Absolutely. That quote from Rohr has stuck with me too…it captures the heart of what I was trying to say. The cross isn’t God’s wrath satisfied, it’s God’s love revealed. I love Rohr!
Thank you…that means a lot. I think it’s so important that the stories we tell about God actually sound like Jesus. Otherwise we end up admiring the wrong things about Him.
Thanks Beau for such a clear and God-honoring perspective on how grace is the path to true loving justice. After almost 50 years preaching, teaching, and living out this kind of grace it is refreshing to see others speak the truth in love. Keep up the good writing.
Thank you so much…that really means a lot coming from someone with your experience. I’m grateful for the way you’ve been living and teaching this for so many years. Honored to play even a small part in carrying that same message forward.
I attended Josh Howerton’s services off and on over the years, but stopped last September after he used the pulpit to say that if you didn’t vote a certain way, you weren’t a real Christian. That moment stuck with me, and reading your piece helped me put words to something I’ve wrestled with for a long time.
This is very well written. Growing up, I struggled with the way Christianity was often presented, so much of it felt fear-driven, almost “hell bent,” instead of rooted in the love and freedom Jesus offers.
Thank you for sharing this. I can only imagine how heavy it must have felt to hear something like that from the pulpit. Sadly, a lot of us grew up with versions of Christianity that were fear-driven instead of love-shaped. I’m grateful this piece helped put some language around what you’ve been feeling. That longing you describe…for a faith rooted in love and freedom…that’s exactly where Jesus leads us. 😊
Beau, you’ve outdone yourself here. Your take is beautifully succinct and True.
It is tragic how PSA has been baked in. To American Christianity. To the ordinary person’s perception of (a distorted) good news, which is not so good at all.
When I was a kid, I loved God the Father, who held my heart. I loved him as I walked through the woods and prayed in my bed at night and sat in the pews of a New England church. As a young adult, I changed locations (hello, South) and soaked in what was baked in. Years later, I realized: I guess I love Jesus, but I sure miss his (my) Dad.
I wish I’d known: I did not have to choose. They are one and the same. Jesus shows us what God is like.
Thank you for sharing this…it’s such a moving story. I think so many people can relate to what you describe, feeling like they had to choose between loving Jesus or trusting the Father. I love the way you put it: we don’t have to choose. Jesus shows us exactly what the Father is like.
The king-with-a-whip story makes God look like a bad playwright who writes himself into a corner, then demands applause for suffering through his own plot twist. But Jesus didn’t reveal a Father addicted to punishment. He revealed a Father who runs to meet you before you can rehearse your apology. A God who doesn’t clutch the whip but shatters it.
If your theology makes you love Jesus for protecting you from God, you’re worshiping a divided house. The cross wasn’t divine child abuse. It was the Trinity saying together, “Even here, even now, we won’t stop loving you.”
Wow…beautifully said. That image of God shattering the whip instead of clutching it is such a clear picture of the gospel. Yes…the cross isn’t about a divided God, but the whole Trinity saying in one voice: ‘We won’t stop loving you.’ Thank you for putting it so powerfully.
Thank you for this. It’s so important to keep saying this message, the real gospel, over and over. This message has been around since the start. It’s not new. Christians have been proclaiming for two millennia. But the other, legalistic, angry-God story has often drowned it out. Like today. So, more, more!
Exactly…this isn’t some new spin, it’s the good news that’s been there from the beginning. Sadly, the angry-God versions have been louder at times, but the gospel of grace keeps breaking through. I’m grateful to add my voice to the chorus.
You wrote: "When I really think about what this story is saying about God, I don't see the same God that Jesus came to reveal." Amen to that. We have in the gospels remnants/fragments of Jesus' authentic teachings, BEFORE Christianity, Jesus BC, if you will, especially in the parables and Beatitudes. The good news he brought was about the God who loves ALL of us beyond imagining, whose love is boundless, abundant, infinite and eternal. And who is WITHIN each of us, always, whether we recognize it or not.
This is not the God the Church has promoted for centuries: a much smaller, quite human-like God, but one we can more easily understand than the one Jesus knew and taught us about.
Thank you for this. I resonate with what you’re saying…the God Jesus revealed really is bigger and more beautiful than the smaller, fear-shaped versions the Church has often promoted. His parables and the Beatitudes crack the door open to that boundless, abundant love, and it changes everything when we begin to see God that way.
Thanks for spreading the good news about our Loving God! Our views about God not only make a difference for us, but also in how we view others. If we believe in divine child abuse, then we are more likely to think it is okay to bomb women and children in retaliation for what Hamas did or to rip babies away from their immigrant mothers. I've experienced the love of God in such a profound way that I just want to love everyone, and to encourage others to let in God's love so it can flow through them as well.
Beautifully said. The way we picture God really does shape how we treat others. If we see Him as violent or demanding pain before love, that logic seeps into how we justify our own actions. But if we’ve truly experienced His love, it frees us to live with open hands and open hearts toward everyone. Thank you for sharing this.
Jesus said, “The Father and I are One.” I appreciate you quoting II Corinthians 5:19. This emphasizes the unity of the Trinity. They are not three separate entities, but three in one, in a mysterious way that we cannot fully comprehend.
I think God is angered by sin, hurt by sin , agonizes over sin. He knew that when He created free agents they would not be grateful, not be loving, not be kind. They would be selfish, ungrateful, unkind, even cruel and murderous. Knowing this, He
created as free agents anyway and He put Himself through the pain and suffering necessary to bring about reconciliation. Reconciliation implies previous estrangement. We were estranged from God, headed to an eternity separated from Him—as Jesus said, consigned to a place of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, consigned to the burning garbage dump outside of Jerusalem, Gehenna. But through His pain and suffering, His agony in the Person of the Son, the second Person of the Trinity (not separate from the Father, but united with the Father) suffered and died and rose again, so that we might die to the old selfish, greedy, unkind, even cruel persons we were and rise with Christ to live with Him (or to use another of Jesus’ metaphors—we were born again). For this to happen we must hear His voice, enter through Him—He is the door—follow Him as sheep follow their shepherd.
Thank you for this. I really appreciate the way you highlighted the unity of Father, Son, and Spirit. That’s so central to how we understand the cross…God wasn’t divided against Himself, but fully united in love. I agree that sin grieves God and creates estrangement, but what moves me most is that in Jesus, God didn’t stand back in anger…He entered the suffering Himself. The cross shows us that God’s response to human cruelty isn’t to crush us but to reconcile us, even at great cost. That’s the kind of love that really does change us.
So often when we look for a story or a real life example to help explain God and the gospel, we choose a flawed story or example. We confuse the beautiful reality of the love of God for us and the salvation that is ours because of that love. And why? What's complicated about the gospel isn't the gospel itself, it's our human nature and it's desire to complicate everything, including the gospel. It's us not believing completely the gospel story that we already know. A different example than the real one doesn't clear it up, if anything, it complicates it in a different way and leads us to more misunderstanding, not more understanding.
I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think the problem is that we use examples…the whole Bible is full of them. Parables and stories. The problem is when the story itself distorts the gospel. A king demanding blood before he can forgive doesn’t sound like the Father Jesus described. And if our illustrations lead people to misunderstand God’s character, then we need better illustrations.
Yea I left off part of my thoughts when I got distracted by work 🤣 rarely do we come up with examples that are better than the ones in the Bible. We aren’t as bright as we think we are, and we don’t see the flaws. The Bible is full of GREAT ones already.
I think its time we started thinking about God's Kingdom. Is it really a Kingdom? Isn't that kind of Old Testamenty? What if we drifted toward inclusive language and used "God's Family" instead? Immediately, if Josh Howerton's story was couched in the concept of family, the weaknesses would jump out at us. We all belong to God's Family and he loves each one of us equally. In this way, God doesn't have a gender. I'm past the OT except for the history of the Hebrew people and the background to Jesus's stories. I prefer thinking of God as being present.
To quote Fr. Richard Rohr, Jesus did not come to change God's mind about us, but to change our minds about God.
Absolutely. That quote from Rohr has stuck with me too…it captures the heart of what I was trying to say. The cross isn’t God’s wrath satisfied, it’s God’s love revealed. I love Rohr!
You've done a wonderful job unmasking this story and pointing out how it does not speak of the God of Love. Good job!
Thank you…that means a lot. I think it’s so important that the stories we tell about God actually sound like Jesus. Otherwise we end up admiring the wrong things about Him.
Thanks Beau for such a clear and God-honoring perspective on how grace is the path to true loving justice. After almost 50 years preaching, teaching, and living out this kind of grace it is refreshing to see others speak the truth in love. Keep up the good writing.
Thank you so much…that really means a lot coming from someone with your experience. I’m grateful for the way you’ve been living and teaching this for so many years. Honored to play even a small part in carrying that same message forward.
I attended Josh Howerton’s services off and on over the years, but stopped last September after he used the pulpit to say that if you didn’t vote a certain way, you weren’t a real Christian. That moment stuck with me, and reading your piece helped me put words to something I’ve wrestled with for a long time.
This is very well written. Growing up, I struggled with the way Christianity was often presented, so much of it felt fear-driven, almost “hell bent,” instead of rooted in the love and freedom Jesus offers.
Thank you for sharing this. I can only imagine how heavy it must have felt to hear something like that from the pulpit. Sadly, a lot of us grew up with versions of Christianity that were fear-driven instead of love-shaped. I’m grateful this piece helped put some language around what you’ve been feeling. That longing you describe…for a faith rooted in love and freedom…that’s exactly where Jesus leads us. 😊
Jesus I believe did not enter into history to right some cosmic wrong or accept punishment intended for us.
Jesus is God showing solidarity with humanity and creation. Thank you for articulating this.
Amen!
Grateful we can say ‘Amen’ to the good news of a God who looks like Jesus. 😊
Beau, you’ve outdone yourself here. Your take is beautifully succinct and True.
It is tragic how PSA has been baked in. To American Christianity. To the ordinary person’s perception of (a distorted) good news, which is not so good at all.
When I was a kid, I loved God the Father, who held my heart. I loved him as I walked through the woods and prayed in my bed at night and sat in the pews of a New England church. As a young adult, I changed locations (hello, South) and soaked in what was baked in. Years later, I realized: I guess I love Jesus, but I sure miss his (my) Dad.
I wish I’d known: I did not have to choose. They are one and the same. Jesus shows us what God is like.
Thank you for sharing this…it’s such a moving story. I think so many people can relate to what you describe, feeling like they had to choose between loving Jesus or trusting the Father. I love the way you put it: we don’t have to choose. Jesus shows us exactly what the Father is like.
The king-with-a-whip story makes God look like a bad playwright who writes himself into a corner, then demands applause for suffering through his own plot twist. But Jesus didn’t reveal a Father addicted to punishment. He revealed a Father who runs to meet you before you can rehearse your apology. A God who doesn’t clutch the whip but shatters it.
If your theology makes you love Jesus for protecting you from God, you’re worshiping a divided house. The cross wasn’t divine child abuse. It was the Trinity saying together, “Even here, even now, we won’t stop loving you.”
Wow…beautifully said. That image of God shattering the whip instead of clutching it is such a clear picture of the gospel. Yes…the cross isn’t about a divided God, but the whole Trinity saying in one voice: ‘We won’t stop loving you.’ Thank you for putting it so powerfully.
Thank you for this. It’s so important to keep saying this message, the real gospel, over and over. This message has been around since the start. It’s not new. Christians have been proclaiming for two millennia. But the other, legalistic, angry-God story has often drowned it out. Like today. So, more, more!
Exactly…this isn’t some new spin, it’s the good news that’s been there from the beginning. Sadly, the angry-God versions have been louder at times, but the gospel of grace keeps breaking through. I’m grateful to add my voice to the chorus.
You wrote: "When I really think about what this story is saying about God, I don't see the same God that Jesus came to reveal." Amen to that. We have in the gospels remnants/fragments of Jesus' authentic teachings, BEFORE Christianity, Jesus BC, if you will, especially in the parables and Beatitudes. The good news he brought was about the God who loves ALL of us beyond imagining, whose love is boundless, abundant, infinite and eternal. And who is WITHIN each of us, always, whether we recognize it or not.
This is not the God the Church has promoted for centuries: a much smaller, quite human-like God, but one we can more easily understand than the one Jesus knew and taught us about.
Thank you for this. I resonate with what you’re saying…the God Jesus revealed really is bigger and more beautiful than the smaller, fear-shaped versions the Church has often promoted. His parables and the Beatitudes crack the door open to that boundless, abundant love, and it changes everything when we begin to see God that way.
Thanks for spreading the good news about our Loving God! Our views about God not only make a difference for us, but also in how we view others. If we believe in divine child abuse, then we are more likely to think it is okay to bomb women and children in retaliation for what Hamas did or to rip babies away from their immigrant mothers. I've experienced the love of God in such a profound way that I just want to love everyone, and to encourage others to let in God's love so it can flow through them as well.
Beautifully said. The way we picture God really does shape how we treat others. If we see Him as violent or demanding pain before love, that logic seeps into how we justify our own actions. But if we’ve truly experienced His love, it frees us to live with open hands and open hearts toward everyone. Thank you for sharing this.
Jesus said, “The Father and I are One.” I appreciate you quoting II Corinthians 5:19. This emphasizes the unity of the Trinity. They are not three separate entities, but three in one, in a mysterious way that we cannot fully comprehend.
I think God is angered by sin, hurt by sin , agonizes over sin. He knew that when He created free agents they would not be grateful, not be loving, not be kind. They would be selfish, ungrateful, unkind, even cruel and murderous. Knowing this, He
created as free agents anyway and He put Himself through the pain and suffering necessary to bring about reconciliation. Reconciliation implies previous estrangement. We were estranged from God, headed to an eternity separated from Him—as Jesus said, consigned to a place of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, consigned to the burning garbage dump outside of Jerusalem, Gehenna. But through His pain and suffering, His agony in the Person of the Son, the second Person of the Trinity (not separate from the Father, but united with the Father) suffered and died and rose again, so that we might die to the old selfish, greedy, unkind, even cruel persons we were and rise with Christ to live with Him (or to use another of Jesus’ metaphors—we were born again). For this to happen we must hear His voice, enter through Him—He is the door—follow Him as sheep follow their shepherd.
Thank you for this. I really appreciate the way you highlighted the unity of Father, Son, and Spirit. That’s so central to how we understand the cross…God wasn’t divided against Himself, but fully united in love. I agree that sin grieves God and creates estrangement, but what moves me most is that in Jesus, God didn’t stand back in anger…He entered the suffering Himself. The cross shows us that God’s response to human cruelty isn’t to crush us but to reconcile us, even at great cost. That’s the kind of love that really does change us.
So often when we look for a story or a real life example to help explain God and the gospel, we choose a flawed story or example. We confuse the beautiful reality of the love of God for us and the salvation that is ours because of that love. And why? What's complicated about the gospel isn't the gospel itself, it's our human nature and it's desire to complicate everything, including the gospel. It's us not believing completely the gospel story that we already know. A different example than the real one doesn't clear it up, if anything, it complicates it in a different way and leads us to more misunderstanding, not more understanding.
I get what you’re saying, but I don’t think the problem is that we use examples…the whole Bible is full of them. Parables and stories. The problem is when the story itself distorts the gospel. A king demanding blood before he can forgive doesn’t sound like the Father Jesus described. And if our illustrations lead people to misunderstand God’s character, then we need better illustrations.
Yea I left off part of my thoughts when I got distracted by work 🤣 rarely do we come up with examples that are better than the ones in the Bible. We aren’t as bright as we think we are, and we don’t see the flaws. The Bible is full of GREAT ones already.
I think its time we started thinking about God's Kingdom. Is it really a Kingdom? Isn't that kind of Old Testamenty? What if we drifted toward inclusive language and used "God's Family" instead? Immediately, if Josh Howerton's story was couched in the concept of family, the weaknesses would jump out at us. We all belong to God's Family and he loves each one of us equally. In this way, God doesn't have a gender. I'm past the OT except for the history of the Hebrew people and the background to Jesus's stories. I prefer thinking of God as being present.