My reply to this blog
https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/is-it-true-to-say-that-god-is-love/#comments
a) I think we leave judgement out of our definition of God’s love at great peril.
In child protection services it’s well known that a parent may say to a child ‘I love you’ and demonstrate that affection in many ways, but if that child has disclosed to that parent that it’s being abused by a third party yet the parent doesn’t act to bring justice and safety the child is often left with a severe feeling of abandonment known as ‘failure to protect’. The child may well feel more lifelong animosity to the person who ‘failed to protect’ than the one who actually perpetrated the acts.
Similarly with other authority figures, when they commit or even allow to go unchallenged various injustices the victims feel an even greater sense of betrayal.
Hence the inherent conflict in people’s arguments – on the one hand they want a ‘hands off’ God so they can do what ever they like but still enjoy his love and benefits but on the other hand are angry with him when other people or ‘life’ (often others at one step removed) are unfair, somehow they still feel the ‘failure to protect’. Hence deep down the need to know that there will be ultimate justice.
but
b) I find it very powerful that in Exodus 34 when God has that particular opportunity to say what ever he likes about himself and this is the definitive chance to describe himself as he wants to be seen he talks about being compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and overflowing in love in the loving-kindness sense. He also punishes and blesses. Punishment only lasts a few generations (the length of time the epigenetic effects consequences last?) Blessing goes on and on and on. I feel this is all so clearly reflected in the life of Jesus. And the 1 Cor 13 summary. Love is patient and kind …
I think the fudge over the NT translation love is a serious error. I think “loving-kindness” for agape reflecting the OT word and concept could help.
I also think we need to be taking the hell-fear and judgmentalism approach out of preaching and church life, which both basically take God himself out of the equation making frightened-ness about suffering and fearing of human ostracism the primary motors of the pressure we put on people to convert and behave.
c) As for the “banal measure of how I feel”, I do basically agree in theory. The problem, and a very major one, is that the discussion does not come in a vacuum. I think that as Evangelicals we have been pretty heavy handed, handing out condemnation and rigidity when even a modicum of loving-kindness would have gone a very long way. I’m afraid I’ve known too many people who were put off God because of us. If you look at why people are still leaving church despite still having faith it’s very telling. Some may balk at the idea of calling bullying rigid sermons, thoughtless judgemental patronising pastoral advice, or isolating excluding cliquish congregational behaviour as ‘spiritual abuse’ but it seems to have that effect on it’s victims just as much as any other emotional abuse or coercive control. It makes me think of the bullying sheep in Ezekiel, also the sheep-looking wolves in Acts.
I feel the church needs to overbalance in the opposite direction for while just to right the wrongs of previous generations. We need to exercise our ‘compassion muscles’ much more than our self justification ones, even if the desire for right doctrine, soundness and respect for the Bible were in themselves a counter swing against the excesses of liberalism etc.
I do understand that the previous over-leaning the other way meant for example, a very soggy self contented church that needed the counterbalance of Finney et al However in view of the damage I’ve seen from our over zealous evangelicalism and the balance I feel exists in Bible – (I desire love not sacrifice etc etc) I think that it’s impossible to over emphasise that God is love/loving-kindness.
I get very moved reading the first letter of John. More important than which John wrote it, is to me, the way it’s written. This isn’t literary analysis of course but it’s impassioned pleas make me think of an elderly apostle who, of all the complex and amazing things he’s shared is reduced to just repeating over and over that for all your right-ness, saying you love God, it’s rubbish if you don’t loving-kindness your brother. Like Paul’s frustration with the Corinthians’ rightness giving dissonant resonances.
Of course this reaction has a personal element underlying it. What would I and so many others I’ve encountered along this de-churched road have given for a few words of kindness, a little thought beyond perceived right-ness. You recently published a post that I can’t just find by the ex Shaftesbury guy who looked into where his old congregation went. He echoed the findings of STEVE AISTHORPE who looked for his old fellow congregants when he returned from mission in Nepal. We have to listen carefully and prayerfully to these voices otherwise we just go round repeating the same errors and undermine the very church we say we’re trying to build. Yes, God is love can be a trite reply to important theological concerns but I don’t think replying yes God is love but … is the best reply. I feel we need a good deal of pride swallowing to compensate for the Pharisaical damage we’ve done to the gospel first. Once we outdo them in love maybe then we can take them to court.
