On a scale of 1 to 10 (where 10 is very angry), how angry is God with you today? In answering this question don’t respond in the way you think you should, rather try giving it your gut reaction. Your answer will reflect a number of things – not least your own upbringing at home, where your understanding of God’s fatherhood will have been heavily influenced by your parents. But the answer will also be influenced by your spiritual upbringing and the religious tradition you have been a part of.

Your understanding of the word itself is also an important aspect of this. Language is a funny thing – words and phrases mean different things to different people. In our house when we ask, ‘Is the internet on?’ what we mean is whether the wifi router is switched on. When I say I’m ‘keeping the shopping’ what I mean is that I’m ‘putting it away’. But we both understand – it is our language. And the word ‘anger’ will mean something different to you compared to me and more importantly it will create a different emotional response in us that may make us respond to the word in different ways. What the word normally means matters not; what matters is what it means to me.

By challenging the notion that God is angry with us, some say – even accuse – that we’re diluting the gospel. The popular American preacher, Rob Bell, has especially had to face this accusation in recent months and while I understand what his detractors mean when they argue against his teaching, I am minded to stand with him rather than against him. His critics are correct in saying that there is an emphasis on a wrathful God in the Bible and that he takes a very dim view of sin. Key verses can be quoted to back up that assertion and are a handy little tool when it comes to constructing the arguments. But do these verses and the way they are interpreted reflect God’s character and his attitude towards us and the world? My conclusion is that they do not.  As we come to study those verses I think the following need to be taken into account:

1. God’s essential, core characteristic is love;

2. The cross of Jesus has dealt with the sin;

3. For those who believe that only the sin of the ‘elect’ is covered on the cross it is still true that Jesus died not so that God could love us, but because he loved us. That means that God loved the sinner before the cross and that we are loved even if we haven’t opted into being ‘in Christ’;

4. The general thrust of God’s actions is to restore creation – not to punish it. This means that the emphasis should be not that we are saved from something (a wrathful, vengeful God) but for something (a restored life in a restored creation);

5. The resurrection of Jesus means that this restorative action is already at work in the world.

The above are the theological prerequisites that I believe we should bring with us to the Bible. The following are historical/psychological issues that also need to be taken to account.

1. How do we understand the word anger? What picture does it create in our minds? If we see someone with a red face, a frown, and lots of shouting – it may not be the best understanding to bring with us when we come to read verses that include the word! Our upbringing may well be the cause for the picture we have. We need an understanding of how that has affected us to know that we truly understand the Bible.

2. How much of our church context is affecting our biblical understanding? This context will give me a theology that I then take with me to the Bible and I will read into the scriptures what I already believe. In some churches this theology has remained pretty much unchanged and unchallenged for considerable period of time and yet in the light of recent learning may be deeply flawed.

3. The culture of the world that surrounds me will affect how I read the Bible. For example, how differently was the Bible read in the more permissive age of the 1960s compared to the stricter age of the immediate post-war period?

Someone who lives nearby told us that once a week he goes into the local town and will often buy a second-hand lawn mower. (I think he may fix them up and then sell them on.) And then he said, ‘I don’t drink so I think it’s ok.’ That is, he was justifying his actions. He does not attend a place of worship and has no faith as far as I’m aware but he does know that we are Christians and church leaders and he obviously felt that he needed to justify what is a wholly innocent pastime. Deep within him there seems to be this feeling that God is an angry being always on the look-out for people to punish, hence his comment that his ‘vice’ is not as bad as others’. A sad story, no doubt you will agree. Even sadder is that many Christians still live in this place where they believe God is angry with them. That the church needs to revisit this subject is clear.

That God wants the best for us and from us is beyond doubt. But post-crucifixion and resurrection he’s far too busy bringing that into being to be spitting feathers every time you and I mess up. Instead of living under the shadow of some perceived threat we should lift up our heads and see that the Son is shining and bidding us to come follow him into a better life.

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