God as judge

• In some religions, God is seen as a judge.
• This is particularly prevalent in western religion.
• According to this metaphor, we are all judged when we die and punished if we are found wanting.
• God, the judge, is a God of unremitting justice; justice that is believed to be divine and fair; justice that is said to be an extension of God’s goodness and love.
• God as judge is a God to fear, especially the fear of judgement day.
• There are many ways in which God will judge us.
• In Christianity, God as judge is often contrasted with Jesus as saviour sent to atone for our wrong-doing.
• When we see God as judge, we see the world as a courtroom and trial and we see ourselves as defendants.
• There can be the sense that God the judge watches us relentlessly.

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God as law-giver

• God is the author of moral law, as well as laws of life, nature and the universe
• The very purpose of life is to be moral and do right; to live in obedience to God’s moral law and to measure up to God’s requirement.
• God and God’s law is our moral compass and the path to God is through moral effort.
• God’s law is said to be a sign of God’s love for it is inherently good and brings about good.
• God’s first law is to love.
• God’s laws are seen as immortal, eternal, universal and immutable.
• God’s law comes before the laws of man.
• God’s law is seen as essential and is necessary to dictate the laws of man.
• God’s law is wrapped up in the ten commandments.
• God and God’s law is seen as the foundation of all true authority.

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Obedience to God

• We are commanded to obey the law of God.
• Obedience to God is seen as a sign of our love for God.
• To love God brings about obedience.
• Obedience is a natural result of knowing God loves us.
• To be obedient is to trust God.
• We are rewarded for obedience in this world and the next.
• Obedience to God brings strength and divine power.
• Obedience brings intimate knowledge of God.
• The greatest test is to see if we can obey God when things become difficult.
• We should obey God at any cost and we should obey fully.
• We should obey God without question.
• When we are not obedient, we pay the price.
• We should leave the consequences of our obedience to God.

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God as punisher

• To break God’s law is what sin is and is the cause of evil in the world.
• According to some traditional religions, God hates sin and punishes it including the ultimate punishment: eternal torment after death.
• Divine discipline is also seen as a way for God to teach us.

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God, the judge, as merciful and forgiving

• Many believe that God’s justice is tempered by mercy.
• God, as judge, is inherently merciful.
• God’s mercy is an extension of God’s love and an extension of God’s grace.
• God’s mercy is seen as immense.
• God’s mercy is greater than God’s judgement.
• A direct extension of God’s mercy is God’s readiness to forgive.
• We earn God’s forgiveness by genuinely repenting of wrong-doing and making amends.
• Through repentance and forgiveness, God heals shame and heals guilt.

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In favour of the metaphor of God as judge

• God, the judge, is believed to be needed to preserve order.
• Without God the judge, some argue the world would be chaotic and wicked.
• Some argue the wrath of God is reasonable and simply an extension of God’s justice, tempered and balanced by God’s love and God’s mercy.
• With God as judge, we know the wicked will pay for their transgression eventually.
• The argument is we get to choose virtue or sin, and therefore get what we deserve.
• The fear of God keeps us on the straight and narrow.
• Before we judge another, we should remember God’s forgiveness.
• We should leave all judging and justice to God.
• We should not judge God.
• Inspired by God’s forgiving nature, we should forgive everyone including ourselves.

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The shortcomings of the metaphor of God as judge

• There are many who really struggle with the image of God as a judge.
• They particularly struggle with the idea of a God who punishes, arguing that it points to a God that is judgemental, punitive and vengeful and full of unhealthy wrath.
• There is an argument that it is cruel to create fallible human beings and then punish them, especially with eternal torment.
• Surely, they ask, the very idea of hell as punishment by a loving God is abhorrent?
• Why is God so abhorrent of sin when sin is simply unconscious behaviour by fallible creatures, born of ignorance?
• There can be no doubt that this metaphor creates a great deal of fear, especially of death.
• If God does indeed love us, then it would seem God’s love is conditional; love that is dependent on our strict obedience or abject repentance.
• A God of both love and wrath creates a kind of two-faced God.
• Some argue morality is a human creation and we should be moral, not out of fear of divine retribution, but because it is right and good to be so.
• Some argue the image of God as law-maker creates a sense of laws and morals as being absolute, not allowing them to evolve as society becomes more enlightened.
• If God is omnipotent and abhors sin so much, why did he create a universe where evil and sin is possible in the first place?
• God’s gift to us of free will is used as a common excuse to explain away the existence of sin yet, some argue, free will is not compatible with the idea of an omniscient God who knows the future before it happens, creating the disturbing notion that sin and punishment is preordained.
• Controversially, some ask how a loving, omnipotent God could reside over a universe where the torture of God’s innocent son would be necessary due essentially to an “anger management problem” and an unhealthy obsession with sin with a wrath so intense it could only be appeased by the spilling of innocent blood.
• Some argue the image of God as judge is a thinly veiled attempt of the church to control us and that the ten commandments, if they indeed did come from God, was a colossal wasted opportunity.
• It could be argued that the image of God as a punitive judge is a clear projection of the human ego; a projection of our anger, fear and guilt.
• The image of God as punitive judge creates a sense of separation from God, making the human ego even stronger.
• This can also lead to a sense of separation from each other including a sense of obligation to recognise and correct sin in others in order that we can feel righteous and superior.
• At the end of the day, we become compulsive God pleasers, hungry for approval and fearful of judgement.
• The metaphor of God as judge creates the sense that the purpose of existence evolves solely around humans and not other living creatures.
• One could also argue that obedience to God as the main purpose of human existence doesn’t make for a very inspiring spiritual narrative and one that runs the risk of becoming world negating.
• The truth is our metaphors for God really matter as ultimately, we ourselves become like the image of God we project.
• As a result, there is a tendency for many who believe in God as a punitive judge to become judgemental, cruel and punitive themselves, especially due to our tendency to project our guilt onto others as blame.
• The image of God as judge has been shown to negatively affect our psychological well-being.
• There is also a risk that belief in God as punitive judge makes us unhealthily obsessed with wrong-doing (sin) and the belief we are inherently “sinful” when we would be far better off focusing on virtue instead and expanding our awareness (connection to God) and getting in touch with our divine nature (God within us).
• There is a strong case to be made that sin is simply that which weakens us (i.e. that which lowers our level of consciousness) and that this unconscious behaviour arises from ignorance.
• Virtue, on the other hand, strengthens us.
• The truth is we are “punished” by unconscious behaviour (“sin”), not for it.
• Many argue we need more enlightened views of God than God as punitive judge and that dropping this metaphor will benefit the way we relate to God and each other
• Of course, some will no doubt strongly disagree.
• Many hold onto the idea of a wrathful and punitive God with an apparent sense of righteous glee preferring to focus more on God’s “righteousness” (abhorrence of sin) than God’s love, mercy and forgiveness.
• There are strong arguments to be had that God is not punitive or judgemental at all.
• We need metaphors for God that bring peace to ourselves and the world, not judgement and fear.
• We need to focus on a God of goodness and unconditional love – not a God of judgement and wrath.
• God is about healing and restoring, not punishing.