As I write about the violence of God in the Bible and have conversations about this with various people I interact with during the week, I often tell people that one of the reasons this is such an important topic is because Christians need a better answer to provide the world than the ones we have always given. Usually, the stock Christian answer to the violence of God in Scripture is “God is God and can do what He wants.”
I am not fond of that answer.
In fact, let me go so far as to say that if what God wants to do is slaughter people because they don’t do what He wants, then I don’t mind it so much if people decide not to worship a God like that.
Anyway, one of the objections I occasionally get (but not too often, thankfully) to this whole series on the violence of God is that we don’t really need a better answer to give the world, because the world isn’t too concerned about the violent portrayals of God in the Bible.
I think I understand what people mean when they say this. I think they mean that most people in the world aren’t thinking too much about whether or not God is violent. That’s probably true. Maybe.
Yet in my conversations with people who do not believe in God or who want nothing to do with Him, it seems that more often than not, the issue of His violence in the Bible is often mentioned in the first few minutes of the conversation about why they cannot believe in the God of the Bible. Maybe it’s just who I talk with…
Anyway, I was looking for some images recently for one of my blog posts on the violence of God in the Bible and came across a whole series of internet God memes, and guess what? A large number of these God memes are about the violence of God in the Bible.
Frankly, I found most of these God memes quite humorous, but also quite telling. If one of the common themes in this God meme is about God’s violence in the Bible, doesn’t this imply that people are thinking about it? Maybe it’s just atheist trying to mock the Bible, but even if so, don’t we need a better answer than “God is God and can do what He wants”?
I think so.
Anyway, I though I would include some of the God memes I found online for your viewing enjoyment. Some of you might get upset at some of these. Don’t. If we cannot laugh at ourselves, or of we are too thin-skinned to allow others to laugh at us, then we should not be doing theology and should not spending time online.
Here then, are the 52 God Memes I found online. Most follow the same “meme” pattern, but there’s a few at the end I threw in for good measure.
And yes, there may be some repeats. Deal with it.
52 God Memes
1 Corinthians 2:14
English Standard Version (ESV)
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
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I actually like atheists because they’re thinking about God. They may not be polite, but they at least have their minds on God. When God reveals Himself to them the reality of His existence will supersede all else.
Many atheists I have met are a bit antagonistic toward Christianity, but of course, most Christians are quite antagonistic toward atheists… Then there are the friendly and “godly” atheists who are more loving, kind, generous, and gracious than many of the Christians I know. Anyway, I love having atheist friends because they are not afraid to ask the hard and difficult questions.
“most Christians are quite antagonistic toward atheists”
Really? You’ve studied this?
Yes, I have.
Sources?
Thanks for posting these. . . some really catch you off guard funny or otherwise. Before trying to explain these to the world, need to come to peace with them yourself. An unexamined faith doesn’t get you thru the depths. Thinking we do the world no favors always trying to explain Jesus and the faith rather than just presenting him and truth about him and letting the Spirit make it alive to and within. We can’t do what He does anyway.
Right. I think that one of the things these God memes do is help us understand some of the ways that people view God. Hopefully, we can follow the example of Jesus in showing people what God is really like.
While most of them are based off of misinterpretations of scripture, they do show how some people understand Christianity, especially those who do not study the Bible on a regular basis.
I like to use atheist-made memes about Christianity in my posts to show Christians what the world thinks of us and how we can more effectively minister to them.
Absolutely! While these God memes are obviously trying to make fun of Christianity (and we need to be able to laugh at ourselves), they also show how people view Christianity, and some of the criticisms people have of Christianity. Being aware of these things can help us reveal the love of Jesus to others.
That was great! LOL at a few.
On the serious side ,this reminds me yet again how important it is to know the rightly divided word of God.
Who really was Jesus Christ,was he God or the son of God completely independant from God the creator of the heavens and earth?
Does the bible teach hell is a place of everlasting torment?
I laughed at a lot of them too. The hell theme seems to be a common theme in these God memes. I will be writing a lot more about hell in the future…
This shows what you get when:
1. You take scriptures too literally and out of context.
2. You take someone else’s explanation for scripture because:
a) Everyone else does,
b) The person explaining is a religious ‘leader’,
or
c) It’s easier than thinking for yourself.
Right! Obviously, many of the memes are based on Scriptures taken out of context, or based on dumb things that some pastors and Bible teachers have said.
A few of these responses puzzle me.
Have you seen the Tea Party Jesus memes? Read ’em & weep.
No, I haven’t seen them. what are they saying?
They use well known paintings depicting Jesus voicing sentiments that were actually said by right wing extremists. So, you have familiar Sunday School pictures with Jesus quoting the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, etc. Google “Tea Party Jesus” and click “images” for a quick view of this on target parody of the “Jesus” far too often presented, even in evangelical churches, to tell the truth. Of course, they would indignantly condemn these memes, but it’s how they represent Jesus to the world. If only they could see themselves for what they have become. Some do, thank God, and come out of it.
TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!
HYSTERICAL LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUNNY!!!
I love you, brother M!
Thanx for bringing this.
Glad you enjoyed it. I laughed at many of these as well.
Some are funny and some kind of make you say hum. It does help to think of some of the arguments atheist present and consider the best way to answer from scripture. The hard truth is that we don’t have every answer or need to give answers that are defensive and out of context to prove a point. Christianity simply has certain elements and truth claims that separate it from traditional definitions of religion. I requires that you “believe” some things on “faith” but not a “blind faith” as atheist would articulate. Simply put we are all going to believe and worship something. I enjoy giving atheist the opportunity to present their beliefs and simply explaining why that is not the best or only answer. I would like to see you create another page of memes the put atheist on the defensive and show the limits of their explanations. That will not be as popular no doubt.
Yes, that would be interesting. Those Memes do exist. I will leave that up to the atheists though…
These are awesome! 😀 But many don’t know the actual story behind meme pictures, you can check out the stories behind some here… http://thewowfact.com/index.php/2015/07/18/10-memes-and-the-story-behind-the-picture/
It is sooooooooo funny! Thanks for sharing!
So good! Thanks for taking the time. Wish I could save individual ones to share!
LOLOLOL. As a christian, I must admit, God DOES sound a bit…..nonsensical, but since he dosent think like humans, how DOES he think? Perfect? If He thinks perfectly, does he think perfectly according to what HE would perceive as perfectly, or does He really, really, really think perfectly? Eh, I don’t have a friggin clue.
And BTW, God didn’t make the other religions. If none of the religions are true, they were made by either man or aliens, or other prankster deities we don’t know about. If a Christianity is true, and either man was delusional, or satan deceived them. The same thing goes for if say Wicca was true. We don’t really know which religion is true, and whose to say the recall deities or deity won’t through you into hell for picking the wrong one or none. Otherwise known as the “Avoiding the wrong hell problem” in Pascal’s wager. I swear, the way Jesus and God looks in the images, coupled with the stuff they do in the bible, of which if it was done by a common person (pertaining to all the killing and hell stuff.) would get them criticized and yelled at by people and would get no approval by fictional heroes like batman, I’d say that for all of God’s omni-benelovence and infinite love, God could really come of like an antihero, especially in the old testament.
i am really mad to know that Religious isnt real…
I’m not a Christian, but a lot of those seem to disrespect God.
That’s great. Loved it!