World News and Trends
Beyond Today Magazine
Good News Magazine: November - December 2010
Course Content
USA Today recently ran an insightful article about how Americans see and comprehend God
A recent survey identified four ways Americans primarily see Him, ranked as follows: authoritative, 28 percent; benevolent, 22 percent; distant, 24 percent; critical, 21 percent. The remaining miniscule 5 percent represents atheists and agnostics. (According to surveys, about nine out of 10 Americans apparently believe in God's existence.)
These survey results were obtained by telephone inquiries in connection with a study by Baylor University in central Texas. The rationale for the poll was to help Americans understand their way of life in terms of how they understood God.
The writer observes: "Our views of God have been fundamental to the nation's past, help explain many of the conflicts in our society and worldwide, and could offer a hint of what the future holds" (Cathy Lynn Grossman, "How America Sees God," Oct. 8-10, 2010). According to the article, America's national understanding of God affects "how we see daily life and world events."
To briefly summarize the primary viewpoints, the authoritative category pictures God as meting out specific punishments for mankind's transgressions of His moral law, broadly represented by events in the distant past such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Noah's Flood.
The benevolent category looks at God as a positive influence in the world, but one who does not judge human beings, hearing the prayers of saints and sinners alike.
The distant category pictures God as setting nature in motion, but then withdrawing from the world with little further interest in our human activities.
The critical category views God as very judgmental of our human conduct, but primarily reserving His wrath for the final judgment in the afterlife.
One or two of these viewpoints are more accurate than the others, but none fully represents "the whole [or complete] counsel of God" concerning Himself (Acts 20:27). Although God reveals crucial, saving knowledge about Himself to those who obey Him (Psalm 111:10), there are limits to human understanding of God (see 1 Corinthians 13:12; Deuteronomy 29:29).
His divine attributes cannot be conveniently categorized into neat, distinctive labels. Certainly Jesus Christ did speak with authority (Mark 1:22). And although God's infinite mercy remains beyond human comprehension (see Psalm 136), He will ultimately judge persistently stubborn, unrepentant sinners after having given them opportunity to repent of sin and be saved.
Our Creator is mercifully benevolent as expressed by Christ's wishes to impart an abundant life (John 10:10). He does, however, distance Himself from sinners (Isaiah 59:1-2), while patiently looking for repentance and reconciliation (Matthew 9:13;
2 Peter 3:9). The age to come and the second resurrection to judgment are much more about offering the overwhelming majority of human beings a wonderful opportunity to repent and be saved than punishing sinners per se.
The USA Today article observes that political scientists specializing in the religious scene conclude that "Americans of every stripe overwhelmingly believe that all good people go to heaven, that many faiths contain truth and that religious diversity is good for the nation."
While many may hold to this manifestly liberal view, it simply is not based on or found in the Bible. Further, it may come as a surprise to some that Scripture does not teach that the saved go to heaven when they die (Acts 2:29, 34). It does, however, teach that salvation can be obtained only by and through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), as He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). To see what the Bible actually says on these matters, request or download our free booklets Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach? and The Road to Eternal Life.
To understand much more about the true nature and character of our Creator, ask for or download our free booklets Who Is God? and Jesus Christ: The Real Story. (Source: USA Today.)
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
