Assuming that you believe in God, we can take a look at the Bible, the Quran and Torah in an attempt to answer the question.
For purposes of this discussion, let's get it down to a few things that, hopefully, we can agree on.
God is diverse.
Regardless of your particular brand of religious practice, this is fairly evident. The Bible even talks about having no excuse not to believe in God's existence. Because God is found in what God created. (Romans 1:20)
And it's astonishing the level of diversity found in creation.
There isn't one kind of rose, but 150. Not one kind of hosta, but thousands. According to WorldStory.net there are 20,000 species of fish, 6,000 species of reptiles, 9,000 species of birds, 1,000 species of amphibians and 15,000 species of mammals. That's a lot of diversity, isn't it?
Among many religions there is a tendency to believe that a particular denomination (or brand) of belief is the truest one. Why? Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life. He also said no one comes to the father except through him. (John 14:6). But he didn't say you had to be an evangelical, or Congregational, or Catholic or Presbyterian, Reformed or Orthodox Jew, or Muslim. We need to be careful that we don't value our own brand of belief over God. If we do, then, like the Pharisees, we are totally missing the point. (Matthew 14:13+)
God is forgiving.
Sometimes religion preaches a God of rules. And yes, it's true that God gave us the Ten Commandments. And we should obey them. Almost every other form of religion has some rules or precepts. But, on the other hand, God is also forgiving.
The Qu'ran, mentions forgiving multiple times. So does the Bible. Jesus taught that we would be forgiven to the extent that we forgive others. He talked about removing the beam from our own eye before we judge the splinter in our neighbor's eye. The Jewish faith teaches that forgiveness is a divine command. In the Bible, when the apostle Peter asked Jesus how many times he had to forgive, and guessed seven, Jesus told him seventy times seven. Implying there's no limit, so we shouldn't be counting.
Anyone who claims to be a Christian, Jew or Muslim who doesn't include forgiveness in what they are preaching isn't really giving you the full story of who God is. Case in point, Al Quaida, ISIS and ISIL are NOT legitimate God/Muslim-believing organizations. They are paramilitary political entities. When it gets down to it, there is no such thing as a radical Islamist organization because members of such groups aren't practicing the Muslim faith. Ditto any Christian or Jew who claims to be following God when killing people.
God is merciful.
This point flows from God's forgiveness. But it's a bit different. Mercy is defined as compassion towards someone when it's in our power to punish.
Considering the history of the human race in general, and each of our own individual lives, it's probably safe to say that God has been merciful to us.
There is no such thing as an unpardonable sin. With the exception of Jesus saying that if we blaspheme the Holy Spirit, it's unforgiveable. This is defined as a willful, purposeful hardening of your heart against God. It's knowing that there's a God and a Spirit of God active in your life, but denying it. If you're concerned as to if you've done this, then you haven't.
The bottom line of it is that God doesn't hold grudges. God isn't waiting around the corner to ambush you with punishment. In fact, the Bible notes that God doesn't delight in sin, but wants to help us avoid it. (You could even make a case that the definition of sin is an action that harms our relationship with God. And God is a relational being).
When all is said and done, it's helpful to remember just how big God is. That, this side of heaven, there is much left of God to ponder. That's where faith comes in. And humility.
Photo Credits:
1. serviamministries
2. harvesthousepublishers.com
3. streamingglobedevotional.com
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