After posting two blogs on a possible reason for God and then a blog on why we don't need to do that I'm just taking a few steps back. My friend, Pete, sent me an interesting answer to the question I asked; how would you describe the God you do or don't believe in?
He said that "God would be a totalitarian dictator representing the purest form of totalitarianism."
For a while I walked around saying Christianity in a Kingdom or Empire sense was a dictatorship. God has complete sovereignty, and He does what brings Him the most glory, and brings most glory to Himself through the work He does in all kinds of situations. I thought it fascinating for Pete, who claims to be an atheist, to describe God in a very similar way. Of course since saying Christianity was a dictatorship, my father corrected me to say it was more commonly known as a theocracy. Still, that doesn't make me any less convinced of Jesus ruling my life.
The trouble with calling God a dictator is the implications it has based on the modern history we have of people like Hitler and Stalin. Both decided they would be the (and correct me if I'm wrong) ultimate authority in their empires and oppressed people left, right, and centre. That makes us think of God, if a dictator, as an oppressive baboon with only His own interests in mind. But the we look to the end of Pete's definition and see that he does describe it as the "purest form of totalitarianism." That makes me think I can redeem God as dictator (if that's even allowed) by saying that God truly is the purest dictator the world could possibly have. He is utterly sovereign, and considers His glory as highest in importance. However, unlike His human copy-cats, He does things in the most loving way possible. He knows that obedience comes from willingness, and He created a way for all to be willing to serve Him through sending His Son, Jesus, to die in our place, and raise from the dead, to defeat death, show complete love, and give new life to all who want it. That means that anyone following Jesus are under God's rule, and it is a purely loving rule. He deals with His creation in a way that overpowers anything because He loves, not because He has a lot of rebels in His kingdom.
Imagine this; a man owes another man, who he works for incidentally, a whole heap of cash. Something in the region of a few million, and he has no hope of attaining to that kind of wealth. His boss comes to him and asks for the money back, but he can't pay it, and it would take him approximately 500 years to work the money back, making it practically impossible. His boss decides, because he does love his employees, that he will cancel the debt. Just right it off. Nothing doing. This makes the man who owed a lot so joyful that he goes around telling everyone how wonderful his boss is, and does everything that he says and encourages other people to do the same, and treats other people in the same way as his boss treated him. He had been shown so much mercy it flowed forth into his own ministry of mercy to all manner of people. He'd got himself into an awful position but the redemption he experienced changed his whole outlook on life.
Unless there is that kind of experience with someone in authority over you, you will only ever resent them for not showing you any kind of favour, and if you keep doing what they ask you to the only reward will be more work because they know you are good at following orders. But Jesus said Himself that the people who are healthy don't need a doctor. It's the sick. He didn't come to save the 'righteou
s' - those who can follow orders - but save 'sinners' - those who know for a fact that they haven't kept up to the standard that their authority expected.
In light of this, God, The Authority of the World, who can be described as acting the purest form of totalitarianism, is the one who knows that true obedience comes from loving Him first. We obey Him because we love Him, and we love Him because He first Loved us. It all works out in the end.
If that doesn't make any kind of sense, then I hope you experience His love.
Like this Authority Duck ->
He said that "God would be a totalitarian dictator representing the purest form of totalitarianism."
For a while I walked around saying Christianity in a Kingdom or Empire sense was a dictatorship. God has complete sovereignty, and He does what brings Him the most glory, and brings most glory to Himself through the work He does in all kinds of situations. I thought it fascinating for Pete, who claims to be an atheist, to describe God in a very similar way. Of course since saying Christianity was a dictatorship, my father corrected me to say it was more commonly known as a theocracy. Still, that doesn't make me any less convinced of Jesus ruling my life.
The trouble with calling God a dictator is the implications it has based on the modern history we have of people like Hitler and Stalin. Both decided they would be the (and correct me if I'm wrong) ultimate authority in their empires and oppressed people left, right, and centre. That makes us think of God, if a dictator, as an oppressive baboon with only His own interests in mind. But the we look to the end of Pete's definition and see that he does describe it as the "purest form of totalitarianism." That makes me think I can redeem God as dictator (if that's even allowed) by saying that God truly is the purest dictator the world could possibly have. He is utterly sovereign, and considers His glory as highest in importance. However, unlike His human copy-cats, He does things in the most loving way possible. He knows that obedience comes from willingness, and He created a way for all to be willing to serve Him through sending His Son, Jesus, to die in our place, and raise from the dead, to defeat death, show complete love, and give new life to all who want it. That means that anyone following Jesus are under God's rule, and it is a purely loving rule. He deals with His creation in a way that overpowers anything because He loves, not because He has a lot of rebels in His kingdom.
Imagine this; a man owes another man, who he works for incidentally, a whole heap of cash. Something in the region of a few million, and he has no hope of attaining to that kind of wealth. His boss comes to him and asks for the money back, but he can't pay it, and it would take him approximately 500 years to work the money back, making it practically impossible. His boss decides, because he does love his employees, that he will cancel the debt. Just right it off. Nothing doing. This makes the man who owed a lot so joyful that he goes around telling everyone how wonderful his boss is, and does everything that he says and encourages other people to do the same, and treats other people in the same way as his boss treated him. He had been shown so much mercy it flowed forth into his own ministry of mercy to all manner of people. He'd got himself into an awful position but the redemption he experienced changed his whole outlook on life.
Unless there is that kind of experience with someone in authority over you, you will only ever resent them for not showing you any kind of favour, and if you keep doing what they ask you to the only reward will be more work because they know you are good at following orders. But Jesus said Himself that the people who are healthy don't need a doctor. It's the sick. He didn't come to save the 'righteou
s' - those who can follow orders - but save 'sinners' - those who know for a fact that they haven't kept up to the standard that their authority expected.In light of this, God, The Authority of the World, who can be described as acting the purest form of totalitarianism, is the one who knows that true obedience comes from loving Him first. We obey Him because we love Him, and we love Him because He first Loved us. It all works out in the end.
If that doesn't make any kind of sense, then I hope you experience His love.
Like this Authority Duck ->
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