Proverbs 15:3, The Biblical God

Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 in Bible Commentary | 0 comments

The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

//“The Biblical God” is is a phrase that’s starting to get on my nerves. I usually hear it in context of someone claiming my idea of God differs from the Bible’s description. But there is no single “Biblical God.” Opinions about God change from book to book in the Bible. The God of Genesis is different from the God of the prophets, which is different from the God of the Writings, which is different from the God of the Synoptic Gospels, which is different from the God of Paul or the Gospel of John. When we mash all of these opinions together and try to come up with a composite description of God, all we accomplish is to misrepresent all of the Bible’s authors.

Think God is omniscient? See http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2011/11/proverbs-153-dont-make-me-come-down-there.html

Think God is jealous? See http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2012/02/exodus-205-a-jealous-god.html

Think God is merciful? See http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2011/12/psalm-305-gods-anger.html

Think God hates evil? See http://www.dubiousdisciple.com/2012/02/habakkuk-113-does-god-hate-evil.html

Pretty much any attribute of God you name, you can find a Bible author who disagrees. We cannot speak of “the Biblical God” but of one of the “Biblical Gods.” That these varying Bible opinions have been merged into one rather universal Church opinion is only a symptom of our very human desire to pin God down.