Book Comment: God is Not ... Religious, Nice, "One of Us," An American, A Capitalist

God is Not ... Religious, Nice, "One of Us," An American, A Capitalist, edited by D. Brent Laythem, is a very hard book to read, for several reasons. One is that it is written from a very academic seminary level veiwpoint. The other reason is that it directly challenges numerous modern Christian assumptions.


This is not some "pointy-headed liberal" attack on the Church. The authors take pains to point out that they are evangelical and trinitarian and that they do not subscribe to the moral relativism now infesting most of the world. The editor, Brent Laythem, says "... true boorishness is the 'unflinching tolerance' that cannot tolerate traditional Christian conviction."


You may disagree with some of the conclusions the writers draw in their articles. I do, but it is not forbidden for Christians to disagree among themselves. We are not even required to all like one another, but we are expected to all love one another and to love and obey the Lord.


Some of the insights discussed in this book are:
God is not religious. Religion can become a work of Man, with rules, rituals, and places which, in effect, distract our attention away from God.
God is not "one of us." Jesus is not just a holy man and an enlightened teacher. He is fully Human, but He is also fully Divine.
God is not nice. God is dangerous. He is a direct challenge to man's pride in his accomplishments. To call God nice is an attempt to tame and control Him.
God is not tolerant. Modern moral relativism insists that there are no absolutes. God presents Himself with no compromise.
God is not interested in being your therapist, in making you "feel better." God is not a coping mechanism. He seeks to restore you to a proper relationship with Himself.
God is not American. The angels rejoice when a new person enters the Kingdom whether that person is in Papua New Guinea, Egypt, Spain, or Florida.
God is not a capitalist. In his "render unto caesar" comment Jesus seems to say that He considered money to be unimportant. Remember that he laid aside his privileges as God to become what the world's culture would consider to be an absolute failure, executed by the government as a criminal.