I believe it is Nahum 1:2 that says that God is jealous and vengeful. Those are not necessarily qualities I attribute to the Essence of All That is Good. I equate the energy of God to Love-selfless, sacrificial, unconditional Agape Love.

 

Some say that God brings floods(remember Noah), famines, diseases to wipe out people for their disobedience to Him. And let's face it, the OT seems to reinforce that idea. People like Pat Robertson and other evangelicals tell us that God still causes and/or allows terrible disasters to happen because of our sinning ways.

 

Do you go along with what Robertson and parts of the Bible teach --- that , while God is a loving God , He also is angry, jealous , and vengeful ???

 

Thank you, in advance, for your thoughts on this question.

Floods, famine and such were before Jesus came and took the punishment for all of man's sin.

 

I personally do not subscribe to the notion that Robertson does...nor do I think God is vengeful or jealous both descriptions are more of an old testament God, before Jesus.

 

Jesus' birth, life and resurrection changed everything in my opinion.

Thank you, J-dad. appreciate your thoughts.

I definitely believe God is a loving God, but I also believe that He is a God of wrath. God's wrath is not antithetical to His love, but rather it is essential for His holiness.

 

I think Jesus described it best when he stated in the Bible's most popular verse that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). God's love is universally distributed, and to those who believe and accept that love...it's the greatest decision one could make IMO.

 

But to those who do not accept God's love? Jesus states two verses later what happens as a result: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son" (John 3:18). When one rejects God's love, His wrath is the result.

 

One of the foundational elements of Christianity is Jesus absorbing the wrath God has toward sin on the cross. To those who accept Jesus' sacrifice, he absorbs the wrath. But to those who reject it, they absorb it themselves. That's what makes the gospel "good news." We can avoid God's wrath because of Jesus. We don't do anything to earn it; we just accept it. That's why it's called grace.

 

It's not a popular opinion to have, but it's what I wholeheartedly believe based on my understanding of Scripture.

As to the notion of God being jealous, I also believe that is true. He is jealous for our attention and devotion.

 

If I went to my wife and said, "Honey, I'm going to start dating other women, but you'll always be in first place," that's going to go over like a lead balloon. The same would be true if she came to me and said the same thing. It wouldn't fly because we are supposed to be exclusively devoted to each other. That would result in a natural jealousy.

 

I see God in a similar light. He is jealous for our attention and devotion because we are His children and He adores us.

 

As to God causing disasters, I don't align myself with Pat Robertson specifying each instance as God's wrath being poured out on sin. But I do believe that the world we live in is not the world that God originally created. It is out of kilter because of sin's presence. So there are terrible things that happen, sometimes to terrible people and sometimes to wonderful people. "The rain," Jesus said, "falls on the just and the unjust."