Everyone gets that quote wrong. It's not, "God will not be mocked, so all you mockers better watch out bcs he's gonna smite you." That's not what it says, and not what it means.
"Be not deceived; God IS not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
It's a statement about the nature of God and our existence in relationship with him. The context is important. In Galatians 6:7-8, Paul is speaking about sowing and reaping, a metaphor for the inevitable consequences of one’s actions: "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
"God IS not mocked" no matter how much mocking you think you're doing; it just comes whipping back in your own face - not because of any smiting or vengefulness by a tetchy and ill-tempered God who takes offence personally. It's about the inevitability of consequences, what happens when you try to defy the created order of reality; it's stamping on a rake. You cannot trick God or manipulate spiritual realities by your actions or intentions.
Greek word used here for “mocked” (μυκτηρίζεται, myktērizetai) literally means "to turn up the nose at" or "to sneer at." It has nothing to do with a vengeful deity; it's about how attempting to live contrary to God’s design is ultimately pointless. You might sneer at God’s law, but you can’t change the natural and moral order that God has established. Trying to do so only damages the person trying it. God can't be hurt by anything we do.
So we are disappointed that God didn't rain down fire & brimstone when God was mocked? He who was reviled did not revile...1 Peter 2:23
Maybe one day we will learn the Way, the Truth and the Life (or is it light - I always get those mixed up) and I write "we", because we are all in this together, whether we like it or not.
He doesn’t rain down fire & brimstone when he’s mocked. He doesn’t help people who pray to him. He only does things that are indistinguishable from random chance. Either God is a huge fan of stochastics or he’s indiscernible from noise.
I think it’s healthy to step away and look at it objectively. The normal churched response is for the petitioner to blame themselves for praying “wrong” - it’s a pathway to religious OCD.
Indeed. When the Samaritans would not allow Jesus and the Apostles to pass through their territory, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy them (Luke 9:54). Jesus rebuked them and He and the Apostles went another way.
Do we imagine there to be some great virtue in this restraint? Will God truly be merciful to those of us whose faith was shattered on the sharp edged scandals of this pontificate, which seem to disprove everything we’ve ever been taught?
I’m so tired of the excuses we make for a God who never holds up his end of the bargain.
Everyone gets that quote wrong. It's not, "God will not be mocked, so all you mockers better watch out bcs he's gonna smite you." That's not what it says, and not what it means.
"Be not deceived; God IS not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
It's a statement about the nature of God and our existence in relationship with him. The context is important. In Galatians 6:7-8, Paul is speaking about sowing and reaping, a metaphor for the inevitable consequences of one’s actions: "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
"God IS not mocked" no matter how much mocking you think you're doing; it just comes whipping back in your own face - not because of any smiting or vengefulness by a tetchy and ill-tempered God who takes offence personally. It's about the inevitability of consequences, what happens when you try to defy the created order of reality; it's stamping on a rake. You cannot trick God or manipulate spiritual realities by your actions or intentions.
Greek word used here for “mocked” (μυκτηρίζεται, myktērizetai) literally means "to turn up the nose at" or "to sneer at." It has nothing to do with a vengeful deity; it's about how attempting to live contrary to God’s design is ultimately pointless. You might sneer at God’s law, but you can’t change the natural and moral order that God has established. Trying to do so only damages the person trying it. God can't be hurt by anything we do.
So we are disappointed that God didn't rain down fire & brimstone when God was mocked? He who was reviled did not revile...1 Peter 2:23
Maybe one day we will learn the Way, the Truth and the Life (or is it light - I always get those mixed up) and I write "we", because we are all in this together, whether we like it or not.
He doesn’t rain down fire & brimstone when he’s mocked. He doesn’t help people who pray to him. He only does things that are indistinguishable from random chance. Either God is a huge fan of stochastics or he’s indiscernible from noise.
I think it’s healthy to step away and look at it objectively. The normal churched response is for the petitioner to blame themselves for praying “wrong” - it’s a pathway to religious OCD.
This. 100%
It might not necessarily be religious OCD, but it’s most definitely religious codependency.
Indeed. When the Samaritans would not allow Jesus and the Apostles to pass through their territory, James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy them (Luke 9:54). Jesus rebuked them and He and the Apostles went another way.
Do we imagine there to be some great virtue in this restraint? Will God truly be merciful to those of us whose faith was shattered on the sharp edged scandals of this pontificate, which seem to disprove everything we’ve ever been taught?
I’m so tired of the excuses we make for a God who never holds up his end of the bargain.
All I can say is, read the book of Revelation.