Uh-oh

Jim Linville shared the above cartoon on Facebook. There have been lots of variations on it. All of them either play into, or poke fun at, the very common idea that God is like human beings, essentially supporting one team and holding a grudge against others. That way of depicting God ought to be regarded as blasphemous by anyone who has given it even a moment’s thought – not to mention those who’ve grasped the emphasis in some biblical texts that “God does not show favoritism” (Acts 10:34) and “there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:11). Of course, some biblical texts promote this very idea – which is why, if one is to have any hope of incorporating the Bible’s library into a coherent belief system, one must identify core principles and relativize individual passages in light of them.