don’t want to believe in that asteroid because it just seems to hateful, I mean crashing into the planet and destroying all life here. ”

The asteroid doesn’t care what you think. It just is! It exists period. Trying to stop it or dissuade it by telling it we don’t like it isn’t going to make it stop and reconsider.

Unlike the asteroid God does care. But he still is and he still has a certain nature. Nothing can change his nature. He created all there is. You cannot change God anymore than a pot can change the person who made it.

He cares about us enough though that, like a pot maker will protect and care for his favorite pot, God will care for us, in fact like God HAS cared for us. (John 3:16)

See that is where we need to take this. Whether you believe in God, or the Bible, or not. God does exist. Wishing him away, or denying his existence or nature will have no effect.
We need to accept him. God will prevail in the end.

And F.Y.I., when you get before the throne of judgment, saying, “ oh I couldn’t believe in God because he seemed too mean.” Will not work.

By reading this you have been told the truth of God and thus you cannot deny him. When the time comes, sink or swim, it was your choice.