8 Misconceptions About God That Are Holding You Back

Christianity is the largest religion on the planet in terms of believers. It’s also one of the most misunderstood—even by its own adherents.

The truth is that Christianity has changed a lot since Jesus walked the earth, and not all of that change has been positive. Between people and God have come obscuring layers of tradition, misinformation, ignorance, and wishful thinking, making it difficult for anyone—believers and non-believers alike—to find out who God is anymore.

This is a huge problem. Christianity purports to teach believers how to live a moral life, and how to go about making our world the best place it can be. When we misunderstand the character of God, both missions can become seriously warped.

And with Christianity having 2.2 billion adherents, this warped view stands to do some serious damage—when you don’t truly know what scripture says about God, you can justify just about anyting in the name of Christianity.

That’s a scary thought.

But there’s an answer to this: a close, educated, and careful reading of scripture will begin to reveal what has been obscured. Reading each verse with the context in mind—who is speaking, who is being spoken to, and what historical environment they’re in—will go a long way toward helping you find the truth of God’s character.

Let’s take that approach 8 common misconceptions about God that are holding you back from being the best Christian you can be.

“I can’t believe in both science and God.”

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The belief that rational thought and religion don’t belong in the same room is one of the great errors of our time, and is a misconception that’s probably holding you back in more ways than one.

Consider this. God created all the universe, placed the stars and planets in their orbits, and laid down the physical laws which make it all go round. These laws of nature are constant, observable, and usable by us humans.

God make things this way for a purpose.

Remember Genesis 1:28? It features God telling the first humans to “fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God invites us to not only be on the earth, but to “subdue” and “rule” it. And you can’t subdue and rule what you don’t know.

That’s where science comes in. The goal of the scientist isn’t to disprove God, but to reveal natural truth—to reveal the way our universe works so that we can explore it and take advantage of its properties.

Because all truth belongs to God, the findings of science are not a threat to Christianity, but an ally—science simply reveals more and more of God’s creation.

You don’t have to leave the exciting world of science behind just because you choose to believe in God.

“God is like us.”

We like to anthropomorphize God, ascribing human behavior, feelings, and thoughts to Him, but this is a grave mistake that can keep you from fully knowing God.

The truth is that although we are made in God’s image, God is not like us. He does not think like us, feel like us, or behave like us. This is because God is transcendent, immanent, omnipotent, and all-powerful.

To be transcendent is to exist apart from the limitations of reality—God is beyond space and time. To be immanent is to be within all things, pervading and sustaining the universe. To be omnipotent is to be aware of all things. To be all-powerful is to be able to act in any way.

Still sound human to you?

God is perfectly loving, perfectly just, and perfectly good in ways we cannot understand in this life—His motivations are not human motivations, and so it’s not helpful to understand Him in this way. To do so diminishes God in our minds, and may move us to question His edicts in the same way we might question the edits of a human leader.

Realize just how different God really is, though, and you’ll find faith far easier to come by.

“God wants to ruin my fun.”

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How many of us have been out at a party, enjoying the embrace of a loved one, or just relaxing during some free time, only to feel a pang of divine guilt. We’re having fun, and so we must be doing something wrong, right?

Not so fast. The idea that God is anti-fun holds many Christians back from full, satisfying lives.

It’s true that God gives us guidelines on how to live, but when we examine the motivation behind these rules, we can see that they’re not in place to curb our enjoyment, but to keep us happy and safe.

Take sexual sin, for example. Christ taught that adultery is a sin, and it’s no wonder that he did—simply look at the consequences. Broken hearts. Depression. Health and financial trouble. Troubled children. The list goes on.

God created us and is all-knowing, and so He knows what behaviors are good and bad for us in the long run. Scripture helps us to home in on behaviors which are good for us, and avoid those which are bad.

Otherwise, God wants us to enjoy life! The writer of Ecclesiastes 2:24 proclaims that “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.”

Don’t pass up on the fun parts of life for the sake of your faith. It’s because of God that such enjoyment is possible.

“God will solve all of my problems.”

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There’s one Christian ministry that has done more damage to the Church than any external enemy has ever managed to do.

Prosperity theology.

This bending of the Christian faith revolves around the idea that God is like a vending machine. Drop in your tithe, and out pops a brand-name blessing in the form of a new car, a miraculous healing, or even a win for your favorite football team.

Thinking that God will solve all of your problems is the fast-track to losing your faith when none of those problems are solved.

The truth is this: God gives us no promise of happiness, health, or financial security in this life. Our treasures, rather, lie in heaven, as Christ proclaimed in His famous Sermon on the Mount.

Scripture, in fact, promises that difficulty will come to us in this life—it promises this from the very beginning, in Genesis.

God does promise healing, rewards for the faithful, and perfect happiness, but only after He remakes heaven and earth without the curse of sin.

For now, keep your eyes on this end goal, and follow God’s commands to love Him and your neighbor. You may not be made rich, but you’ll live an absolutely fulfilling life that will end in the ultimate blessing.

“God is male.”

This is a contentious topic, no doubt, but an important one. God is referred to using male pronouns throughout scripture, but just as we should avoid ascribing overly human motivations to an infinite being, we should avoid ascribing gender norms, as well.

In Genesis, God created humankind, both male and female. Both were made in His image.

Think about that. Women were made in the image of God just as much as men are. God has the qualities of both.

For example, in Matthew 23:37, Christ laments that he wishes to gather His people “like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.” In Hosea 13:8, God is compared to a protective mother bear, and in Isaiah 66:12, He is compared to a mother comforting her child.

In God, we don’t just have a stern and watchful father to guide us, but a warm and protective mother, as well. If this seems sacrilegious, remember that God is a spirit—He doesn’t have a physical body or a gender, and so this isn’t to say that God is literally a man and a woman as we know these terms. God simply has the attributes of both.

In this, God is able to be everything we need, and so don’t be afraid to ask for the love and comfort you’d expect from a mother. God is fully able to give these things.

“I know exactly what God wants.”

Of all the misconceptions about God, this may very well be the most harmful. A sense of pathological certainty regarding His Will can give us license to do whatever we want in His name—no matter how selfish or hurtful.

This often stems from a misconception we’ve already discussed—mistakenly assigning human motivations and behavior to God. But this problem can also take root in those who don’t carefully read scripture, and who simply see what they wish to see within God’s Word, closing their minds to other points of view.

Too often, those suffering from this error use scripture to justify sinful actions, such as treating others badly or hoarding power. At the very least, it results in a Christian who doesn’t truly understand God’s direction for their life.

Absolute certainty stops the process of learning about God. We should always be open to changing our point of view upon gaining a greater understanding of scripture, and subsequently, of who God truly is. This means seeking out spiritual mentors, studying scripture closely, and being willing to entertain new ideas.

Stay teachable, and God will speak to you.

“God supports my political party.”

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It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking God backs one political party or another, but this type of thinking is in error. God is not a Republican. God is not a Democrat. God is God.

Each of our human political parties is deeply flawed, and neither can live up to God’s standards. Blind loyalty to one party or another, because you believe that God backs that party, will result in blind devotion to that party’s leaders.

But instead of thinking in terms of party loyalty when it comes to electing candidates, why not think in terms of loyalty to God? Closely examine the worldview of each candidate, and vote according to which most closely aligns with the goodness of God.

Remember—the two most important of God’s commands are to love Him, and to love one another. All too often, we forget that second command in favor of the first when we vote.

Don’t let that happen. God supports no political parties—He supports righteousness and love. Vote accordingly.

“There’s no way God exists in a world full of suffering.”

There’s no doubt that it’s difficult to reconcile the existence of a loving, all-powerful God with the reality of suffering and evil. Why wouldn’t God stop the Holocaust? Why doesn’t He heal children who have cancer? Why do natural disasters kill innocent people?

If God was really all-powerful and loving, wouldn’t He stop these things from happening?

This is the question that eats at the heart of many Christians, holding them back from a close relationship with God. Fortunately, there’s an answer to be had, and it lies in two words.

Free will.

God didn’t allow the temptation of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden just so that the first humans could bring about the fall of creation. In the tree, He gave them a gift: choice.

Adam and Eve were free to choose God’s rule or their own. And despite the consequences, they chose their own rule.

God gives every creation that same free will—we can choose to live by His commands, which are meant to make the world as lovely and livable as possible. Or we can choose to live selfishly.

Consider this. Imagine a world where God stopped all sin. The moment you think about taking your sibling’s pencil, the thought disappears. Someone tries to jaywalk, only to be stopped by an invisible wall. A married man finds his eyes on another woman, and simply disappears.

Further, imagine that God changes your very mind in this world, forcing you to love and adore Him.

You wouldn’t be very free, would you? You’d be a slave.

God doesn’t make slaves, and so because we have free will and live in a fallen world as a result of our choices, bad things happen. God still loves us, and because of that love, He doesn’t try to control us.