Is it really SIN to be angry with God ?

[RightFromWrong]

Joseph maybe you need to reread my introduction again.

1) I have yet to find a Bible verse that said that was true. That it was a SIN to be angry at God. If you do please let me know.

2) Many great saints were angry at God, questioning God is a form of anger whether we admit it or not. Questioning means one lacks FAITH, " Without Faith it is impossible to please God " David, Samuel, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Job, Jeremiah, Peter, and Paul all questioned God and even were angry with him.

3) Unlike a person who may never know you are angry with them, You can't fool God he knows all your thoughts and wants us to be HONEST with him.Even if those thoughts are ones of Questioning, denial, anger, whatever. You can't fool God and he wants you to be real with him.

4) God himself gave us the emotion of anger for
a reason. Anger is the result of FEELINGS of INJUSTICE. So when we feel we have been " Wronged " we NATURALLY get angry, of course righteous anger produces right motivations and actions. We all FEEL God has wronged us at times, even though he really hasn't. Since his ways are greater than our ways. But I think we have all felt that way. Just like a personal relationship we may FEEL someone has wronged us but if we looked at their side of the story and knew what was really going on our perception may not be the way we thought it was.

5) Whenever a person suffers loss, there are several stages one usually goes through in order to come out of the experence " Healthy " denial, anger , bargaining, depression, acceptance and motivation to make good out of the bad.

6) If we allow ourselves to believe that it is wrong to be angry with God we will stay in the stage of denial. We will go through life " Acting " like everything is fine when in reality we are still inwardly questioning God and most likely not having a close relationship with him because of it. Not only that we will not be open to understanding others who are questioning God, since we will feel they are in Sin. So they need to get over it.

7) I could never tell someone who had multiple losses in their life whether that be physical, finacial, or relational, that they were WRONG for being angry at God. I would hope I would have compassion enough to help them through it.

I am sure God is big enough not to get his feelings hurt when we question him or get angry at him in other ways. I think HE can handle it and would rather have us be honest so we can move on. Being angry at God is SIN. I don't think so.

 

[Joseph_Botwinick]

RFW,

Why did God rebuke Job? Why did Job repent in ashes and dust?

Joseph Botwinick

 

[Joseph_Botwinick]

Originally posted by RightFromWrong:
7) I could never tell someone who had multiple losses in their life whether that be physical, finacial, or relational, that they were WRONG for being angry at God. I would hope I would have compassion enough to help them through it.

God had no problem telling Job exactly that. Are you better or more compassionate than God?

Joseph Botwinick

 

[Artimaeus]

Originally posted by Servent:
Your last sentence says, If God is wrong then you have every right to be angry at Him.

Do you really believe God is wrong in any thing He does, I dont think so,

Oh, no. Sorry, if I left you with that impression. I do not believe God is ever wrong. As a matter of fact I believe He is the very definition of right. My last sentence was a hypothetical statement. "IF" God is wrong (which of course He never is) "THEN" we have every right to be mad at Him. The truth is that "IF" He is never wrong "THEN" we never have any right to be mad at Him.

 

[RightFromWrong]

Bump for a friend

 

[Craigbythesea]

I have most certainly have never been angry at God and I cannot imagine how a Christian could possibly be angry at God. Most certainly a Christian who gets angry at God has a VERY major problem with his attitude. God is not Santa Clause—HE IS GOD!

 

[Aaron]

Haven't read the entire thread. A thousand pardons if this has already been said:

Is it really SIN to be angry with God? If one is an Arminian, no. If one is a Calvinist, yes.

 

[RightFromWrong]

Craig you obviously never read the whole thread but just want to attact me. You are going to say you have never questioned God ? Yeah right

Just be thankful you had such a wonderful easy life. You sound very judgemental not only on this post but on others I have read.
But hey according to you you are perfect you never sin therefore you will never lose your salvation Whatever !

 

[RightFromWrong]

Take this story from a book.

An Armenian girl 12 years old, family was captured by the moslims and told they must renounce Christ. The father didn't so he was shot in the head in front of them. Then shortly after she had to watch her 8 year old brother be put in a room with other young boys as the room was burned to the ground. Then she had two of her sister die along their travels a horrible death, one starvation the other fell off a cliff.

Wasn't long after one of the guards took her to be his sex slave/wife , she bore a son which after escaping with a friend she left behind or she would have been killed by the father who would just take the boy back. There is more but I'll stop there.

All this because her and her family were Christians. Now don't you think she was angry at God don't you think God still loved her and wanted a relationship with her. Shortly before she died she made things right with God.

But there are many poeple who go through horrible things in their life some are bitterly angry ( can you blame them ) some question God but still hold on to his faithfulness.

But who are you to say how one should " FEEL "
By the way ANGER is an EMOTION not a sin. Its what we do with it that becomes sin.

I feel sorry for those who have no heart and understanding for people because they were delt pretty good cards in life. They have no compassion for others and are self centered.
The problem is too many try to make God fit in their little box. When he is so much bigger than that.

 

[Craigbythesea]

RightFromWrong wrote:

Craig you obviously never read the whole thread but just want to attact me. You are going to say you have never questioned God ? Yeah right

I never questioned God before I was saved because I believed that He is God. Now that I am saved, I KNOW that God is God and it would not make any senses to question Him.

From my point of view, if anyone questions God, they do not believe that He is God. Maybe they think that he is a baboon, a monkey, a chimpanzee, a gorilla, or a big-foot! Or maybe Harvey the invisible rabbit, the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause!

Anyone who questions God should probably look up the word in a good Merriam-Webster dictionary. For example:

Main Entry: 1god
Pronunciation: 'gäd also 'god
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German got god
1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as a : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe b Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2 : a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
3 : a person or thing of supreme value
4 : a powerful ruler

 

[Craigbythesea]

Originally posted by RightFromWrong:
Take this story from a book.

An Armenian girl 12 years old, family was captured by the moslims and told they must renounce Christ. The father didn't so he was shot in the head in front of them. Then shortly after she had to watch her 8 year old brother be put in a room with other young boys as the room was burned to the ground. Then she had two of her sister die along their travels a horrible death, one starvation the other fell off a cliff.

Wasn't long after one of the guards took her to be his sex slave/wife , she bore a son which after escaping with a friend she left behind or she would have been killed by the father who would just take the boy back. There is more but I'll stop there.

All this because her and her family were Christians. Now don't you think she was angry at God don't you think God still loved her and wanted a relationship with her. Shortly before she died she made things right with God.

But there are many poeple who go through horrible things in their life some are bitterly angry ( can you blame them ) some question God but still hold on to his faithfulness.

But who are you to say how one should " FEEL "
By the way ANGER is an EMOTION not a sin. Its what we do with it that becomes sin.

I feel sorry for those who have no heart and understanding for people because they were delt pretty good cards in life. They have no compassion for others and are self centered.
The problem is too many try to make God fit in their little box. When he is so much bigger than that.

People who KNOW who God is do NOT get angry at Him. It has NOTHING AT ALL to do with how good or how bad their life is—it has only to do with who God is and believing that He is who He is. Many people have religious experiences that come short of knowing who God is.

 

[RightFromWrong]

Crabbythesea.....I'm sorry you have NO emotions, I'm sorry you have NO heart, I'm sorry your perfect, I'm sorry you lack understanding, I'm sorry you never question God so he can give you answers to help you with your walk with him. And to carry you through the hard times.

I've talked to many people on this issue and they ALL agree with me on the points I have written about. Maybe your not old enough yet to understand true spiritual growth. David and so many others felt angry, hurt, rejected and questioned God, so according to you they are wrong too and so unspiritual. WHATEVER !

You have yet to prove to me by any of your post your compassion and heart for others. You are a Bible thumper like Pappy who want to push scripture DOWN peoples THROATS who you feel are not perfect, and don't live up to your expectations.

I'm just sorry..... may God help you

 

[RightFromWrong]

1) I have yet to find a Bible verse that said that was true. That it was a SIN to be angry at God. If you do please let me know. The Bible says be ANGRY but in your anger do not sin.

2) Many great saints were angry at God, questioning God is a form of anger whether we admit it or not. Questioning means one lacks FAITH, " Without Faith it is impossible to please God " David, Samuel, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Job, Jeremiah, Peter, and Paul all questioned God and even were angry with him.

3) Unlike a person who may never know you are angry with them, You can't fool God he knows all your thoughts and wants us to be HONEST with him.Even if those thoughts are ones of Questioning, denial, anger, whatever. You can't fool God and he wants you to be real with him.

4) God himself gave us the EMOTION of anger for
a reason. Anger is the result of FEELINGS of INJUSTICE. So when we feel we have been " Wronged " we NATURALLY get angry, of course righteous anger produces right motivations and actions. We all FEEL God has wronged us at times, even though he really hasn't. Since his ways are greater than our ways. But I think we have all felt that way. Just like a personal relationship we may FEEL someone has wronged us but if we looked at their side of the story and knew what was really going on our perception may not be the way we thought it was.

5) Whenever a person suffers loss, there are several stages one usually goes through in order to come out of the experence " Healthy " denial, anger , bargaining, depression, acceptance and motivation to make good out of the bad.

6) If we allow ourselves to believe that it is wrong to be angry with God we will stay in the stage of denial. We will go through life " Acting " like everything is fine when in reality we are still inwardly questioning God and most likely not having a close relationship with him because of it. Not only that we will not be open to understanding others who are questioning God, since we will feel they are in Sin. So they need to get over it.

7) I could never tell someone who had multiple losses in their life whether that be physical, finacial, or relational, that they were WRONG for being angry at God. I would hope I would have compassion enough to help them through it.

I am sure God is big enough not to get his feelings hurt when we question him or get angry at him in other ways. I think HE can handle it and would rather have us be honest so we can move on. Being angry at God is SIN. I don't think so.

 

[RightFromWrong]

Sorry Craig that was a typo

 

[Marcia]

I am not sure if it is a sin to be angry at God or not (as a believer), but it seems inconsistent with a biblical view.

Nothing ever comes to us that we cannot bear, and nothing comes to believers that has not been put through the filter of God's love. We are told in 1 Peter to be prepared to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Early Christians went to their deaths, often horrible deaths -- like facing lions, for their faith. There are stories that they died singing and praising God. They were not cursing him.

Job's wife told him to curse God and he wouldn't. Look at what he went through!

If a Christian is angry at God, then it seems they are doubting his judgment, goodness, or love. To be angry is, in effect, to tell God that you know better and he messed up.

Yes, a Christian might ask "why?" but being angry is a different matter.

 

[RightFromWrong]

Marcia I totally agree with you on what the Bible says about suffering for the gospel. That doesn't seem very hard to do because you have a clear UNDERSTANDING of what is going on, the dynamics of it all.

Not everyone grows up in the best of homes, I know of Christians who have had horrible father figures along with mother figures. So their view of a " Loving " father isn't exactly Biblically correct. No fault of their own.

I also know of Christians who have been hurt for no reason of their own from other Christians because of the other Christians SIN nature and unabilty to be mature in certain materrs, maybe a bit of jealousy is involved. Why would a loving God allow such nonsense ?

All I am saying is at sometimes in our walk we are not always going to understand what God is doing in our lives, probably most of the time ( just like David and many of the saints did ) I do not think it is wrong to QUESTION, be UPSET ( Upset means angry ) or even yell at God at times because we have felt injustice and we do not understand why he would allow such injustice. This is all I am saying.
To deny that this is a normal part of growing in a relationship with God and others is wrong. Not only that I would never feel comfortable telling another Christian who is struggling with being angry at God, that they were " SINNING " if they did that.

Reminds me of how Men would tell young boys " do not cry , only babies cry " You rob that person of getting his true feeling and emotions out in a healthy way in order to get better. These kind of boys grow up to be angry men.

EPHESIANS 4: 26 BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOUR ANGER

Anger is a God given emotion that helps us WORK through things. Otherwise you bottle things up and live in denial. I know you are thinking anger against man is one thing and God well thats different. No I don't think so. More people do it than you think they just won't admit it, cause its taboo.

 

[Artimaeus]

Originally posted by RightFromWrong:
All I am saying is at sometimes in our walk we are not always going to understand what God is doing in our lives, probably most of the time ( just like David and many of the saints did )

I completely agree with you here.

I do not think it is wrong to QUESTION, be UPSET ( Upset means angry ) or even yell at God at times because we have felt injustice and we do not understand why he would allow such injustice. This is all I am saying.

This is where the problem comes in. Being angry about the circumstances we find ourselves in is one thing. Asking God a question in order to obtain understanding is fine. To "question" God in the sense of doubting Him is never justifiable. It may be quite common but never the right thing to do. It is the "at God" part of your opening post that is being questioned (doubted). God is always right. Do you agree with that statement or not? (I assume that you do.) If God is always right then, if you disagree with Him, doesn't that make you wrong?

I do not think it is wrong to...yell at God at times because we have felt injustice

God is not capable of injustice. If He has done no wrong then why are you yelling at Him? It seems that you are saying that it is all right to blame the wrong person just because you feel like it.

To deny that this is a normal part of growing in a relationship with God and others is wrong.

It is not a normal part of growing. It is in fact, a hindrance to growth. It is only when we realize that that anger is misplaced can true growth occur.

Anger is a God given emotion that helps us WORK through things.

Turning that anger on God is not God given. Anger actually hampers our ability to work through things especially long term misdirected anger.

Otherwise you bottle things up and live in denial.

Comparing anger to something like a pressure cooker is good. You either have to let the anger out OR turn down the heat.

I know you are thinking anger against man is one thing and God well thats different. No I don't think so.

Yes, there is a huge difference. One might or might not be justified. The other is always a false accusation.

More people do it than you think they just won't admit it, cause its taboo.

I think nearly everyone does it to some degree or another, at some time or another. That does not make it right.

 

[RightFromWrong]

Artimaeus..... I totally agree with you on many points, I thought I covered that in my introduction # 4. BELOW....


4) God himself gave us the EMOTION of anger for
a reason. Anger is the result of FEELINGS of INJUSTICE. So when we feel we have been " Wronged " we NATURALLY get angry, of course righteous anger produces right motivations and actions. We all FEEL God has wronged us at times, even though he really hasn't. Since his ways are greater than our ways. But I think we have all felt that way. Just like a personal relationship we may FEEL someone has wronged us but if we looked at their side of the story and knew what was really going on our perception may not be the way we thought it was. So it is with God.

SO how do you explain EPHESIANS 4: 26 BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOUR ANGER

 

[bapmom]

There is a righteous anger, wouldn't you say?

Anger against sin? Yet that anger would never be towards God.

I think you cannot be right with God AND be angry at Him at the same time.

I guess then that Id say, yes, it is a sin to be angry at God. Once the fellowship is restored the sin is forgiven and we move on.

But to say that since the emotions come from God than it must be ok for any of those emotions to be directed toward God would be a grievous error.

In this sinful world, the things which God created have become twisted and perverted. Their applications are not always what God intended.

 

[Artimaeus]

Originally posted by RightFromWrong:
SO how do you explain EPHESIANS 4: 26 BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; DO NOT LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON YOUR ANGER

The verse does not say that all anger is without sin. It is possible to be angry and not sin. It is also possible to be angry and sin.

Should circumstances arise to call for anger on your part, let it be as Christ’s “anger” (Mark 3:5), without sin. Our natural feelings are not wrong when directed to their legitimate object, and when not exceeding due bounds. God is never the legitimate object.