7 Common False Images of God

1. Policeman God

• He watches everything you do to make sure you don’t get out of line; if you do, you will be punished or imprisoned in hell forever.

2. The Accountant God

• The man with the big book. He keeps track of the good and bad things you do. In the end he totals the two columns. If the good column is greater than the bad total, then you will go to heaven.

3. The Santa Claus God

• Also known as the “gimme-god.” With this God we make a list of things we want and give it to him. Then we expect him to cure all our ills and make everything right.

4. The Aspirin God

• Whenever things go wrong, we run to him, we expect him to cure all our ills and make everything right.

5. The Party God

• It doesn’t matter to him what you do as long as you have a good time. His only concern is that you believe you are happy.

6. The Mountain-Top God

• He is all alone—just “looking down” on the world. He is totally unrelated to humanity. There is no connection besides that he created everything. He sets everything in motion and then leaves the universe alone.

7. The Catechism God

• He is a simple answer. Involvement with him demands no thoughts or personal commitment.