Who is God?

God is not Allah. And even more positively, Allah is not God. Unfortunately God has been named Allah in some Arabic translations of the Bible, in a misguided attempt to encourage Muslim belief.

The name Allah comes from al-Ilah, the moon god worshipped with human and animal sacrifices for centuries, by Mohammed’s tribe. Much of Islam, founded by Mohammed, is based on pagan practices, including the kissing of the black stone in the Kaaba, as part of the Mecca pilgrimage.

The personalities of God and Allah stand in stark contrast, the one being grace, love and compassion, and the other hatred, and death to those who do not comply with his demands. As both evil and good supposedly come from Allah, there is no standard of righteousness or ethics, and as a father is considered strict, demanding, and bound to his family by duty rather than devotion, Muslims consider the idea of Allah as a father figure tantamount to blasphemy.

God is not Buddha, whose adherents must battle through so many contradictions that they can never come to a concrete conclusion about their faith. There is a complete denial of a god, as they believe the world operates by natural power, and their efforts to reach Nirvana (paradise) seem pointless, as they consider the senses, (hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, seeing) non-existent, as also the soul, (mind, will, emotions), so their practice of peace and tolerance brings them no eternal reward. If reincarnated they could be a dog, or an insect, or a bird, and not necessarily human. What a strange belief, if one can call it that – not even a hope!

God is not just a “higher power” and I wonder, higher than what? How high is high? Can high be high enough to cover all that would make a god worthy of worship? He is most definitely not “the man upstairs” – what an abominable concept.

So who is God?

Stan Telchin, a highly successful Jewish businessman, thought he knew God. He was a happy family man, with a lovely wife and two beautiful daughters, the older one, Judy, being a University student. His world fell apart when Judy phoned, and in the course of a long conversation, disclosed that she had become a believer in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. To Stan, as it would seem to any Jewish person, this was a betrayal of their people, and a desecration of their ancestors. Read his book, “Betrayed” to see what happened to their family.

The Egyptians of ancient times were quite happy with their gods, who even did magic things for them, but along came Moses and introduced the Eternal Almighty God who deals in miracles, not magic. They learned at their cost that the God of gods is worthy of worship.

The people of the Old Testament, like so many today, did not understand who God is. We can read of those who chose obedience or disobedience to the Unseen God, revealed through the prophets, and shown through Creation. The Bible is full of evidences of God’s character and commands, and to those Old Testament believers, He was a God to be feared, respected and honoured. Sacrifice and offerings were made in order to appease Him and buy His favour.

Israel was proclaimed as God’s chosen people, but they vacillated between allegiance and denial of His sovereignty. The prophet Hosea exhorted them to, “—return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds.”

“I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings”, said God. Hosea 6:1 & 6.

And yet – why did the Old Testament culture demand sacrifice?

Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening, and they enjoyed close companionship. In innocence they lived peaceably with the animals Adam had named, feeding on the lush vegetation in the Garden of Eden. Then Eve was tempted to eat the fruit that the Lord God had told Adam not to eat. You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you may not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. Genesis 2:16,17

God shed the first blood after the disobedience of Adam and Eve. He made garments of skin for his created man and woman, which necessitated the killing of an animal, and he banished the two hitherto sinless people from the Garden.

Here we have an account of the beginning of human history, and you may say it is a story. Why would I base my account of God on a story?

Because I believe the Bible is God’s inerrant word, and I will speak more of this Creator God who revealed His plans and purposes in order that we may believe in Him, trust Him, and gain eternal life.