Luke 12:49-53 (KJV)
49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
No subject divides like the subject of God. Families have split, nations have been divided, and wars have been fought, all in God’s name. Nothing unifies like the subject of God. Countless money is given, vast empires are built and unbelievable tasks are accomplished all in the name of God. What you do in this life is based on your view of God.
There is Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity. There is plenty of other lesser heard of religions too. Then within Christianity, there are subdivisions. There is Catholicism and Protestantism. According to World Christian Encyclopedia in this nation alone, there are 6,161 Protestant denominations. Within Protestantism there are evangelicals. There are subdivisions within the evangelicals too. Within subdivisions of all religions there are sub-subdivisions. Then within the sub-sub divisions there are people who say they follow multiple religions.
Each one of these groups believe in a God. If we believe in God, our actions will show how we view God. If we view God as a loving, caring God, chances are we will be acting this out in our society. If we view God as holy and a God to be feared, this too will show in our life style. The idea that there is no-God, will also be apparent in our life. In order to see an idea of the view of God in the world today, please take note of this poll. The poll just taken in the United Kingdom by The Guardian claims 82% pollsters say faith causes tension and does more harm than good.
Why would these people claim this view found in the poll? The fore mentioned question is nearly rhetorical in nature. Have you seen TV news clips lately? It seems there is more killing in the name of God each day. If we believe in God, we can be driven to do more in the name of God than for any other reason. Charles Manson, claiming to have been "inspired" by a song through which he thought God was talking to him, led his followers in the Tate-LaBianca murders. A monk, Simeon Stylites the Elder, moved to the top of the mountain, where he lived in a small building that had no roof. There he chained himself to a rock, all to be closer to God.
Why would an Islamic mother, strap herself in a bomb, and board a bus in order to kill as many people as she can? She does this to bring glory to her God. Why do Hindu worshippers of Goa's practice viramel? Viramel is where a group of persons, who wield sharp swords and bear the agony of the self-inflicted blows. They do this because of their view of God. Why do faith healers scam the poor and needy? They do it because they think more of money then the God they preach of. Why do the poor and needy come to faith healers? They come to place maybe their last hope in a man they feel God has blessed with healing powers.
Why do some go to church each and every Sunday? Why do some never go to church? It’s how they view God. This is not to say that those that do not go to church do not in believe in God. If you ask many, they would claim they do indeed believe in God. It is their view that keeps them at home. To them, God is not set above other things, so going to church matters little to them. They may just see God as just out-there somewhere or someone to pray to in time of need. Those that go to church may not have a higher view of God then those that stay at home. Some go to church for business contacts only. Some show up before an election, in order to win votes. Their view of God is only an idea in order to obtain gain of contacts and/or votes.
The so labeled religious right pushes God’s agenda as they see it. Not to be out done, the religious left does the same thing. The religious politics of the right wants to see moral changes. The religious politics of the left wants to see social changes. Both sides are driven on how they view God. But this drive is not limited to those that believe in God.
A carefree view of God will show as well. A. Alexander, in Progressive Daily Beacon wrote…
“I believe in a God, but I don't know what He/She/It looks like and what's more, I don't care. That's God's business not mine. To be perfectly honest I sometimes feel like I see God in birds, flowers, a sunrise, my wife's face, and other unexpected places. I'm not exactly sure where God resides, though I doubt it is at One Heaven Drive, Heaven, HE 00001-0001; However, I suspect He/She/It exists in everything from Alpha to Omega. For all I don't know about God, what I do know is simple - for me, God exists because I feel His/Her/Its existence in the same knowingly unknowing way that my lungs are certain oxygen exists.”
“Imagine There’s No Heaven”
John Lennon wrote these words many years ago. What Lennon was saying in the song is clear. Who needs God or heaven, when we can have Utopia here and "the world will live as one"? The now failed design of a communist state had as one of its bases the suggestion that the idea of God divides and must be suppressed in order to make all people the same. In spite of the disestablishment of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1918, there was still an official state of religion in the old Soviet Union. Originally, it was called “The Science of Marxism” or “Dialectical Materialism”. In 1954 after Stalin’s death it was renamed as “Scientific Atheism”. In all their efforts to ignore God, they gave their people no hope. Why this system failed is clear. We see in all peoples of the earth a need to worship something. This is part of human nature. The Soviet Union wanted to deny this need.
Even those that do not believe in God spend a lot of time quoting the Bible to defend their position. Many that claim to be atheist, ask the very God they deny to damn things in their life. According to the Humanist Manifestos I & II: Humanism is "a philosophical, religious, and moral point of view”. Yes, atheism/humanism is a faith as well. An atheist can spend just as much time trying to prove “No-God” as preachers spend time saying there is a true and living God. Their view of no-God drives them in their life as much as God fearing people. It should be noted that in the end John Lennon, as quoted above, became an atheist.
So why study theology?
Some say theology is not needed. They see theology as boring at best and the very cause of the problems in the world. I see the lack of study of God as the problem. The problem is not limited to those outside the church. Many if not most church goers know little more about God then they did ten years ago. Even preachers have stopped studying theology. We now have dummied-down messages preached. This has led to bad doctrine coming from the pulpit. With little or no understanding of who God is, we have problems.
In the movie the “Godfather” there was a line that tells a good story in itself about God. One of the characters was told to kill someone, but they were further told not to kill them on Sunday. After all, Sunday is the Lord’s day. The actor playing the role in this movie shows us the impression of our society’s view of God. The character in the movie only knew part of God, which led to a misunderstanding of God. Do not kill on Sunday, it would be a sin. But nonetheless killing was ok.
The lack of knowing God fully will divide us in more ways then we want to admit. With a poor understanding of God, we can be driven to kill people on a bus, or at an abortion clinic. If we imagine no God, we have no hope and must suppress feelings to worship. When we view God as a way to get ahead in life, we can be driven to scam others. If we view God as a way to help our image in town, we only deceive others. Cults are started because members are fooled in their lack of knowing God. If we do not know who God is, and yet we believe in God, we are forced to make up an idea of God just as A. Alexander did above. This made-up god will exist only in our mind.
Also, there is no greater subject to take up than the study of God. If God is as the Bible claims, then our study is endless.
C. H. Spurgeon the so-called prince of preachers said…
The proper study of the Christian is the God-head. The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the doings, and the existence of the great God which he calls his Father. There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, that all our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can comprehend and grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go on our way with the thought, "Behold I am wise." But when we come to this master science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, amid that our eagle eye cannot see its height, we turn away with the thought "I am but of yesterday and know nothing."
(Spurgeon wrote this at the age of twenty from a sermon on Mal. 3:6. )
Your actions are driven by your views, not just of God, but of all things. So as to study God and know who He is will change your life. Even if you feel you know God now, if you continue to study God’s Word, it will continue to change you throughout your life. Unwrapping the truths found in God’s Word will enrich your life and challenge your actions. There is much more in the verses of the Bible than the story. To know God is more than facts about God. To know God, is to get close to God, and have a personal relationship to Him.
Do you want to know who God is? Study the Bible. It will change your life.