-8-
(God's Judgment)
Of all the Images of God that
theology presents, God's judgment is the most often misused, misunderstood and
self-serving of the Christian Doctrines. Too often, the way God is portrayed
encourages people to fear God; instead of, loving Him. The concept of a weak
nature to man and the inability to atone for our transgressions, coupled with
the idea of a judgmental God: all lead to a psychologically dangerous potential
that can foster pathological fear, guilt, and low self esteem. It can also lead
to manipulation of the faithful by the clergy, projection of personal
responsibility of the individual, and intolerance of those who whose moral
opinions may differ from ours.
Much of the present theology
motivates us to put more emphasis on our faith and worship, rather than, the
reality of the way we live our lives. We have created a moral system of "Thou
Shalt Not," instead
of encouraging people to strive to be better than they are - instead of helping
them to develop their full potential. We shall see in a moment how Jesus
pronounced our judgment in what we accomplish for one another; not, the amount
of temptation we resist. It is not our acts of contrition, nor the
pronouncement of our faith in Jesus, which allow us to live in God's favor. It
is our interactions with each other, and God's creation, which gives true
relevance to our relationship with God.
For far too long, religion has
used the judgment of God to serve their own ends,
rather than, serving the
GUILT, described by someone as a gift that keeps on giving, has
long been a MAJOR WEAPON in the ARSENAL OF THE CHURCH. ITS PRIMARY USE, IS BEHAVIOR CONTROL...
...When the Church added the reward of
heaven to its power of forgiveness and the punishment of hell to its power of withholding
forgiveness, the LEVELS OF GUILT MOVED THE PUBLIC TO OBEDIENCE. A POWERFUL
SYSTEM of BEHAVIOR CONTROL THEN WAS ABLE TO CONE INTO BEING. This system was
managed by the church and is still unmatched in Western History for its
effectiveness.
(J.S.Spong, LIVING IN SIN, Harper &
Row, cl988, plOO)
The idea of a judgment is not
necessarily where the problem lies. Accountability before God can be a powerful
motivator in an individual's choice. The problem becomes when the theologian or
church declares that accountability for people, instead of; guiding them to
establish their own set of values based upon responsible treatment of one
another; which as we shall see, is what Jesus really claimed was the basis of
our Judgment.
Before presenting responsible
and alternative ideals, we need to explore some of the psychological
consequences of the Punitive God of Theology that predominates
so much Christian thought.
Guilt becomes one of the major
problems of religious ideologies that are founded upon the concept that God had
to die for our sins; or, that we will be severely punished if we do not follow
God's laws as they interpret them; or, profess faith as they tell us it must be
professed.
We should interject here, when
we talk of guilt we are talking about something different than remorse: where
feeling bad about some action leads us to change our direction because we have
learned from the experience. Guilt makes us feel low, creating at a conscious
or subconscious level a constant desire to do penance or experience punishment.
The guilt triggering action may be actions we have performed, but
sometimes, the guilt is triggered by actions performed upon us, or, actions we
may have been forced to participate in against our will. The American Educator
Charles P Curtis gives a definition of guilt as we are trying to convey it
here:
GUILT
AND SIN ARE ONLY A FEAR OF THE PAST!
(C.P.
Curtis, A COMMONPLACE BOOK, Simon & Schuster, 1957, pl9l)
To live in fear of the past is
to live in fear of that which cannot be changed. It is to live in a phobic
fear. It is bad enough that we often need to approach the future with
apprehension, but it is totally useless to live in fear of the past.
This guilt, of which we are
talking, is often compounded by unrealistic moral standards, which consider
natural urges, such as lust or masturbation, as evil and sinful. In much of our
religious ideology, men pronounce God’s judgment for Him by proclaiming they
can interpret God’s Will. It is not the idea of the judgment of God which is
the cause of so much guilt, but rather, the assumption of men that they can
pronounce God's Will by implying they somehow can tell us what God demands of
us.
Yet, all this guilt seems to
accomplish nothing. It makes people dependent upon the church, rather than
using religion as a tool that liberates them. It creates an atmosphere of
projection and intolerance whereby people are "pulling the speck out of
their brother's eye," while remaining blind to the "plank in
their own." It allows for human standards of judgment, which in turn,
allows one people to think they are somehow superior in the Eyes of God because
they are saved over another people they might see as being damned. Much of the
religious persecution of the ages was prompted by this theological ideology.
In a healthy remorse, we can
face our mistakes, trying to avoid making them over in the future. In guilt we
feel sorry for ourselves and are filled with shame, not so much that we have
made a mistake, but because God or some other party may find out. While guilt
is harbored internally, its cause is generally external; that is, a fear that
someone will find our what we did, or, the desire to
have someone forgive us. Remorse, however, is felt and caused internally which seeks
to correct itself by some external direction, we seek to make amends or correct
that which makes us feel bad. While remorse is in our
control, guilt is often not.
Guilt can also make us
vulnerable because we can become motivated by those who put us on the
"guilt trip". A mild example of this, of which we are all too
familiar, is the mother guilting the child into
something he or she may not want to do. A more serious aspect of this can be
demonstrated in the person giving contributions to a church, one which they may
be truly unable to afford. The minister might make them feel guilty about not
giving; and because of the individual's gift, their children or some other
necessity might be neglected because of it. Unfortunately, this is a common
practice with many clergymen. Tele-evangelists often use guilt in their fund
raising techniques.
As long as men are men they will
continue to error and fail. This is part of our learning process, and is
natural in our world. Mistakes can be positive if we learn from them and go on;
but guilt, lessens our ability to face these mistakes, yet alone, learn from
them. Guilt, often, can so overwhelm us that the error becomes repressed and
forgotten at the conscious level, manifesting itself as neurosis, personality
disorder, projection, or bigotry.
While punitive based theologies
do teach of the forgiveness of God, that forgiveness
usually has strings attached which pronounce the criteria for the forgiveness
of God, such as: profession of personal faith, confession, tithing, or penance
of some sort. In reality, men have no more authority to pronounce God's
forgiveness then they do Her Will or Judgment. Logic would dictate that it
seems almost blasphemous that any man can claim the ability to declare anything
for God!
These religious laws, given by
men, often do nothing to help what the church may call a chronic sinner; that
is, one who has urges (such as: to masturbate, homosexual tendencies, or
lustful thinking; not that this treaties condones such reasoning). They lead the
faithful to think that if they follow the given formula that the temptation
will go away. For example, homosexuals are often told that if they profess
their faith in Jesus they will be free of their "SIN," and somehow
magically turn heterosexual - or, at least be free of the temptations. Those
people for whom the miracle fails are often burdened with feelings of being
weak willed at best, or possessed at the worst; either way there can be severe
psychological guilt that can even lead to suicide.
Psychologists are also plagued
by sexually dysfunctional marriages, which are often related to guilt inflicted
upon one of the partners due to their religious indoctrination. Very often, we
give children the Image of God as a Peeping Tom who just waits for us to step
out of line so She can record it in His big book. This
Image can effect us in adulthood, while often at a
repressed level, it can have far reaching consequences.
All of the problems with
punitive theologies do not come from the idea of a judgment of God. Much of the
psychological damage can come from seeing natural urges as sinful, as we shall
see when we talk about morality. In reality, creating unrealistic moral
expectations, or, painting a portrait of natural human desires as evil and of
the devil: can be far more damaging than the punitive Image of God. But what
such a negative theology cannot overlook is that the Punitive God Image is what
gives substance to the rest of their reasoning.
Another area where the
judgmental God becomes problematic is when the theology encourages belief that
forgiveness is earned through proclamations of words of faith, rites, or
repetition of prayer. While it is psychologically true that confession can be
good for the soul, this does not require that the confessor needs the power of
God to absolve transgressions. And the idea that we are forgiven simply because
of our acceptance of a belief, (without any change of heart, or, remorse that
is necessary to see the hardship we may have caused others) allows individuals to
have a sense of self-righteousness that is often not healthy.
The idea of faith alone saving
us is not healthy at its root because it shifts the emphasis from personal
responsibility to a profession of a belief. It can replace responsible action
with empty words. Our society clearly reflects this danger in many of the
religious social positions that are taken. The faith in the redemption of Jesus
is often emphasized to be the salvation, which reduces salvation to belief
rather than act.
To reduce salvation to faith is
to miss the reality of the message of the Gospels. This can be demonstrated in
the social interactions in the everyday dealings of people with people. Love, compassion, social justice, social responsibility (key points
stressed in the Gospels) are often made secondary, and, sometimes even
ignored by those who claim to preach the Gospel of Christ.
The religious ideals of the
redeeming and punitive God have us looking outside ourselves for a spiritual
fulfillment, which MUST come from WITHIN. These controlling tactics that
clergymen and theologians have grabbed hold of actually thwart the message of
Christ's Gospel - which is, "to carry our cross." In other words, to
accept personal responsibility for our own messiah-ship, a position we will develop
much further as we move forward with this work.
While one can argue that the
punitive God theology has some motivational aspects, the risks involved are far
to great for any responsible theology to promote it.
In dealing with judgment from a Christian perspective, we need to look at what
should be the cornerstone of any Christian theology.
Most Christians profess Jesus to
be God Incarnate, and if one professes to believe this, then
it should follow that the words of Jesus must take priority over any other
consideration in the theological speculations. Yet, time and time again, what
Christ had to say about the final judgment has become second place to other
pronouncements. Jesus' teachings become secondary to the teachings of Paul as
filtered through Augustine, or the declarations of churches and their
ministers. The teachings of Jesus do not seem to be enough for many Christians;
yet, they do hold all we need to know how to live in God's favor, and at the
same time reach spiritual fulfillment.
Jesus did address the concept of
judgment many times in the Gospels, and we need not look further than he for a
psychologically sound approach toward it. Although it is worth mentioning that
throughout inspiration, be it in other sacred writings
or in the myths, Jesus' ideals are repeated over and over. One of the most
powerful comes from the Sermon on the Mount:
Pass no judgment, and you will not be judged. For as you judge others,
so you yourselves will be judged. And whatever measure you deal out to others
will be dealt back to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your
brother’s eye, with never a thought of the great plank in your own? Or how can
you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye",
when all the time there is a plank in your own? YOU HYPOCRITE! FIRST TAKE THE
PLANK OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE CLEARLY TO TAKE THE SPECK OUT
OF YOUR BROTHER’S.
(Matthew 7: 1-5)
And every time we recite the
Lord's Prayer, do we not say:
Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we have forgiven those who
wronged us.
Simply put, Jesus is saying that
God in Her Infinite Wisdom will hold us to the standard that we hold others.
That He will treat us in the same manner as we treat others, for as we shall
see in a moment, the way we treat others is the way we treat God.
Chapter 25 of the Gospel of
Matthew contains a powerful message for those who look to it for its true
inspiration. Verses 1-30 talk about the
The first story tells us that
the prudent girls were responsible enough, and reflective enough, to take extra
oil with them for their lamps; in other words, they showed responsibility by
going beyond just the norms of everyday life. In the second parable, the
servants who earned more for their master (again, showing responsibility and
contribution through thoughtful actions just beyond the socially acceptable)
were the ones who received blessings from the master. The foolish one who sat
on the masters investment (which one could say is like
those who thrive on faith alone) were cast out into the night.
In sections 31-46, Jesus talks
directly about God’s judgment. He tells us what to do if we are to be like the
wise maidens, or the prudent servants. He reveals in clear terms what the
judgment of the Father means. If you will take notice, in this passage about
Divine Judgment, Jesus NEVER MENTIONS FAITH, WORSHIP, RELIGION, HIS REDEMPTION
OR ACCEPTANCE OF HIS DIVINITY AS ANY CONDITION OF JUDGMENT.
When
the Son of man comes in his glory and all his angels with him, he will sit on
his throne, with all the nations gathered before him He will separate men into two
groups, as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats, and he will place the
sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to
those on his right hand, "You have my Father’s blessing; come, enter and
possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was made. For
when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I
was a stranger you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I
was ill you came to help, when in prison you visited me."
Then
the righteous will reply, "Lord, when was it we saw you hungry and fed
you, or thirsty and gave you a drink, a stranger and took you home, or naked
and clothed you? When did we see you ill or in prison and come to visit
you?"
And
the King will answer, "I tell you this: anything you did for one of my
brothers here, however humble, you did for me."
Then
he will say to those on his left hand, "The curse is upon you; go from my
sight to the eternal fire that is ready for the devil and his angels! For when
I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat; when thirsty nothing to drink; when I
was a stranger you gave me no home, when naked you did not clothe me; when I
was ill and in prison you did not come to my help."
And
they to will reply, "Lord, when was it we saw you hungry or thirsty, or a
stranger or naked, or ill or in prison; and did nothing for you?"
And
he will answer, "I tell you this: Anything you did not do for one of
these, however humble, you did not do for me." And they will go away
to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life.
(Matthew
25: 31-46)
Considering that this oration
was preceded by several parables about the
Isn't it odd that if salvation
is based on faith, or the church, or our prayers, or worship, or even on the
redemption of Jesus himself: not one of those things is mentioned in any of
these parables about the final Judgment? One would think that if these things
were the priority, as the theology of Pauline Christianity leads us to believe,
Jesus would have at least mentioned them in this basic reference about our
final judgment.
Bottom line is: Jesus is telling
us that what matters most to God is our treatment of one another. This
interpretation becomes the only logical interpretation if we take into
consideration the whole of what Jesus preached. It fits in with his primary
directive in John where he repeats three times that his commandment is to love
one another. It makes sense in light of the parable of the Good Samaritan, the
Sermon on the Mount, the Two Great Commandments and all the other directives of
Jesus about loving one another.
In Luke, Jesus again conveys
this message that we are judged strictly upon our interactions with each other.
After delivering the Beatitudes in Chapter 6, and going on to speak about
loving your enemies, he goes on to say:
Pass no judgment, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and
you will not be condemned. Acquit; and you will be acquitted; give and gifts
will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running
over will be poured into your lap; for whatever measure you deal out to others
will be dealt to you in return.
(Luke
6: 37-38)
Although not as directly as in
Matthew; isn't Jesus saying the same thing here? We will be treated and judged
by God in direct ratio to the way we treat and judge others. God's blessing
will come upon us in direct proportion to the way we bless others.
So in effect, while God may
pronounce some final judgment upon us, we are the one's who will determine the
final criteria of that judgment. We will be dealt with in a manner that is
consistent with the manner we deal with others, and all this redemptive
theology and punitive ideology, has little to do with our judgment in the
context of the words of Jesus. It becomes going beyond the call, helping and
loving people, "picking up our Cross", (in other words, being
Messiahs). It is only in this way that we might encourage God to deal with us
in the same helping, giving, and loving manner.
The psychological advantage in
looking to these words for guidance is that they encourage the individual to be
loving and tolerant of their fellow human being, no matter what they believe;
for in doing so, they earn God's love.
So, the responsible theology
will encourage this assessment of God's judging nature; and by doing such,
places the individual in charge of redeeming his or her own soul - which Christ
also emphasized. Five times in the first three Gospels, Jesus tells us to pick
up our cross and follow him:
No man is worthy of me who does not take up his cross and walk in
my footsteps.
(Matthew
10:38)
If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must leave self
behind; he must take up his cross and come with me.
(Matthew
16:24)
Anyone, who wishes to be followers of mine, must leave self
behind; he must take up his cross and come with me.
(Mark
If anyone wishes to be a follower of mine, he must leave self
behind; day after day he must take up his cross and come with me.
(Luke
9:23)
No one, who does not carry his cross and come with me, can
be a follower of mine.
(Luke
14:27)
It would seem that the writers
of the Gospels were trying to make it clear that this was a very important
point to be made by Jesus.
Obviously, Jesus is not being literal
here. He is telling us that we must be our own messiahs. We must try to save
mankind in a manner that is consistent with our lives and our abilities to do
so. Like the maidens bringing a little extra oil, we need to do just a little
beyond the expected. Like the thoughtful servant, we need to consider how we
might produce interest on the treasure of life that God has seen fit to trust
us with. We must become responsible to the world in proportion to our ability
to become responsible. We are responsible for others in the manner we are able
to be responsible. We should give to others according to our ability to do so
and, according to the way we have been given too. These are theological
concepts that are healthy, useful in the reality of our world, and allow
religion to give meaning to the life of men.
And this theological concept
really doesn't have to be all that complex. All it
says, in its simplicity; IS, DO WHAT WE CAN! And while simple, it does require
us to become responsible enough to ask ourselves, and answer honestly: are we
doing what we can?
Paul, and the theologies that
lean heavily upon Paul, have us judged for our sins
and saved by a blood bath upon
Why do you keep on calling me "Lord, lord" - and never
do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears what I say and acts
upon it - I will show you what he is like. He is like a man who, in
building a house, dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came
the river burst upon that house, but could not shift it, because it had been
soundly built. But he who hears and does not act is like a man who built
his house on soil without foundations. As soon as the river burst upon it, the
house collapsed and fell with a great crash
(Luke
6:46-49)
Our actions become the
foundation of a faith that cannot be shaken, not even by the waters of the
flood. Words alone, however, will meet the same fate as those who stood outside
the
The idea of blood sacrifice
cannot be a healthy ideal in the modern world. "Eating the Flesh of the
Savior," or, "Drinking or Washing with his blood" does not seem
to be psychologically suggestive concepts that are positive for adults, yet
alone, what they might mean to a child. On the other hand, doing what we can to
make life on this planet better for one and for all offers no negative
psychological qualities. To help people take responsibility by caring, and
encourage them to be the best they can be - to contribute in the best way they
can - can hardly be construed as a bad thing. AND THIS IS THE FUNDAMENTAL
MESSAGE OF JESUS! According to Jesus, this is what the final judgment of God
will rest upon!
Many present theological
concepts have turned the judgment of God into a whip that will keep us in line.
The problem with this Image of God is, it can lead to
one of a dysfunctional parent (in this case God) who will beat their child into
submission. Fear becomes the motivational tool.
Jesus truly preached a God who
is a Father of Love. He presented an Image of God that is compassionate; only
asking us, to do what we can to make life better in some way. And what about this image of a God who is willing to deal with us
in the same manner as we deal with others? One might ask what could be
fairer than that? Such simplicity is not only
beautiful, but also practical. Such simplicity is the message of Jesus!
A believer should not be
motivated by God's judgment. Instead, the love of God should be our primary
concern. In theory, this would have us looking to do something for God, instead
of being motivated by fear or guilt. Jesus, in his psychological wisdom knew
that love was a stronger force than either guilt or fear. In love, we perform
out of a sense of wanting to; not for any reward or punishment. The second
beautiful psychological element here is that Jesus, realizing that there is
nothing we could do to express our love for God, encourages us to show that
love in the treatment of one another. Add to this ideal, that we can show our
love to the Creator by our treatment of the creation - we have a grand formula
for religious people everywhere to participate in the sprucing up of the Garden
Eden for the Love of God.
Our religious theological
concepts should be encouraging us to emulate the love and compassion which
Jesus emphasized; rather than, washing our sin in the blood of Christ. Faith
should be motivating us to have tolerance and true social justice; instead of
worshipping with merely words. It is the responsibility of religion to empower
men to help save mankind in the reality of this life; instead of, projecting
that responsibility back unto God. Such projection not only fails mankind, but
it also fails God; especially, the God manifested in the teachings of Jesus!
It is time that a responsible
theology has us searching our own hearts to examine how we might better
contribute; and cease from proclaiming the judgment of God upon men, a judgment
which no man can fathom. It is time to encourage people to examine their
conscience to see how they might better serve each other; rather than having
them seek out and confess their past sins. It is time for theology to realize
the
There is little one can do about
what they have done, but we have plenty of control over what we will do today
and tomorrow. Our relationship with God isn't about the past; it needs to serve
the present and the future.
The responsible theologian need
not dispute the fact that God saves us, for this is truly the message of all
revelations. There can be no mistake that God has provided fulfillment
(salvation) and that such is Her gift - but it is our
choice to the acceptance of it.
To give an analogy: Let us
compare the salvation of God to a human parent giving a child a gift, such as a
car. In this scenario many of our present belief structures seem to imply that
God would not only have to give us the car; He would also be expected to
chauffeur us - take care of the vehicle maintenance - keep the car clean - keep
it filled with gas; and, our only responsibility would be to thank Him, tell
Her how great She is, and spread the word that He gave us the car. Very often
parents will give a car to a child to teach them responsibility. Why do we look
so differently at God's gift of life? The best way for a child to show their
appreciation would be by their caring for the car, their maintaining the car,
and driving the car responsibly. In other words: cherish the gift by taking
care of it! Why should our thanks for life be any different in its logic?
The concept of salvation and
judgment, in its inspirational sense, is not about faith or even justice.
Simply put: it's about the acceptance of personal responsibility for the shape
of our world. It's about loving one another and balance in our lives. It's
about seeing the paradox and accepting our role in it:
Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and
what is within like what is without. And what is above like what is below. And when you unite male and female into one so that the male is no
longer male, and the female no longer female. When you make the eye in
place of the eye, and the hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a
foot, and an image in place of an image; then you shall enter the kingdom.
(Gospel According to Thomas logion 22)
The Image of God as LOVE is the
only pure Image by which we can accomplish this. To be able to tolerate our
differences and overcome our human problems, we must start with love. In the
final analysis our salvation does not rest in God's judgment, it truly rests in
our ability to love. That is the redemptive message of Jesus.
If theology encouraged us to
participate in the love of God as its priority, by the expression of that love
in our very lives, there would be little need to talk of Her
judgment because there would be no need for one.
We must keep in mind, that while
we have touched upon the concept of judgment, establishing that in the final
judgment we determine the criteria God will use to judge us with; this is only
a small part of our fulfillment (salvation). The tentacles of judgment reach
out into morality, the concept of eternal life, ethics, personal messiah ship,
personal responsibility, and self-discovery. These things become connected in
our reason for being and will ultimately be explored as we continue with this
text.
The major point that the
theologian or clergyman must keep in mind about our judgment, is that like all
other aspects of reality, judgment is a deeply personal and individual
experience. While God has given us some input through inspiration which can
point us in the right direction, it is irresponsible of the theologian to
proclaim there is a particular set of laws which declare the Will of God in
such matters.
The degree of responsibility
that we as human beings must accept before God becomes a uniquely individual
criteria. If religion is to serve God it should help, not direct the individual
to discover what the Will of God is within their self. Like psychology helps us
to understand the workings of our own mind, religion should be helping us to
explore the inner workings of our spirit in conjunction with the mind. It is as
dangerous for spiritual leaders to overlook the natural drives of human beings,
as it is for psychiatrists to overlook our spiritual needs; which are always
individually unique.
If we accept an Image of God
where all men are created equal, then we must see that the diversity of mankind
is God's Creative Will. Logically then, God must take into account the
individuality of a being when pronouncing any final verdicts.
The ultimate goal of religion
must not be the declaration of God's Judgment, for such a thing no man can
truly know for another. The aim should be to help individuals find God within
themselves so they might never fear God or Her Divine judgment. Judgment is a
metaphor for accountability and that accountability will always be an
individual one. To declare God's wrath upon others is to ask for it upon one's
self.
9-Summary
of A Perception of God
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