Replies

This is in three parts. I'll post the other two.

use, and value far less the beloved who, to the lover, is of unsurpassable worth. Who would see his wife wrenched from his absolute love and devotion, throw off her dignity as wife and mother, and become in the eyes of the world, and eventually in her own eyes, a mere courtesan through the passing and passionate whim, the lies and deceits, of another? Who could withhold his anger? Who would not strike out, not in punishment, but in pain? Would we characterize, even dismiss, such a hapless man, in this paroxysm of jealousy and indignation, as simply an innately angry individual with a penchant for punishment? This is the Book of Hosea. If you really want to understand the nature of God's love and the essence of what we misconstrue as His "anger", read the Book of Hosea. Is there a more poignant account of the love of God for His people than what we encounter in these pages? Let us take another tack: what father, upon seeing his son innocently responding to the wanton and perverse solicitation of another man, would not scold the child in a rage as towering in height as the love that provoked it, and strike out at once and without compunction at the one seducing his son from his of innocence? What father, loving a child, would reason thus: "Well, such things are acceptable in these evil days, and any expression of anger on my part would not be deemed "correct", and what is more, I am liable to infringe on the liberty of that man, however salacious (albeit, in a day long gone) his intentions are, and however harmful they will be to my son. I will then restrain myself, hold to correctitude, and say nothing and do nothing that would compromise my esteem in the community." Do we not say as much in our reproach to God's anger? How incredibly blind we are to the love of God! We despise His anger as unworthy of a perfect God, instead of seeing the perfect love of God within it! The Father in His righteous anger --- which flows from

and is motivated by love --- unmistakably communicates to the child exactly where the line is drawn ---- beyond which only evil lies; His anger conveys nothing of malice; to the contrary, it is an indication of His watchful care --- and above all else, His constant and ever vigilant love. From the beginning --- "anger" is first ascribed to God as early as Exodus 32.12 --- man in his sinfulness and guilt invariably misunderstands, or better yet, misconstrues what he interprets as God's anger, likening it to his own which, more often than not, is unjust and proceeds from the sole desire to inflict punishment, not justly, to the end of correction that is motivated by love, the constructive love which seeks the good of the beloved --- but gratuitously, as a pathological means to the satisfaction demanded by pride and exacted through fury, which is disordered anger, blind, and always destructive. There is a vital difference between the two. In fury, punishment is not motivated by love, and it is not expressed as a means to correction. It is not meted in a measure commensurable with the offense (and is therefore intrinsically unjust), and of itself seeks no coherent good --- which is why it is understood as disordered. This is the unbridled anger of man, the anger that caused Cain to slay Able in the beginning. It is not the anger of God.

Thanks for posting that. It’s something I’ve wanted to learn more about.

My first thought on God’s anger: “....God is angry with the
wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11)

My second thought: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. “ (John 3:36)

Anger is not a sin.