Which Is More Likely: a Loving God or a Cruel God?

Here’s another “Which is more likely?” question: which is more likely, that the God who created us is a loving God, or a cruel and sadistic God, as some people claim?

It is possible, I suppose, for the supernatural Creator, the all-powerful and eternal Being who brought the Universe into existence, to have a rather mean and nasty personality. The false gods of polytheistic cultures were often portrayed this way. The pantheon of deities in Greek and Roman mythology were usually depicted with greatly enhanced human characteristics. They were angry, impulsive, vengeful, lustful, intoxicated, and impetuous — but on a supernatural scale. Since God is God, and by definition can do anything He chooses, it is possible that He could be a nasty character.

Although it’s possible for God to be cruel and vindictive, is it likely? As we mentioned last week, it is obvious that God has the ability to communicate and the desire to communicate with us, for the simple reason that we have those same abilities and desires. It is not logical for created beings to possess greater abilities than their Creator, so we have to conclude God also has the ability to communicate and the desire to do so. This is why the claim that God is distant and indifferent and silent does not really add up.

In the same way, if the greatest experience we can have is to be in love, what are the odds that our Creator is unable to have those same experiences? Think about it: the pinnacle of our existence — the most powerful and fulfilling activity human beings can experience — is to enter into loving relationships with other persons. It is the peak. It’s become a cliche that very rich people, on their death beds, regret spending so much time accumulating wealth rather than accumulating friends. Love is what we were made for.

So, is it probable that we were created with an overwhelming desire for love, but our Creator’s main motivation was to be cruel and inflict pain on others? No, it doesn’t make sense.

Scripture says that humans were created in God’s image. This is the reason every person has inestimable worth, and therefore, any ideology proclaiming that certain people are expendable comes straight from the pit of Hell. Three of the prominent features of being created in God’s image are: 1) the yearning to enter into loving relationships, 2) the desire to communicate with others, and 3) the instinct to be creative.

Now, some people point out that human beings also possess the inclination to be cruel and selfish, and therefore those must be traits we received while being created in God’s image. Please don’t be fooled by that claim. Yes, we humans are inclined to be cruel and selfish. But those are not traits we inherited from our Creator; those are traits we inherited from sin. In all cases, save for the few people who are truly psychotic, whenever human beings act cruelly or selfishly, the underlying motivations are often positive, such as wanting to provide for one’s family or trying to maintain order and discipline. However, when the effects of Original Sin, primarily pride and anger and fear, become part of the mix, pain and heartache quickly follow. Sin twists and corrupts moral aspects of life and makes them immoral.

So, returning to our question for today: “Which is more likely: a loving God or a cruel God?” The answer is plain. God is the God of love. He created us to be in loving relationships. He wants us to love Him, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The cruelty we see in the world is the result of sin. God hates sin and weeps at the results of it.

We can trust that the God who created us loves us. If you have never reached out to the Lord of Life and asked Him to dwell in your heart, today would be a great day to do so.

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(These “Merry Catholic” essays are featured on WJMJ, 88.9 FM, the radio station for the Archdiocese of Hartford, CT.)

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