The eCrozier

When it comes to sharing the Good News of God’s mercy and forgiveness through the merits and mediation of Jesus, we may be up against more than just our own hesitancy or lethargy. We may have cultural and evolutionary headwinds against us. Put simply: we may have the wrong kind of God. Ongoing research now shows that fealty to a religion is more related to the fear of a wrathful God than it is to the Triune God we worship who abounds in grace and steadfast love.

Let me explain. According to evolutionary biologists, as humans evolved we lived in extended, tribal families. In that context, there was wide knowledge of everyone else. If someone broke a group norm, like theft, then the group would mete out consequences. As humans developed larger societies, this intimate justice was no longer possible, so social psychologists like Azim Shariff argue that humans invented a divine punisher, namely, God, who would enforce the social norms. “It’s an effective stick to deter people from immoral behavior,” says Shariff. Religion, seen this way, is a cultural innovation that was used to norm behavior, limit immorality, and help humans survive as a species.

Shariff and his research team tested to see whether believing in a punitive God versus believing in a forgiving God made a difference in the likelihood that someone would cheat. They had students take a math task where they made it tempting to cheat. They also collected data on each participant’s view of God. Their study showed that the more a participant believed God was punitive, then the less likely they were to cheat. The opposite was also true: the more a participant believed God was forgiving, the more likely it was that they would cheat. Shariff summarizes his contention this way: “The societies that have been able to grow largest with the religions that they believe in have had this idea of supernatural punishment at their core because it is an effective deterrent. It does compel people rationally to act in ways which will avoid the wrath of a punitive God who can punish you quite severely.”

That’s the evangelistic dilemma. If Shariff is right, then in order to lead people to God and grow the church we’ll need to literally scare the Hell out of them. It seems people need to have their behavior controlled by a divine authority figure (and probably a human one as well) and, without such, they’ll think God is a pushover, an easy sucker for a forgiveness story. Or, seeing it from another way: Could it be that people now widely believe God is merciful, so why bother with church or faith because it won’t help them avoid eternal damnation since God is so forgiving? Naw. I don’t buy it. While I grant these researchers their point, using religion as a means of controlling bad behavior isn’t the truth revealed in Jesus. In fact, the truth of Jesus reveals that God meets us where we are (and just the way we are) in our bad behavior, our sin, and chooses on the cross to forgive us anyway. That’s the most amazing, counter-cultural news ever told and most people I run into don’t believe this Good News. We just need to keep telling that story no matter how popular or how well/not well it shapes people’s behavior. It may go against what psychology and group theory tells us, but all we have is that truth.

+Scott