God is not mad at you

‘Where does this concept of God come from?’ she asks in the introduction. ‘Perhaps from an angry parent who was difficult to please. Or the pain of rejection from parents or friends who didn’t know how to give unconditional love. Perhaps it came from the church! From religious teaching that offered us rules and regulations to follow and implied that we’d be unacceptable to God if we didn’t follow them.’

It’s a paradox that isn’t often discussed by Christian teachers: God loved the world so much that He gave His son to rescue mankind. Yet we tend to think of Him as a stern judge who is ready to punish us at the slightest mis-step.