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The Struggle to Love GodThe Watchtower—2013 | November 1
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COVER SUBJECT | LIES THAT MAKE GOD SEEM UNLOVABLE
The Struggle to Love God
“‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment.”—Jesus Christ, 33 C.E.a
Some people find it difficult to love God. To them, God seems unfathomable, distant, or even cruel. Consider the following expressions:
“I prayed to God for help, but at the same time, I felt that he was far away, almost unreachable. To me, God was an abstract entity without feelings.”—Marco, Italy.
“Although I sincerely wanted to serve God, he seemed so far off. I thought he was a harsh God who only punishes us. I didn’t believe that he had tender feelings.”—Rosa, Guatemala.
“As a child, I believed that God was searching for our mistakes, ready to punish us if we deserved it. Later, I saw him as aloof. God was like a prime minister who manages the affairs of the people he leads—but who is not really interested in them.”—Raymonde, Canada.
What do you think? Is God unlovable? Christians have raised that question for centuries. In fact, during the Middle Ages, most inhabitants of Christendom did not even pray to Almighty God. Why not? People were in morbid fear of him. Historian Will Durant put it this way: “How could a simple sinner dare to take his prayer to so awful and distant a throne?”
How did God come to be viewed as “awful and distant”? What does the Bible really teach about God? Can learning the truth about God help you to love him?
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The Lie That Made God NamelessThe Watchtower—2013 | November 1
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COVER SUBJECT | LIES THAT MAKE GOD SEEM UNLOVABLE
The Lie That Made God Nameless
WHAT MANY BELIEVE
“We have gained no consensus as to whether we can even speak of ‘the’ name of God, and if so, what that name might be.”—Professor David Cunningham, Theological Studies.
THE TRUTH FROM THE BIBLE
God said: “I am Jehovah. That is my name.” (Isaiah 42:8) Jehovah is a Hebrew name that means “He Causes to Become.”—Genesis 2:4, footnote.
Jehovah wants us to use his name. “Call upon his name,” states the Bible. “Make known among the peoples his dealings. Make mention that his name is put on high.”—Isaiah 12:4.
Jesus used God’s name. In prayer, Jesus told Jehovah: “I have made your name known to them [Jesus’ disciples] and will make it known.” Why did Jesus make the divine name known to his disciples? He continued: “In order that the love with which you [God] loved me may be in them and I in union with them.”—John 17:26.
WHY IT MATTERS
“A man who does not know God by name does not really know him as a person,” wrote theologian Walter Lowrie, “and he cannot love him, if he knows him only as an impersonal force.”
Concealing or replacing God’s personal name is like cutting it out of the Bible
A man named Victor attended church weekly, but he did not feel that he really knew God. “Then I learned that God’s name is Jehovah, and it was like an official introduction to him,” he says. “I felt as though I had finally met the One about whom I had heard so much. I came to see him as a real Person and to develop a friendship with him.”
Jehovah, in turn, draws close to humans who use his name. Regarding “those thinking upon his name,” God promises: “I will show compassion upon them, just as a man shows compassion upon his son who is serving him.” (Malachi 3:16, 17) God also rewards those who call upon his name. The Bible says: “Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved.”—Romans 10:13.
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The Lie That Made God a MysteryThe Watchtower—2013 | November 1
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COVER SUBJECT | LIES THAT MAKE GOD SEEM UNLOVABLE
The Lie That Made God a Mystery
WHAT MANY BELIEVE
The Christian religion “in its three classic forms of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism acknowledges one God in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. According to Christian theology, this acknowledgment is not a recognition of three gods but that these three persons are essentially one.”—The New Encyclopædia Britannica.
THE TRUTH FROM THE BIBLE
Jesus, the Son of God, never claimed to be equal to or of the same substance as his Father. Rather, he said: “I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.” (John 14:28) He also told one of his followers: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.”—John 20:17.
The holy spirit is not a person. Early Christians “became filled with holy spirit,” and Jehovah said: “I shall pour out some of my spirit upon every sort of flesh.” (Acts 2:1-4, 17) The holy spirit is not part of a Trinity. It is God’s active force.
WHY IT MATTERS
The Trinity, explain Catholic scholars Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler, “could not be known without revelation, and even after revelation cannot become wholly intelligible.” Can you really love someone who is impossible to know or understand? The doctrine of the Trinity, therefore, is a barrier to knowing and loving God.
Marco, quoted in an earlier article, saw the Trinity as a barrier. “I thought God was hiding his identity from me,” he says, “and that just made him even more distant, mysterious, and unapproachable.” However, “God is not a God of confusion.” (1 Corinthians 14:33, American Standard Version) He has not hidden his identity from us. He wants us to know him. Jesus said: “We worship what we know.”—John 4:22.
“When I learned that God is not part of a Trinity,” says Marco, “I was finally able to establish a personal relationship with him.” If we view Jehovah as a distinct Person rather than a mysterious stranger, it is far easier to love him. “He that does not love has not come to know God,” says the Bible, “because God is love.”—1 John 4:8.
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The Lie That Made God CruelThe Watchtower—2013 | November 1
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COVER SUBJECT | LIES THAT MAKE GOD SEEM UNLOVABLE
The Lie That Made God Cruel
WHAT MANY BELIEVE
“Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church) Some religious leaders say that hell is a state of complete isolation and separation from God.
THE TRUTH FROM THE BIBLE
“The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.” (Ezekiel 18:4) The dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) If the soul dies and is unconscious, how could it suffer “eternal fire” or even the pain of everlasting separation from God?
In the Bible, the Hebrew and Greek words often translated “hell” actually refer to the common grave of mankind. For example, when Job suffered a painful illness, he prayed: “I wish you would hide me in my grave [“in hell,” Douay-Rheims Version].” (Job 14:13, Holy Bible—Easy-to-Read Version) Job wanted to rest, not in a place of torment or alienation from God, but in the grave.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cruelty does not endear us to God; it repels us. “From infancy I was taught the doctrine of hellfire,” says Rocío, who lives in Mexico. “I was so terrified that I could not imagine that God had any good qualities. I thought that he was angry and intolerant.”
The Bible’s clear statements about God’s judgments and the condition of the dead changed the way Rocío viewed God. “I felt free—that a big emotional burden had been lifted off me,” she says. “I began to trust that God wants the best for us, that he loves us, and that I can love him. He is like a father who takes his children by the hand and wants the best for them.”—Isaiah 41:13.
Many have striven to be pious out of fear of hellfire, but God does not want you to serve him because you are terrified of him. Rather, Jesus said: “You must love Jehovah your God.” (Mark 12:29, 30) Moreover, when we realize that God does not act unjustly today, we can trust his future judgments too. Like Job’s friend Elihu, we can confidently say: “Far be it from the true God to act wickedly, and the Almighty to act unjustly.”—Job 34:10.
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The Truth Can Set You FreeThe Watchtower—2013 | November 1
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COVER SUBJECT | LIES THAT MAKE GOD SEEM UNLOVABLE
The Truth Can Set You Free
One day, in Jerusalem, Jesus was talking about his Father, Jehovah, and exposing the false religious leaders of his day. (John 8:12-30) What he stated on that occasion teaches us how to examine popular beliefs about God today. Jesus said: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”—John 8:31, 32.
“Remain in my word.” Here Jesus sets the standard for evaluating whether religious teachings are “the truth.” When you hear a statement about God, ask yourself, ‘Does this harmonize with Jesus’ words and the rest of the Holy Scriptures?’ Imitate those who heard the apostle Paul speak and who were “carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things [the things they were learning] were so.”—Acts 17:11.
Marco, Rosa, and Raymonde, all quoted in the first article of this series, carefully examined their beliefs by studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. What did they learn?
Marco: “Our Bible teacher used the Scriptures to answer every question my wife and I had. Our love for Jehovah started to grow, and we also grew closer as husband and wife!”
Rosa: “At first, I thought that the Bible was nothing more than a book of philosophy that attempts to explain God using human reasoning. Gradually, however, I found the Bible’s answers to my questions. Now, Jehovah is real to me. He is Someone whom I can trust.”
Raymonde: “I prayed to God for help to learn about him. Soon thereafter, my husband and I started to study the Bible. Finally, we learned the truth about Jehovah! We were overjoyed to discover the kind of God he is.”
The Bible does far more than simply expose lies about God; it reveals the truth about his appealing qualities. It is his inspired Word, and it helps us to “know the things that have been kindly given us by God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12) Why not see for yourself how the Bible can answer common yet fundamental questions about God, his purpose, and our future? Read the answers to some of these questions under “Bible Teachings > Bible Questions Answered” at www.jw.org. You can also request a Bible study on that Web site or from one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. We are confident that if you do, you will find God easier to love than you ever thought possible.
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