Americans live in a society that overwhelmingly believes in the existence of God (over 80% according to numerous polls); nevertheless, there is constant bemoaning of those who do not believe in God. Questions are asked wondering how someone can believe such a thing, why will they not view the facts and come to a logical conclusion, etcetera. However, there is another question that is just as important, but is rarely ever asked: which is worse, not believing in God, or believing in a mythical God?

The word “myth” is defined as an idealized conception, a false belief, or something that is fictitious. In other words, a mythical God is one that does not exist. There may be some things about this God that are based in reality, but the central core of what is believed about him is simply a work of fiction. Friends, it is just as bad, wrong, and dangerous to believe in a mythical God as it is to believe in no God at all; yet much of the religious world does exactly that. Consider some of the things people believe about the mythical God.

The Mythical God will Save Everyone… well, Almost Everyone. Those who believe in such doctrines as “faith only,” “grace only,” and “once saved, always saved” have a hard time reconciling many of their teachings with Scripture. Their God is all-inclusive, as long as you believe in him; and once you have believed in him and been saved there is nothing you can do to lose your salvation. When pressed on those they believe are lost, many who profess such doctrines cannot give an answer, because they believe that, in essence, everyone is going to Heaven except for the generic “really bad people.” There is not one relative, co-worker, friend, or acquaintance that has died about which they have any doubt as to whether or not they were saved.

Unfortunately, this myth about God flies in the face of numerous aspects of Scripture. They have reversed the two paths of Matthew 7:13-14 to make the broad way the way to life. They have denied the necessity of obedience in Matthew 7:21-23, instead believing that crying “Lord, Lord” is all one must do. They serve a God that didn’t really mean what he said about the necessity of baptism in Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:16; and the entire book of Acts; not to mention Romans 6:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:21; thereby turning the entire New Testament into a paradigm of confusion and individual interpretation, something it was never intended to be (1 Cor. 1:10; 14:33).

The Mythical God does not Hate Anything. It is amazing how many people want to promote God as a God of love, but refuse to acknowledge that there are things God hates. In order for there to be a true love that exists, there must be a hate of those things that go against that love. However, those who follow the mythical God have come to the conclusion that God loves everything and everyone so much that he will overlook or ignore the things that people do that go against his love and deny his goodness, mercy, and justice.

Those who profess such beliefs truly believe in a mythical God; because the true God of the Bible hates evil and wickedness to the same degree that he loves righteousness and obedience. When God through Solomon listed 7 things he hates in Proverbs 6:16-19, he was not speaking figuratively. When God said that he hates divorce (Mal. 2:16), he did not mean that he is mildly turned off by the concept, but that he hates even the consideration of it because it means that sin is involved in some way. Maybe we should ask Ananias and Sapphira if there are things God hates (Acts 5), or maybe King Herod Agrippa would be a good candidate for such questions (Acts 12:20-23). When one reaches those lists of those who will not enter the kingdom of Heaven (Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:8-10; etc.), how can we not understand that these are things that God hates and that God also hates the actions of those who are entertained by them (Rom. 1:22-32)?

There are many other aspects of the mythical God that could be listed and discussed, but these should refocus our minds on ensuring that the God we serve is the God of the Bible; not some mythical God man has created to fit his beliefs and desires. It will only be by placing our trust and confidence in the true God that we can serve him acceptably, accept his promises, understand his will, and receive his rewards. May we never serve a mythical God.