Angry God Arguments

Best ways to handle "God of the Bible = Angry God" arguments.

Q: Is the God of the Bible a angry God?

A: (LET THE BIBLE READER BEST DECIDE)

Introduction

This is perhaps a top five question posed to the apologist. Being able to answer this by short and concise means is a must have skill from the very outset. If you cannot answer this satisfactorily, there is no reason for a critic to continue any further with you except to rub your nose in your unconvincing answer.

This child thread intends to be both a resource and user discussion point to help each other come to the most intelligible answer. It is not so much a tactic for getting people to see the inconsistencies of their views as it is a test they throw against you to prove yours. The topic deserves all our respect and preparation.

Section One - The Abrupt Defense

The most abrupt way to start this defense of God's character is:

"Respectfully sir, I vehemently beg to differ with your conclusion. Before we go any further, I want to explain to you God's real revelation of HIS most Holy Character".

Note: Sometimes being abrupt and deliberate is the most direct approach to this offensive statement. It is offensive enough to immediately put them on the defensive:

"Do you really think that I am stupid and short sighted enough to believe and serve a God who above all other things is bitter and angry"? "Do you really think that the billions of people past and present that have read and believed the bible are foolish enough to be duped into loving and serving your assessment of an angry God"? "Is that what you are saying, because that is the way it has to be taken".

"Allow me a moment to offer up a crash course synopsis of the bible revelation from someone who has honestly attempted to seek it out":

1. In kjv@Deuteronomy:6:15 when God is famously quoted as saying "(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee..." HIS words are directed to one fledgling nation - Israel; the context repeatedly states "Hear, O Israel" whom has sworn themselves into a law abiding conditional covenant with HIM.
   

To the best of my knowledge this declaration is never directed to any other nation, for the most part other than some neighboring nations that come against HIS Israel the bible leaves thee nations to their own. This comes at the time when Israel is given the greatest of all commandments "thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (which the remainder of the Old Testament will prove that Israel was never as a nation able to do).


2. Fast forward several centuries. Prior to sending rebellious Israel in to captivity the LORD paints a picture of HIS current relationship with HIS "beloved" nation.
   

In kjv@Isaiah:5 HE compares it to a one of a kind vineyard that HE HIMSELF planted in order to produce the choicest of grapes, only for it to have produced wild unprofitable grapes. The LORD asks "What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it"? HE then removes HIS protective hedge and HIS grape press and allows the weed and thorns and briars to take it over. HE never gives up on HIS beloved however, HE allows for them to go through this so that they learn to hold up their part of the agreed upon covenant. God could have done this at several times prior to this due to this well documented and constant rebellion, but in fact did not because of HIS tremendous patience and long-suffering. Whatever discipline HE would have to measure out, HE warned them of far ahead about via multiple prophets to give them a chance prior to make a correction. HE could have held every other nation to the same conditional covenant, but did not because HE knew that they would rebel the very same (they would have to learn this by observing and learning by Israel's example).


3. The bible in its entirety spells out the story of a specially purposed and gifted creature that for a long time has been and to this day remains in direct rebellion with HIM. What we call an "angry God" is nothing more than a "loving God" sworn by HIS own righteousness to set HIS creation back in a non-hostile and respectful order. What we call "poor innocent divinely victimized man" is not anything of the sort, he is a willing accomplice in his own rebellions' natural consequence. Man may have given up on God, but God has never ever given up on man as proven by the fact that HE has never given up on Israel and HE has given all mankind the redeeming sacrifice of HIS very own Son.
   

"I thank you sir, by your ad homonym attack on the many adoring faithful whom I represent and by your unreasonable uninformed allegation for giving me the platform to set this matter right. Let me also say that it would be wise not to cherry pick bible verses out of their rightful context to make your baseless apostate conclusions".

(So it is a little rough edged but you get the general idea to this approach)

Section Two - The Realist Defense

"Let's get real here for a moment. Regardless whether you believe the bible to be fiction or non-fiction, the bible that we hold in our hands today can easily be considered the greatest collection of literature every collected (66 books, 40+ authors, spanning over two millennia of human interaction, poetry/proverb/prophecy/history/drama/comedy, life/death/love/hate/war/religion/law, individuals/nations, as a historical reference source itself has proved itself quite invaluable). No greater collection has ever been produced to rival it. If it had been a secular collection and left God completely out it by far would be the most cherished book in our possession (and it already is just that)".

"As comprehensive and complex as the bible story is, I believe that you are making the grand mistake of over simplifying it down to just being about an "angry God. It would be like simplifying Dicken's classic 'Tale of two Cities' down to an angry old lady on a porch in a rocking chair with knitting needles; a grave injustice to the pages and pages of vital context and story development. There is little doubt that there is a frequent angry God portrayed in the bible. The question rather should be what is it that this otherwise loving and merciful God is on occasion so angry about".

"Let me put this another way. What person among us in their right mind would not be angry at much of what is occurring here on this planet? Who here is not spitting mad that tens of thousands of people here in the USA turn up missing, no evidence, no body, no suspect, no other place, gone from our presence? Who is not fighting mad about the number of children that are sexually assaulted by grown people in public positions of trust or worse yet sold into the sex trades to be abused over and over again for another man's profit? You want the to get real here about angry God? Well let's get real. If I am loving and concerned enough to be concerned and alarmed about mankinds' present condition, enough to rightfully go far beyond any nominal brush with anger, how can expect that the God creator of heaven and earth is not"?

"As it is with most humane people so it is with God. Just because a person is angry does not mean that angry is all that he is. A person that is angry can easily be angry because he loves that person that he is angry with. If he didn't love that person, the offense would mean very little to him; he'd brush it aside and go about his way. Are we to say that we are always angry with God because HE occasionally gets angry with us? Let me ask you this: when is the last time God actually got 'in your face' type of angry with you? Has HE rather left you to work your anger with HIM out on your own"?

"If you are trying to disprove that God has a right to be angry but you do by this allegation, I would beg you friend to reconsider".

Section Three - Specificity Methods

These questions/statements are intended to force the opponent to clarify their position and be more specific, expose the weaknesses of their own arguments. They are not full scale defenses on there own, but can be used quite effectively, especially where time does not allow for more than a quick counter punch or two.

"There are many forms of anger, some healthy (righteous/warranted), some unhealthy or forbidden (unrighteous/unwarranted). Are you saying that any form of anger on God's part is wrong"?

"Is it the sense that God is angry that is more concerning to you, or is it the fact of man's overt rebellion to HIM and their harm to each other"?

"Does a man's wife who loves him and devoted her entire life to have the right to be angry with her husband when he goes out and has an adulterous affair"? "Does she love him any less"? "Which is worse, her anger or his adultery"?

"Can you show me anywhere in the bible where God acts irrationally out of anger without a method and purpose"?

"Can you show me anywhere in the bible where God did not first announce HIS displeasure and allow a nation time to repent"?

Conclusions

The angry God allegation is rarely the whole the discussion itself, it usually is an attempt at distraction or side issue. That is unless you are debating a scientific atheist like Richard Dawkins who described the God of the bible as "a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully". I wonder who the angry one really is!

Dawkins proves that it is possible to go through the bible dishonestly and pick out just the things you want it to say. He wanted it to say that, it was necessary to his pursuits to have it say that, so he hired ex-biblical apostate researchers to collate the cherry picked evidences. As defenders of the bible we can be guilty of the very same crime: trying to force the bible into saying what it does not say. We must be on our guard just the same.

Q: Is the God of the Bible a angry God?

A: The best answer is: don't take anyone else word for it, dig into the bible and find out for yourself. (LET THE BIBLE READER BEST DECIDE)

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