44 DoW Day 6: A Favorite God

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I grew up in a Christian home with the God that many call "the Christian God".  In many ways, I find that title offensive because of the way I've heard so many Pagans say it.  It's almost like a sneer, as though He's just as cruel as so many so-called "Christians" are.  But at the same time, I can't really say as I blame them.  It's almost like a "guilty by association" thing.  There are so many so-called "Christians" out there who tout God's unconditional love from the pulpit but then they go right back to treating people like shit the moment they leave their church building.  The way so many of them treat people is not exactly a good or even accurate representation of God and how He actually is.

And, if there are any Christians reading this, please know that I don't mean any offense.  Especially if you are like the good Christians I know: The ones who are beautiful examples of how God truly is -- unconditionally loving, accepting, and who don't hate on other people just because they're gay or of a different religion.  I absolutely adore the Christians I know who are like that.  They are the ones I consider to be true Christians

If you've not been able to guess, God is, well, my favorite God.  There are several Gods from different pantheons that I like and admire, but I still primarily worship and follow the God that I grew up with.  He has been so sorely misrepresented, it's disgusting.  He does not hate people like so-called "Christians" do.  He does not and has never called for "unbelievers" to be put to death.  There are so many things that the Bible describes about God that, quite frankly, I find to be flat-out blasphemy.   Such as how it makes God look like a rutting psycho with Multiple Personality Disorder.   For instance:  God is not going to say  "Thou shalt not kill" only to turn around and go  "Oh, but go kill these people over here because they don't believe in me."   That's such bullshit, I can't even begin to describe!

About the only person from the Bible whose word I fully trust is the Christ Himself and, when He was here, you know what he was trying to get people to understand about God?  That God is Love.   He was basically trying to set the record straight that had been so besmeared by so many "prophets" from before.  For so many centuries, God had been painted up as some wrathful, vengeful asshole who loved nothing more than striking "sinners" down.  And, when a child knows that their parent is being so wrongfully and hatefully spoken about, what is that child going to do?  He's going to try to do his best to get the truth about their parent out.   Hell, that's what I would do if I heard people saying such horrible, untrue things about one of my parents.

But I'm going to be honest:  At one point I was no different than so many other Pagans who scorn "the Christian God" along with those so-called "Christians".  I walked away from Christianity after I went to a Bible school in Texas.  The experience I had there had me flat-out disillusioned and angry at God.  In fact, I didn't speak to Him for quite a while.  I became interested in Paganism, whereupon I went to a local metaphysical shop for a class that they had advertised.  That class ended up being a joke and, quite frankly, a huge waste of my time since the majority of the time was spent with people bashing away on Christianity.  I found myself in the position of defending Christianity (true Christianity -- not the hateful dogma touted by people who are no better than the Westboro Baptist idiots) and one thing I ended up saying during that discussion was:  "It's not God's fault that there are so many Christians who are such assholes!"

Have you ever found yourself saying something that jars you so badly, it's like you've given yourself a revelation that you were badly needing?  That's how it was for me.  And that was when I realized that my anger towards God was not deserved.  It's not His fault that there are so many "Christians" who are so hateful.  He does not appreciate them acting that way, He does not support it (and He never has).  In fact, I dare say that when "Christians" act so hatefully to others and then say that He wants them to behave that way, I do not doubt that it embarrasses God.  Such things fly right into the face of the unconditional love that He wants us to learn.

These are things that I really wish people, fellow Pagans in particular, would actually get, if only so that they would stop lumping God in with the hateful people who claim to follow Him.