What God May Really Be Like – Misbeliefs About God

Reimagining God – Part 3

Reimagining God  – Part 1

Reimagining God – Part 2

In Part 2 of this series, I discuss beliefs I have landed on about God for now about hell, women, gays, and supposed divine approved violence in the Bible. I will finish this series below with other beliefs about God that I am convinced of. It’s okay to disagree. Embracing uncertainty about God can be healthy. Uncertainty fosters compassion and openness. Faith becomes a free, meaningful choice rather than dogmatic obligation. I am convinced God is not defined by rigid doctrines or literalist readings of Scripture but by perfect love, moral goodness, and the universal human intuition of what it means to love well. My writings encourage humility, moral reasoning, and rejects harmful portrayals of God in favor of a love-centered understanding.

• God is not a Bible worshipper. First, we can’t prove the biblical writers always understood God perfectly unless you take their word for it. Secondly, literature requires interpretation so no one can claim their interpretation is the right one. We can’t ask the writers what they meant. Thirdly, the Bible isn’t likely God’s main communication, because the majority born into this world never had a copy or knew of Jesus. See:

Should We Assume The Bible Isn’t inspired by God? All Rants Against The Bible

• God is not a religion excluder. A loving God wouldn’t only let Christians into heaven when the majority of people born into this world died without knowledge of Jesus the Christ. One’s religion, or rebellion against a certain religion, is often based on the family born into whether it is Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. Is God a God of chance? God only wants us to know of their desire to empower and encourage all in doing good and shunning evil. See:

Which Religion Goes To Heaven?

• God is not a mysterious, hidden Deity. A relational God’s seeks to be understood. Maybe a visible God isn’t all it is cracked up to be. God dropped manna from the sky and separated the Red Sea to escape the enemy, but how did that work out? A universal belief in and hatred for evil versus good suggests God has revealed themselves. God’s overpowering presence in our lives may only lead to consuming guilt or brief obligations to obey. God’s lack of interference may allow us to make heart-felt, lasting choices. See:

If God Is Real, Why Then Is God So Hidden?

• God is not a moral hypocrite humanly-speaking. Even atheists believe One claiming to be God must be perfect. We must question biblical writers’ understanding of God if interpretations are contrary to people’s ideas of a perfect, loving God. When the Bible challenges us to be perfect like God (Mt. 5:48), the assumption is we can know what perfection is. Godly and human perfect love must be one and the same

• God is not a controller of evil and suffering. The magnitude of evil in the world is a main reason people indicate they don’t believe in God. It seems God creating freedom necessitates one being able to do as much harm as they can do good. Authenticity, the highest good in relationships, is impossible without freedom. Not even God can force true love. It can be misleading when we say God “allows” evil, as if God stands by when God could stop evil. God can’t control or violate freedom and love perfectly. God can only stop evil with the help of others or not create freedom.

Evil, Suffering, And God

• God is not a prayer genie. Praying doesn’t make God more caring. God is already doing all they can in a free world. Pretending God can simply heal without accounting for freedom only leads to doubts such as did I not pray or beg enough? Prayer isn’t about manipulating for gain but pursuing a relationship with our Creator for self-examination, sharing concerns, and not feeling alone in a chaotic world. God is not a Genie in a bottle who can singlehandedly all by themselves make things instantly happen without our help to change the world for good. Again, prayer is relational communication with God—an interaction in which we bring our desires, concerns, questions, and needs before God. Prayer is not a magical mechanism for getting whatever we ask for.

Why Pray If Most Prayers Are Unanswered?

• God is not a ‘hidden agenda” friend. It is wrong to engage in friendships for the purpose of manipulating them to your beliefs. God’s agenda couldn’t be wanting to save people from Hell, since the traditional meaning of Hell doesn’t exist in the Bible. Friends aren’t evangelistic projects. Jesus’ agenda was to simply love people in the moment. Jesus wanted others to know God loves them and seeks to help them be who they want to be deep down if desiring such help.

• God is not an angry egomaniac. God doesn’t want to be feared as if that leads to inspiring relationships. If God was so worried about their ego, God would not have given us freedom to contradict their wishes. God’s unforced desire for glory is no different than a loving parent’s desire for respect. They only want what we deep down desire – loving others like we want to be loved.

• God is not a blood-thirsty Jesus killer. Demanding the blood of an innocent party doesn’t legally resolve another person’s guilt. My going to jail for a friend’s wrongdoing doesn’t somehow clear my friend of their crime. God didn’t violate Judas’ freedom by requiring he betray Jesus. We killed Jesus. Jesus accepting death than powering over others may be the reason billions have been influenced to live unselfishly.

Jesus Didn’t Die On Cross As Payment for your Sins?

• God is not a future fortune teller. Most probably don’t think much about whether God knows the future or not. The truth is not even an all-powerful God can do the impossible such as change the past, force true love, or know an undetermined future until it happens. God isn’t failing to communicate a “known future” so we can avoid bad relationships or decisions. God suffers with us rather than simply gaze into a future crystal ball. God created freedom and seeks to partner with us to make for a better world.

What Does God Know About The Future?

• God is not an end-of-the-world doomsayer. God isn’t going to destroy the world in the supposed battle of Armageddon. One might ask if the Bible teaches God is going to destroy the world in the future, why did Jesus tell his audience that supposed predictions about the world ending would happen in their lifetime (Mt. 24:34). Jesus seemed to not be speaking of a sky-opening, physical rapture, or Jesus wouldn’t have warned of the signs to not miss His coming (Mt. 24:3-4). In the first century the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed and millions of lives were lost. Biblical Judaism ceased to exist. This could have been the end of the age that Jesus warned of.

Huckabee, Israel, U.S> – End Times!

Reimagining God – Part 2

See  Reimagining God  – Part 1

I begin to reimagine God in my early twenties. What I was being taught in church about God didn’t align with my understanding of a perfectly loving, morally good God. The only kind of God I thought was worth believing in.

What did I know about love? I had parents and other relationships. I couldn’t imagine that God’s love wasn’t the same of what I understood about perfect human love or how I wished others love me. It doesn’t make sense why a Creator wouldn’t love the same way we humans believed were created by a Creator to love (aka goodness vs. evil).  I decided in my journey to reject harmful portrayals of God that conflict with universal human understandings of love and goodness. I came to believe that God is not defined by rigid doctrines or literalist readings of Scripture. See some of my core beliefs below as you imagine what you think God is really like.

God is not the source of harmful doctrines that turn people away from God

I reject portrayals of God that justify:

• eternal torture in hell – 12 Reasons To Believe Hell Is A Myth!
• condemnation of gays – -God Loves Gays | What God May Really Be Like – Misbeliefs About God
• subordination of women – What Does God Think About Women?
• divinely sanctioned violence comes from human biblical interpretation – not God’s true character – Doesn’t An Inspired Bible Lead To Violence And Other Evils?

Uncertainty about God is healthy

Humility is essential. Claiming certainty about God leads to judgment, exclusion, and harm. The truth is we can’t prove God exists.

• Uncertainty fosters compassion and openness.
• Faith becomes a free, meaningful choice rather than dogmatic obligation.

Biggest Sin – Certainty

God’s nature is best understood through love

I return to one central idea:

If God exists, God’s character must align with the highest form of human love. This love is nurturing, relational, and never coercive.

God is not defined by rigid doctrines or literalist readings of Scripture but by perfect love, moral goodness, and the universal human intuition of what it means to love well. My work encourages humility, moral reasoning, and rejects harmful portrayals of God in favor of a love-centered understanding.

Click on FOLLOW button on this page to enter email address to be notified of future Posts. No other unrelated emails will be sent. Go to About/Using This Site tab at top of page or Menu on phones to help navigate this Site. I also blog at http://donewithreligion.com If you wish to discuss anything I have written, you can email me at medwar2@gmail.com  

Reimagining God – Part 1

I begin to reimagine God in my early twenties. What I was being taught in church about God didn’t align with my understanding of a perfectly loving, morally good God. The only kind of God I thought was worth believing in. What did I know about love? I had parents and other relationships. I couldn’t imagine that God’s love wasn’t the same of what I understood about perfect human love. It doesn’t make sense why a Creator wouldn’t love the same way we humans believe were seemingly created by a Creator to love (aka goodness vs. evil).  I decided in my journey to reject harmful portrayals of God that conflict with universal human understandings of love and goodness. I came to believe that God is not defined by rigid doctrines or literalist readings of Scripture. See some of my core beliefs below as you imagine what you think God is really like.

1. God must be perfectly loving

The only God worth believing in is perfectly loving and moral. We can understand God’s love by comparing it to the best of human love—especially parental love. 

• God’s love is patient, hopeful, and other‑directed
• A loving Creator would not act in ways universally recognized as immoral (e.g., cruelty, favoritism, violence)

How Can We Know What God Is Really Like?

2. Moral intuition is a primary guide

If a religious teaching contradicts universal moral intuition, it should be questioned.

• Our innate sense of good and evil is not inferior to ancient texts.
• Moral intuition helps us discern God’s character more reliably than rigid interpretations of Scripture.

How Can We Know God If The Bible Isn’t Inspired? Trust Your Moral Intuitions!

What Does God Think About Moral Intuitions Versus Biblical Truths?

3. Scripture requires interpretation and is not always definitive

There are contradictions, moral challenge, and different interpretations in the Bible, No one can claim perfect interpretation. Christians interpret differently passages about hell, women, and LGBTQ+ . Therefore, dogmatic certainty about God’s nature based solely on Scripture is unwarranted.

https://what-god-may-really-be-like.com/2025/04/06/should-we-assume-the-bible-isnt-inspired-by-god-and-does-it-matter-all-rants-against-the-bible-here/ – This is the main document that has all my rants on the Bible

God is not defined by rigid doctrines or literalist readings of Scripture but by perfect love, moral goodness, and the universal human intuition of what it means to love well. My work encourages humility, moral reasoning, and rejects harmful portrayals of God in favor of a love-centered understanding.

Click on FOLLOW button on this page to enter email address to be notified of future Posts. No other unrelated emails will be sent. Go to About/Using This Site tab at top of page or Menu on phones to help navigate this Site. I also blog at http://donewithreligion.com If you wish to discuss anything I have written, you can email me at medwar2@gmail.com  

Huckabee, Israel, and The U.S! – End Times

The nice thing about being a writer is you can share/write down thoughts that are wandering around in your head. I was annoyed by a letter written defending Mike Huckabee, who is U.S Ambassador to Israel. Many get their views of God according to Christian leaders. Huckabee said in an interview “America must recognize and stand with Israel’s God-given claim to the land promised in Scripture. Many claims are made in the letter that I question.

Who is Huckabee an ambassador for?

What nation does Huckabee represent? Huckabee must defend U.S. and not be conflicted with bowing to other nations according to his religious beliefs. Nations should have relationships with any nation that is in their interest. There is a good reason to defend a relationship with Israel for important military and intelligence reasons. Those who oppose giving Israel support should consider for America’s own protection.

But one best defend their family first, so to be strong to help others.  I do not think it is wrong to feed my family first as opposed to millions of starving children. A strong family or nation is often in a better position to help others because of their good fortunes and strength. If I raised three strong, consciousness children – my hope is they will have the same passion I do to share and be kind to others.

The letter says Jesus Christ is to return.

Jesus’ return has been predicted dozens of times from 500 AD to now. No one has successfully predicted the date of Jesus’ return. Jesus explicitly warned against trying to determine the date: “About that day or hour no one knows.” — Matthew 24:36. One of the most recent famous predictions that failed to happen was by Hal Lindsay in1988.

Promise #1 in the Letter – Prophecy

Prophecy is likely the proclamation of the Good News – Not fortune telling or predicting the end of the world. See here. God can’t know the future. See here. The future depends on choices made by people and nations. It is natural to think an all-knowing, powerful God knows future outcomes but if the future is settled, we humans are not truly free to make decisions. Such decisions have already been decided. To say God knows the future makes freedom nonsensical.

There is much talk of biblical prophecies coming to pass because of what is going on between Israel and Hamas. Is God coming again (rapture/tribulation/Armageddon) to destroy this world as we know it and set up God’s reign? There is some biblical evidence that the end times mentioned refer to what happened in the first century, thus having been fulfilled:

• If the Bible teaches God is coming again to destroy the world in the future, why did Jesus tell his audience that supposed predictions about the world ending (maybe not a physical ending) would happen in their lifetime: “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass way until all these things have happened” (Mt. 24:34)?” Jesus said to his audience when asked about the last days: “watch out that no one deceives you…. you will hear of wars and rumors of war (Mt. 24:4-6). Why would Jesus use such language if the world was going to end 2000 years and counting?

Promise 2 The Letter States “a blessing like you never received before”

Often quoted is Gen 12:3. God will bless them (Nations) that bless thee (Israel). Sounds like the “get rich’ GOSPEL. God is not arbitrary in blessings. Some nations are not in any position to bless other nations. Blessings flow when accepting God’s influence. God seeks to influence us to do all the good we can, in all the places we can, at all the times we can, to all the people we can, as long as we can. Good things or blessings often happen when following God’s example.  Imagine all the friendships not destroyed by following God’s lead in not coveting, gossiping, being slow to anger, etc.  God’s blessings can flow to any nation, including the United States, when leaders and individuals allow God’s influence in their lives to help others. Above qualities seem to be characteristic of the freedom of choices God has bestowed upon us.

Finally, the letter states “What greater blessing to give a Jewish soul that the gift of the Messiah reveled in His Word.

All the disciples who lived with Jesus didn’t believe he was the Messiah at first and they witnessed Jesus’ miracles. I will cut slack those who don’t believe or interpret the Bible that Jews or anybody must believe Jesus was the Messiah. The main gospel message is blessings can flow when following Jesus’ example of love. Christians often assume the main gospel message is one must believe in Jesus is the Messiah to get in Heaven. There is an alternative view what Jesus said about eternal life that is not often taught. Jesus defined eternal life as beginning in the here and now (Jn 17:3), not what awaited in the afterlife. Jesus was asked by a religious leader how to have eternal life. (Lk.10:25-37). Jesus simply said to love God and your neighbor. Loving God is also known as loving your neighbor. Jesus answered as if “Eternal” appears to be on the quality not quantity in life. Jesus often spoke of a life worth living being a loving life empowered by God. Jesus’ salvation was about living a meaningful life here on earth with God’s help. 

If you believe loving others like you want to be love is central in living, you are good with God. That is God’s and the Bible main message. None of us act on this belief perfectly. I have suggested many get in heaven regardless of their believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism share common ground and thus in good standing with God —the Golden rule.  See; Who The Hell Gets In Heaven – Atheists, Agnostics, Non-Christians

Search words in blog   what-god-may-really-be-like.com/     Zionism, bless, Bible, prophecy, future

 Of course, a donation is asked for in the letter!

Click on FOLLOW button on this page to enter email address to be notified of future Posts. No other unrelated emails will be sent. Go to About/Using This Site tab at top of page or Menu on phones to help navigate this Site. I also blog at http://donewithreligion.com If you wish to discuss anything I have written, you can email me at medwar2@gmail.com  

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