How Should We Respond When Someone Says, “I Don’t Like the Way God Is”?

It is important to me to understand where people are coming from, especially when we disagree. I am always interested in listening to people who disagree with me so I can better understand their thought process and how they came to their conclusions. When speaking with non-Christians, I have heard a number of objections and arguments as to why Christianity is not a reasonable belief system. One point brought up again and again by non-believers is that they do not like the God described by the Bible. I have heard people say that the God of the Bible is distant, judgmental, angry, evil, etc. As a result, they want no part of him. I am surprised by how often I have heard someone say, “Even if I could be convinced that the God of the Bible was real I still wouldn’t become a Christian because the God of the Bible is evil.”

It seems matters of religion are one of the few areas in which people consider their own personal feelings on a topic to be tantamount to evidence. In spiritual discussions, people may consider a line of evidence but, before reaching a conclusion, will ask themselves how they feel about the conclusion itself. If the evidence points to the God of the Bible as being real, but I don’t want there to be a God like the one in the Bible, is it reasonable to simply choose not to believe?

I don’t necessarily see this type of reasoning in other areas of life. For example, if a doctor or researcher is investigating a certain disease and attempting to come up with a vaccine or cure, they will typically design a set of experiments and ultimately test different treatments. It is my hope that the researchers involved would follow the evidence gleaned from their tests in order to come up with the most likely treatment to cure the disease. Can you imagine, however, if a doctor were to consider their own feelings on the results before coming to a conclusion? What if the most effective treatment was unappealing to the researcher? If the treatment were invasive or uncomfortable to the patient, could the researcher simply state they didn’t like the way the way the research was going and choose to ignore the best treatment due to personal preference? Of course not, we expect the researcher to come to the most reasonable conclusion even if it is not the conclusion they wanted to find.

I have sympathy for people who struggle with the way God is. There are many times when I am personally frustrated with God. I do not always like the things he expects of me, I don’t like the things I have to do or go through, I am not always content when I see injustice in the world around me that I believe he could fix. But this is the nature of truth: If the God of the Bible truly exists, then he exists regardless of our feelings about him. Our opinion will not change the reality of who God is.

As difficult as it may be, if we want to find the truth then we have to put our own personal feelings aside. Our feelings are not a piece of evidence we can use to find the truth. Instead, we must allow ourselves to come to the most reasonable conclusion based on the evidence, regardless of how we feel about it. Once we have reached a conclusion, then we can assess our feelings on the subject and decide our best course of action.

If the God of the Bible truly exists, He loves you, wants a relationship with you, and wants to be reunited with you, as described in the Scripture. – Jimmy Wallace
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If the God of the Bible truly exists, He loves you, wants a relationship with you, and wants to be reunited with you, as described in the Scripture. It would be a shame if our own personal preferences prevented us from seeing this beautiful reality.

Detective Jimmy Wallace (J. Warner’s son) is a Police Investigator in Los Angeles County, a Christian Case Maker, host of the Incarnate Investigation Podcast and Incarnate Investigation Video Series (featured at ColdCaseChristianity.com).