Please stop speaking for God!

It's funny how Christians – and devout believers of many religions – proclaim that God is an indescribable mystery, beyond comprehension, ineffable and beyond human understanding, while in the same breath feel the need (as well as qualified) to tell you exactly what “God says,” thinks and wants – about you! This certitude is especially ironic within Christianity because whenever a particular doctrine is called into question, for example the Trinity, apologists will proceed to tell you to not take things so literally. They'll claim that if there is a God, He would be a contradiction wrapped up in an enigma. Well the doctrine of Trinity is certainly that.

I actually have no problem with saying that God must be so “other” that He/She/It may very well be best described with language that would look and sound like the doctrine of the Trinity. To me, it makes sense that any God who was really God (and not merely an alien intelligence pretending to be God like in Stargate SG-1) would be utterly confusing. 3 equals one, and one equals three. Makes sense? Of course it doesn't make sense. But if God exists, it makes sense that God wouldn't make sense. Got it? Well, I kind of do.

What I don't get is how Christians can go from the “God is a mystery and beyond human understanding” to the very explicit proclamations directed at other people -- usually in judgment against them -- all in the name of God.

How many Christians rail against other Christians? You're not a Trinitarian? Whoops! Well, guess where you're headed? You don't “believe” in the infallibility of the Pope of Rome? Uh uh – you better pack some dry ice in a very large cooler. You believe that Christianity isn't perfect (based on multitudes of evidence) well, God says otherwise. Exactly how do these people know the mind of an “ineffable” God? Oh yes, they have God's personal cell phone number! I'm sorry. I only have the 800 number which everyone else on earth has access to. Somehow though, a select few have some secret knowledge which qualifies them to speak not only their opinions, but exactly what God thinks. But don't forget, God is a mystery!

Yes, I'm aware that we have the Bible. But as anyone who has their brain switched to the on position will tell you, the Bible isn't quite as conclusive as many Christians would have us believe. Does God think it's okay to stone disobedient children (Deuteronomy 21:18-19) or not? How about the prohibition against allowing “witches” and those who practice sorcery to live (Deuteronomy 22:18)? Does God still think we should be killing Harry Potter and Gandalf?

Yes, I'm aware of all of the “arguments” used to defend this verse. One of these defenses tries to say that sorcery in the ancient world was “really” the practice of mixing dangerous potions (which were essentially drugs). In the modern context it might be a prohibition against Meth labs. A good prohibition if not for the KILLING part. Another defense – probably more accurate – is that in the ancient world “witches” were believed to have powers to mix potions which would actually curse people. Yeah. We surely can't have that. Oh wait – that's right, we don't have it because there are no such things as magical curses! Did God not know that there are no such thing as magical curses? Of course GOD knew, but the men who wrote the Bible didn't. Admitting this doesn't mean the Bible is worthless. nor does it mean we should stop drawing inferences from the Bible. Logical inferences are a necessity of life, the key word being logical.

I don't want Christians to stop searching for truth, the Bible history, or being Christians. Christians do need to stop "speaking for God" though. Christians should stop telling others that God hates them (like the Westboro Baptists nuts do at military funerals), and they should stop using the Bible to defend their own personal prejudices, like many do with homosexuality. Christians should be able to voice their opinions -- this is a free country, and I believe God doesn't want us to suppress out minds. However when Christians begin speaking in absolutes red flags go up. And the truth is, that even if Pat Robertson, John Hagee or Harold Camping really did know exactly what God thinks, the rest of us have no access to the same information which they do. The best the rest of us less enlightened people could ever do would be to take what these men of certitude have to say on "faith." Well forgive me, but I will not have "faith" in other men, the Bible, or even the Church. I have faith in God -- and if that's not enough, then so be it!