With God on our side

The title of this blog comes from a Bob Dylan song that he recorded in 1964. A brief quote from Wikipedia sums up what this song is about: “The lyrics address the tendency of Americans to believe that God will invariably side with them and oppose those with whom they disagree, thus leaving unquestioned the morality of wars fought…” (Wikipedia 2023)

One of Dylan’s verses is focused on the American civil war (1861-1865). Both sides thought they had God on their side. How can both be right?

Dylan is an American, so naturally his focus was on the US. But what he is decrying is far from unique to that country. Even today, nearly sixty years later, you don’t have to look too hard to find wars where religion is a significant part of the cause.

The ideal world that John Lennon envisages in his song “Imagine” (1971) dismisses religion completely. Here are some of the lyrics:

“Imagine there’s no countries; It isn’t hard to do; Nothing to kill or die for; And no religion, too; Imagine all the people; Livin’ life in peace”

I find it understandable that thinking people, would have a tendency to dismiss religion altogether. A big problem to many is that they see it, correctly, as a major cause of many of history’s wars.

Here’s a thought, though, starting with an extreme analogy. Electricity is supplied to my house via a network. What if I have so many appliances going that I overload the system and it blacks out. Would it make sense if I disconnected from the electricity forever due to a blackout caused because I didn’t know how many appliances I can run simultaneously? I think most people would say ‘No’. It’s a bit like that with religion as well. Before you disconnect with it, it makes sense to look at what the source of Christian religion, God’s Bible, says; and to make sure that your views are based on what it says. Not what someone else has said.

Here’s one example from the words of the source of Christian values, Jesus himself:

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.” (Matthew 5:43-46, NLT)

If everyone in the world loved their neighbour (that means everybody) right now, how close to the ideal of John Lennon’s song do you reckon we would be? Impossible? Well that’s not the fault of religion is it. The failure is squarely in humankind’s control and responsibility.

There is a better world coming though. God’s Bible has a great deal to say about that; about what true religion is and how you and I can be a permanent part of it. Have a read!

Reference:

“With God on our side” Wikipedia 2023 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/With_God_on_Our_Side_(song) (17 May 2023)