SoulWork
Divine Drama Queen
Columnist's Note: You came here looking for a column I wrote called "The Divine Drama Queen." The purpose of the column was to suggest how passionately God cares about us, and to what extremes he will go to secure a relationship with us. Because the Bible uses dramatic images in conveying these truths, I used dramatic human examples and hyperbole to reinforce the biblical point. While most readers understood what I was driving at, some did not. Worse, some have been offended by the column, feeling I have denigrated the holiness of God.
This is troubling on two accounts. Those familiar with my writing know that the holiness of God is one of my themes—this is a significant element in my Jesus Mean and Wild,and especiallyA Great and Terrible Love. And those who know me personally understand that, while I'm not adverse to challenging and provoking, I take no pleasure in offending the very readers I'm trying to persuade or edify.
Enough readers have missed the point of this column to suggest that it is not doing what I intended it to do. Thus I have taken it down. If you want to understand what I'm driving at in my writing, you can read my other columns or pick up a copy of one of my books.
Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. He is author of Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God (Baker).
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Previous SoulWork columns include:
The God Who Became Blood | What my dysfunctional prostate taught me about Jesus. (June 24, 2010)
The Lord Who Acts Like It | Where did we get the idea that the church should be a place that makes people feel comfortable? (June 10, 2010)
Judgment in the Gulf | Woes and blessings of the oil spill. (June 1, 2010)
SoulWork
In "SoulWork," Mark Galli brings news, Christian theology, and spiritual direction together to explore what it means to be formed spiritually in the image of Jesus Christ.
Mark Galli
Galli is editor of Christianity Today and author of God Wins, Chaos and Grace, A Great and Terrible Love, Jesus Mean and Wild, Francis of Assisi and His World, and other books.
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lom m
I guess another way of putting my case is simply this: there's no way any God of mine could be like the Old Testament one. I see not a shred of morality in that guy. But that's okay - the God I have still remains. He still survives in the trust department. Sometimes the greatest danger for Christians is actually reading the Old Testament. It's what I did.
lom m
Sorry – my bad. True it is you didn’t say it. I said it. And that’s because I am. (Shocked that is). Thanks for your comments. And I of course go along with you to the extent that the conflict is sad. And it’s perhaps even sadder for the non-believer to see because if even the believers can’t get it together what hope for them? I’m sorry it made you feel further away from God. I think (at least this was how I read it) it was an attempt to explain all the difficult aspects of the Old Testament God in a way we could at least get to grips with. It tried to make him out to be just that little more human so we could feel a little more closer. And all that ... It seems to have done the opposite for you. For me the Old Testament God is already all too human. I need him to be a little more moral ...
Ralph Gaily
Where is the mysterious Mr. Galli who started all this? Or is he hiding behind some false name in the blog? Come on Mark.... get on board ....or have you jumped ship? Ralph Gaily