The Top Things People Assume About God

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How well do you truly know God?

It’s no secret that author William P. Young’s novel, The Shack, changed the lives of millions after it was published in May of 2007. Young’s depiction of God as an African-American woman who whips up comfort in both food and conversation was shocking to some readers, yet beloved to many more. Young’s work broke many of the assumptions we hold about God, revealing Him as far more relatable than many readers, disillusioned with organized religion, thought possible.

The film adaptation, directed by Stuart Hazeldine and starring Sam Worthington as protagonist Mack Phillips, continues breaking these assumptions, covering everything from the problem of evil to the nature of God’s wrath.

Breaking apart these faulty assumptions is vital, not only for practicing Christians, but for anyone who has ever been hurt by these misconceptions. That is the strength of The Shack—in allowing viewers to have a closer look at God’s character, the film heals emotional wounds. Gone is the God who hates you. Gone is the God who isn’t truly in control. Gone is the distant, unrelatable God.

Instead, we are delivered the God whose actions—even anger—are all rooted in love.

So, in the tradition of The Shack, let’s take a look at the top things people assume about God.

“God doesn’t love me unless I'm perfectly religious.”

Oh, boy. This assumption is the parent of them all, and the source of so much pain.

Do you remember the story of the Pharisees? They were a group of religious teachers who strictly obeyed both the laws of the Old Testament and their own manmade religious traditions—it is the second part that is most important here.

So what was God’s response to the religion of the Pharisees? When Christ encountered these religious teachers, he condemned them. He called them out as show-offs who loved taking the best seats at important events. He rebuked them out for neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness in their doings. He judged them for murdering those they disagreed with. He was angered at them for keeping others from the kingdom of heaven through their rigid, unforgiving, and false teachings.

In this conflict from Matthew 23, we see the literal clash between religion and God. These men were “perfectly” religious, yet the Son of God had harsh words for them.

In contrast, look at how Christ treated those who were outside the religious circles of His day. He loved and served them. He saved a woman who was to be stoned by the Pharisees. He gathered them unto Himself and made them apostles, and had them live out beliefs that came directly from God rather than having them pass down manmade doctrine.

God loves everything He creates—He declared all of it “good,” after all. But what’s more, He loves you even when you make mistakes, and while He does expect you to observe His commands, He certainly doesn’t expect you to perfectly adhere to the doctrine of any manmade religion.

So take comfort in His everlasting love.

"God is an old, bearded man."

The idea that God doesn’t look like you can create a wall between you and Him. While the traditional, medieval image of God as an old, bearded man on a throne conveys a sense of His wisdom, it fails to capture the wholeness of God. It fails to show us just how much God actually looks like all of us.

Genesis tells us that Adam was made in the image of God. And Eve, the first woman, was split from Adam—they were made of the same “stuff”. So because both man and woman were made from the image of God, it’s safe to say that God isn’t confined to male or female— God is, in fact, compared to a nursing mother in Isaiah 49:15.

And because the people He made in His image come in all shapes and colors, He isn’t confined to race any more than he’s confined to gender.

When scripture refers to God as “male,” this is figurative language—a symbol—rather than a designation of gender. God is a spiritual being, and uses human terms to communicate truths about Himself. We understand the role of a father within the context of a family, and so, though that symbol, we can better understand the role of God amongst ourselves.

God does look like you—or, rather, we look like Him. No matter what race or gender we are, we are lovingly created in the image of God.

“God wants to hurt me when I sin.”

This assumption about God leads many to live in fear when they should be living in joy.

The Old Testament seems to show an incredibly wrathful God. And, indeed—God does feel and act on wrath, according to scripture.

But how can we feel loved if God is waiting to hurt us every time we make a very human mistake?

The key to breaking this misconception lies in the realizing the nature of God’s wrath. It’s not like human wrath, meant to hurt, and even taking pleasure in that harm. No—God’s wrath is love.

Let’s unpack this. Every time God acts in wrath, it isn’t to hurt mankind. It’s to guide us, to help us avoid disaster. God applies just as much pressure as necessary—and no more—to keep us on the path to everlasting joy. Just as a parent might punish a child to teach him or her to act in a safe manner, so does God punish His own children to keep them from harming themselves.

God doesn’t want to hurt you. He doesn’t take any joy in it, according to Ezekiel 18:23. He wants you to prosper, to live, and to be reunited with Him.

“God doesn’t care about me.”

Many people refer to this as “the problem of evil”—the seeming paradox of evil and suffering existing in a world controlled by an all-powerful, all-knowing God. To answer this, many people simply assume that God is the author of evil.

But this is a mistake.

God didn’t create evil. He didn’t create suffering. In fact, He feels for us when we suffer, hurting for us like a grieving parent. As we’ve seen in the previous slide, God takes no joy in human suffering. He only wants the best for us.

And so why does He allow evil to exist?

This question has a surprisingly simple answer. He doesn’t. Instead, He allows free will to exist.

Imagine what life would be like if God erased all evildoers. Jaywalkers would disappear. Those who tell small fibs would vanish.

Or imagine if God simply supernaturally changed people’s personalities. Would you want God to erase your desires or change who you are at the most fundamental level? No—you’d be more an automaton than a human being.

God cares about our suffering, but He also cares about our freedom—the story contained in the Bible shows the delicate balancing act God does as He rides the line between allowing us free will and moving us in directions that take us away from suffering.

God cares about your suffering more than you can imagine, and constantly works to guide and protect you, and all creation. And while that guidance and protection isn’t always as immediate and dramatic as we’d like it to be, it always results in our ultimate good.

“God can’t change my life.”

Many of us yearn for a supernatural experience with God that leaves us utterly changed. We want the “Saul to Paul” experience—a complete, life-changing encounter with the God who created us.

Instead, we sit in church, absentmindedly playing a game on our phones as preachers go on about the life-changing power of God, bored and despairing that God has yet to actually do that for us. We’re the same people that we were yesterday, last month, and last year.

We feel like God can’t actually change our lives. But we’re mistaken.

Yes—God can swoop down from the heavens and supernaturally change us. But that’s not how He usually works. Instead, God expects something of us, too, before we can change.

If you want proof of God’s life-changing power, study scripture—read it closely and intimately. This is where change lies. Learn about how Jesus lived while He was on this earth—this is the best example you can go by.

When you start to live that way, when your worldview changes to match that of Christ, everything changes. This doesn’t necessarily mean financial prosperity or miraculous healing—God can do these things, but they’re not guaranteed.

What God’s word does do, however, is show you how to live in a way that brings goodness and joy to the world—when you do that, you not only change yourself, but those around you.

“God is distant and cold.”

Every believer goes through periods when God feels distant. This is different from God not caring—we can feel and know that God takes care of us without feeling a close, loving, and personal relationship with Him. One look through the Psalms tells us that people have been feeling this way since antiquity. God can feel like a powerful monarch—benevolent, yes, but unreachable for the common man.

In reality, though, God is reachable. He is personal. And He isn’t just interested in the grand scheme of the cosmos—He takes a personal interest in each of us.

Psalm 139:1-2 reads, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.” And how true this is. Throughout scripture, we see God engaging with individuals in personal and intimate ways.

So the problem isn’t with God. It’s within ourselves—this isn’t always easy to hear. C.S. Lewis called our changing feelings about God “The Law of Undulation”. Our emotions are ever-changing, and while we don’t always feel close to God, He is always there.

If you’re feeling distant from God, don’t look for the grand signs of His presence. Juts talk to Him. Honor Him. Read about Him. The time you put in will close that distance, help calm turbulent emotions, and aid in the realization that God is right there next to you.

A Dinner with God

One of the most charming scenes in The Shack is when Mack sits down to a nice country dinner with the God of the universe. This scene brings a casual atmosphere to a cosmic situation, and helps us, with our limited human viewpoints, to see God just a little more clearly than we’re used to. It helps us to see what we should truly be like, as Christians.

This is important not only for believers, but for those outside Christianity as well—the film allows people to see that the God that billions around the world are trying to emulate isn’t a cold, angry, mean-spirited creature. Rather, He is a being of love, guidance, and goodness, and those who don’t embrace these attributes don’t accurately represent Christianity.

So don’t be afraid to drop those assumptions about God you might hold—doing so will bring healing not only to you, but to the world around you, as well.

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