Accusations Against God: God's Vengefulness

by BlogSpotThinker
October 4, 2011

Overview
Some appear to interpret the Bible as describing God as vengeful and, perhaps so, even at the slightest of provocation. I humbly and respectfully submit the apparently reasonable perspective that the Bible seems to portray God as potentially reacting strongly toward violations of God’s directives, but also as, not only overwhelmingly patient and merciful, but possibly so beyond human potential to fathom.

Appropriately Addressing The Seriousness of Disobeying God
The Bible appears to suggest that violation of God’s directives is more serious than violating the directives of humanity. God appears to be described as being the sovereign entity of all reality, apparently, with no element of human fallibility. Consequently, human discernment and human decision-making based upon human discernment, appears to include potential for error that appears not to exist in God. Consequently, the Bible appears to suggest that violation of God’s direction has dire intrinsic consequences and, perhaps as a result, therefore, warrants more immediate and intense response from God than do violations of human directives. The Bible appears to attribute the apparently reported, often-lamented depravity of the human condition to human violation of God’s directives,. The extent to which that is accurate appears to substantiate the more immediate, intense response of God regarding violations of God’s directives.

The Patience of God In Addressing Disobedience
The demonstrate the balance of God’s response to violations of God’s directives, however, a brief search on the keywords “God” and “mercy” in the King James Version appears to yield the Deuteronomy 7:9, 1 Kings 8:23, and 2 Chronicles 6:14. These passages appear to possibly be applicable. In addition, Genesis 4 appears to describe God as counseling rather than punishing Cain regarding Cain’s anger related to God accepting Abel’s sacrifice and rejecting Cain’s. Upon Cain’s subsequent murder of Abel, God’s treatment of Cain appears to be portrayed as that of a caring father appropriately responding to a wayward child. Despite the grave wrong apparently perpetrated by Cain and the punishment that the Bible appears to suggest that God assigned to Cain, God appears to be described as lending the weight of God’s power to the protection of Cain (Genesis 4:15).