America's Four Gods

Americans are fickle when it comes to God. In fact, there are countless views of who God is, what He thinks, and how He acts (or doesn’t act) in human history. A recent book by sociologists Paul Froese and Christopher Bader—America’s Four Gods: What We Say about God and What That Says about Us—boils down all these views and finds that Americans have four different assumptions about who God is:

1. The Authoritative God is engaged in history and hands out harsh punishment to those who do not follow him. This view of God is held by 28% of Americans.
2. The Benevolent God is engaged in our world and loves and supports us in caring for others. This view of God is held by 22% of Americans.
3. The Critical God keeps an eye on this world—the poor, the suffering, and the exploited—but delivers justice in the next. This view of God is held by 21% of Americans.
4. The Distant God booted up the universe, then left humanity alone. This view of God is held by 24% of Americans. [Note: The remaining 5% of Americans are atheists or agnostics.]

So, what do you think? Is God authoritative, benevolent, critical, or distant? The truth be told, the Triune God cannot be characterized by any of these categories in isolation. In fact, the Christian needs to define these words differently even to make sense of them. Consider the following. God is authoritative in that He is the author of life, governs all things, and everything happens according to His good and gracious will. God is benevolent in that He calls us to be stewards of His creation and to love and serve one another. He is critical in that He hates sin and punishes it with temporal punishments in this life and eternal punishment for those who do not repent and believe in Christ. And He is distant in that we cannot find Him on our own, but have to be called through the Gospel.

And yet, the biggest flaw in the four categories listed above is this: There is no category for The Incarnate God. We cannot know the true God apart from Jesus Christ, “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary” (Luther’s Small Catechism). “Whoever has seen Me,” says Jesus, “has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is made visible to us in His holy Word and blessed Sacraments, which reveal to us the heart of God, who loved the world in giving His only Son to die for us and win our salvation. Thus, through Christ, we see God as He truly is. Creator. Redeemer. Sanctifier. Gracious. Merciful. Forgiving. Loving.

Look closely. In Word and Sacrament you see Him, His heart, and His will for you. Isn’t it beautiful! The eyes of faith rejoice, for He “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity” (Luther’s Small Catechism).

Simply put, apart from Christ no one can know who God is, what He thinks, and how He acts in human history.

One last word of advice. When it comes to politicians, pundits, and commentators, keep your guard up when they begin speaking about God. In almost every case, their view of God is characterized by one of the aforementioned categories and falls short of the Triune God in several ways. You, on the other hand, know that God has revealed Himself to you in His incarnate Son and now gives you His Word as the source of your life. He—and He alone—is the One True God!