"God is not a Christian"

Perhaps an automated rent-a-quote machine hijacked Steve Chalke’s Twitter account. 22 May’s offering went:

The way I see it, God is not a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu or a Sikh.

Instead, God is the author & lover of all humanity, regardless of religion, belief, race, age, gender, sexual or gender orientation, marriage status, ethnicity, abilities or disabilities.

Dozens of his followers liked and commended this radical and thoughtful pronouncement. In truth, I have never heard even the most grating fundamentalist describe God as ‘a Christian’. A Christian is a repentant sinner, a recipient of God’s grace through faith in Christ’s blood. It is therefore impossible for God to be a Christian. Perhaps what Rev Chalke really means is that the God of Christianity is no different to the gods of other faiths. Or that each religious path is just as good a route to finding whatever deity there is.

The world gushes and derives much pleasure from being told how loved it is. It does not matter how you act or what you believe, this deity in the sky loves you and what you do regardless. Of course, there is a basis of truth for this. God ‘loved the world’, long before it or anyone in it loved Him. Yet it was this very love which sent Christ to Calvary’s cross, that our sin might be paid for. Any religious route which bypasses this, leads to death. Any lifestyle which evades this, leads to death. Any piety or godliness which ignores this, leads to death. Somehow, I don’t anticipate any endorsements, any likes or any thumbs up for saying it. It is not a popular sentiment, but then truth never seeks popularity and admiration. Truth is true whether we like it or not.

Steve’s opening clause gives the game away. The way he sees it. Knowing that no scripture supports his views, he must rely on his own authority. After all, his opinions are good as anyone else’s, and that’s good enough for him.