Unconditionally Loved By God

Last updated on: April 20, 2012 at 6:00 am by Guest Contributor

1,717 Comments

Unconditionally Loved By God 2012-04-13T11:57:55-06:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

[This is the third in a series of posts on the American Evangelical relationship with God by T.M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back. For more conversation on this book, visit the Patheos Book Club.]

The hardest thing for a congregant to grasp is that they are loved unconditionally by God. Unconditional love is not part of the human experience after infancy, after the crawling, reaching baby learns that love comes with expectations of right behavior.

At some point in my interviews, as I sat with a teacup in my hand and my taperecorder running on the coffee table, some of the people I was interviewing would start to cry. They did this when they began to describe their relationship with God as something deeply precious, private, special. They seemed to cry because the emotions they felt were so tender, as if they were afraid that if they exposed the relationship to the light it might begin to fade, lose a little of its power, the way the adored fluffy Snoopy of your childhood can seem small and shabby when you find it years later in an attic box. When they cried, they described the moment when they got it—really got it—that God loved them just as they were.

One of the things that is so striking to an onlooker at a church like this is that there are so many emotional practices—so many specific behaviors involving emotions, like crying as other people pray for you, or learning to talk to God the way you would talk to a therapist, or learning to see things from God’s point of view rather than your own. These are all practices that encourage congregants to feel unconditionally loved by God. These practices share a good deal with psychotherapy, and they have a great side benefit. They enable churches like the Vineyard to deliver emotionally to their congregants—to make their congregants feel better about themselves—even when the faith of those congregants is weak. These emotional practices can make it worth your while to go to church even if you don’t quite yet believe, completely and entirely, in this God.

Questions or comments for Dr. Luhrmann about experiencing God? Leave them below and she’ll respond in a video to air at the Book Club later next week.

Also join us for a LIVE CHAT with the author on Friday, April 27, from 2-3 pm at the Patheos Book Club!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 18, 2012

How Do You Hear God's Voice?

Next Post

April 23, 2012 Loving at a Particular Address: Letters to a Future Church

Recent Comments

1,717 Comments | Leave a Comment

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Author Q&A Book Review Christian Living Church Leadership Stump a Scholar Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2022 March 2021 October 2020 August 2020 February 2019 November 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Levi" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Set apart Chosen Joined God is my strength