The Skeletons in God's Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War

by Joshua Ryan Butler

LOVE IS GOD? Ian, a friend exploring Christianity, had decided to reject it. He explained: “I have come to believe not that God is love, but that Love is god.” When asked what he meant, he continued: “When I’m hiking in the mountains or holding a newborn baby, I have these moments of epiphany where I feel the universe is motivated by love and sustained in love. I want to live into this reality more fully.” Love was something like an animating force behind the universe, which Ian had come to believe we should make central for our lives. I asked which parts of Christianity turned him off. Ian explained: “It seems limiting and restricting. If I believe in God, even if I believe God is love, I’m immediately saying my God is right and judging others. I want to respect Buddhists, Muslims, and atheists—not judge them. I want to be kind to my neighbors.” Ian couldn’t shake the sense that, if he believed in God, he was being judgmental. Making love ultimate seemed like the best way to go. I share this story because I believe Ian is not alone. He is simply articulating what is, in my experience, perhaps the most prominent ideology of the twenty-first century: love is god. We can’t shake the sense that belief in God, or even more so Jesus, is inherently judgmental against the myriad other ways of life people prefer to pursue today. Doesn’t Jesus’ exclusivity promote divisiveness, arrogance, and closed-mindedness in a rapidly globalizing world? Don’t we most desperately need openness,...