Western religions have made narcissism a virtue through the worship of God, who bears all the markers of a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Narcissism is a painful condition of low self-esteem masked by a shallow presentation of grandiose confidence. Through their imitation of the Divine Narcissist, the religious suffer, alternating between the crushing narcissistic wounds of superiority in salvation and inferiority in sin.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), “the essential feature of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy” (DSM-IV-TR, 714). Narcissists form a grandiose self-image as a compensatory defense in order to protect themselves from facing the pain of an actual self-image of inadequacy, which is kept out of awareness in the unconscious mind. There is no one more grandiose or egotistical (or insecure) than the biblical God. In his mind, the whole universe exists solely to worship him: “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” (Romans 11:36). God’s idea of heaven is a universe centered around his worship: “Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty’” (Revelation 4:8). Yet worship is nothing more than flattery. Flattery is not befitting to spiritual leaders such as God, who should serve and set a positive example by practicing humility.
Narcissists aggressively devalue or destroy those who threaten their grandiose self-image. God pours out his wrath on his followers whenever they turn their attention away from his worship. God brutally murders in hell those he considers his enemies: all Hindus, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and anyone else who lives for a purpose other than inflating his ego. In the converse of their destructive tendencies, narcissists idealize those who bolster their sense of superiority. Because narcissists’ grandiosity rests on shaky grounds, they look for the ever-elusive sense of perfection or specialness in other people and idealize them in order to identify and fuse with it. In the Bible, God idealizes brutal leaders, like Moses and King David, who, like him, extend their ego-kingdoms through violent enactment of their commands. God idealizes Jesus of Nazareth as perfect and special, even though Jesus had his flaws, like violently condemning his enemies to hell, along with anyone who refuses to worship him in the End Times (Matthew 23-24).
According to the DSM, narcissists are “often preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love” (714). God titles himself, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” and describes himself as the perfection of all traits: all-powerful (omnipotent), all-loving (omnibenevolent), all-knowing (omniscient), all-present (omnipresent). This massive self-valuation surely corresponds to an equally massive low self-esteem, and a God-sized trauma behind it.
Why is God so hellbent on having everyone worship him? Narcissists commonly suffer from an original developmental trauma of feeling unseen. This sense of not being seen is perceived as a threat of annihilation, the feeling that, “I am not seen; therefore, I am not real, I do not exist.” God existed in isolation, with no one to acknowledge his existence or show him empathy for all of eternity-past. What could be more traumatic? God confirms this theory of eternal isolation by telling us humans exist to reflect his glory to himself (2 Corinthians 3:18): in other words, to show him he exists forever. Perhaps all of this colossal mess that’s God’s creation has been one giant attempt at divine self-love.
Love is, after all, profoundly difficult for a being who lacks empathy. According to the DSM, narcissists are known by their lack of empathy (DSM-IV-TR, 714). Narcissists may appear charming and benevolent at first, but they merely feign empathy in order to exploit people, whom they use as objects to get what they want. God claims to embody perfect love (1 John 4:18), yet in God’s kingdom, people are nothing more than objects employed in service of the Divine Ego. God makes this explicit in the Bible, calling humans objects and mere clay created to be glorified or burnt in hell as he wishes, just to show off his awesomeness: “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”‘ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory” (Romans 9:20-23).
Narcissists suffer from an alternating sense of superiority and insufficiency; two sides of the same coin. Christians are intentionally manipulated by the Church through doctrines that cultivate and take advantage of their narcissism, like the doctrine of sin which humiliates the ego, and the doctrine of salvation which exalts it. In terms of superiority, God proclaims his own preeminence, “Who among the gods is like you, LORD?” (Exodus 15:11), and offers it to all his followers, who are a chosen race, the elect, kings and queens, a royal priesthood, rulers of the nations, and other such adulations of supremacy. Believers view themselves as better than other people, who are objects of conversion to be pitied for their “sin.” They are taught to call people who do not worship the Divine Narcissist degrading labels like sinners, unbelievers, evildoers, apostates, faithless. Christians are supernatural; everyone else is “of the earth” and “unspiritual, of the flesh.”
Superiority or specialness is excruciatingly painful because it is impossible to achieve. Narcissists struggle with perfectionism; they tirelessly try and fail to live up to their superego’s cruel requirement of absolute perfection. The narcissist deeply loathes both himself and all other people (unconsciously) because no one is good enough; no one is extraordinary. Yet believers must try: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Jesus, Matthew 5:48). The Apostle Paul describes this agony of having to be perfect, “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24).
Whenever narcissists became aware of their lack of perfection, their entire grandiose self-image comes crashing down and they experience extreme shame, humiliation, and worthlessness. This is known in psychology as a narcissistic injury. Narcissists often react to this injury like wounded animals, attempting to regain a lost sense of superiority by aggressively lashing out at others whom they perceive as easy targets, building themselves up by tearing others down. Perhaps this is why Christians so frequently display an ungodly amount of rage toward women, gays, and other innocent people. Perhaps this is why God in the Bible destroys through genocide and war people who worship other gods. If other gods are acknowledged as existing, then what makes God so special? Yet God acknowledges their existence (and appeal) in his sworn war to destroy them all: “You shall have no other gods before me… You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:3-6). Like a classic narcissist, God defines loyalty as love, and diversity as betrayal.
The solution to narcissism is an acceptance of ordinariness, of our common humanity. If there is such a thing as the supernatural, specialness, or divinity, it is a shared bond, not a dividing wedge. Therapists treat narcissists by creating a relational bond of empathy within which confrontations to the narcissist’s ego can be trusted as wounds from a friend. If he truly seeks love, let God come down from his throne and repent of his sin of selfishness, accepting his place as a god among other gods, and acknowledging his need for healing and forgiveness. Only then will he find authentic love unconditioned by fear; the love he has been desperately seeking for an eternity. Otherwise, he is doomed to an eternity-future of the clanging-of-cymbals-in-the-ears sound of meaningless worship made by narcissistic followers in heaven who, like him, are only capable of a half-hearted, self-serving kind of love.
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I’m Andrew Jasko, Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Masters in Counseling in Progress, and I work to help you transform your trauma into the place of your power and connect to a healthy, authentic spirituality that works for you (whether that’s as a spiritual not religious, atheist, religious, transitioning, or agnostic identifying person). I was born into a minister’s family and became a preacher and missionary to India, after studying theology at Wheaton College and Princeton Seminary. As a Christian, my relationship with God was my passion, but unhealthy religious teachings caused me an anxiety disorder, sexual repression, and spiritual disillusionment. I felt alone, traumatized, and abandoned by the divine. After an agonizing crisis of faith, I rejected religion and spirituality. Then, I reintegrated a healthy spirituality through mystical, spiritual, and mindful practices. My passion is to help you to heal and connect with your authentic spiritual wholeness.
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What a powerful, in-depth exposition of god’s narcissism AND how to escape it. Thanks for a well done and thoughtful piece.
I have been pondering this exact topic for a while and I am so glad someone actually sees it the same. I often wondered if it isn’t religion that breeds narcissists. Coming from a strict Christian home with all the contradictions and double standards. The disregard of children’s identity.
Thank you so much for this.
Rick, your comment is classic denial. It’s funny how you don’t refute a single claim he made, instead you go straight to personal attacks. Perhaps your fragile ego was damaged. If you’d like to have a debate like two adults, I’d love to hear your reasoning as to why Andrew is wrong.
I’ve been a Christian since I was four years old, and have recently struggling with this exact topic. I’m starting to realize that I don’t actually love God, I’m just scared of him. I’m scared of going to hell, and that he’ll come after me and ruin my life if I choose not to follow him. I’m already homeless, I don’t know what more he could really do, but I know from experience that you should never underestimate a narcissist. Not to mention a divine, all-knowing, ever present narcissist. The thought is honestly terrifying.
How can God be a narcissist when he is superior to us because he created the whole Earth and every living creature in it? This is such a ridiculous article.
Hi please could you email me I have severe problems I need to discuss
In other words should we be like God? I mean we were created in his image correct? Look at history nearly every king that ruled over a body of people have been narcissist! So here is my answer do unto others as you would like done to you…
I’m just glad Andrew is here to straighten God out.
Well, consider who wrote the Bible, and their history of being externally conquered and committing genocide against outside tribes, which they rationalized as them having to punish the “enemies of god”.
Basically the Abrahamic, god is the imaginary friend of a tribe of pathological narcissists and racial supremacists, and the infliction of said god on the world has been one of the most horrible occurences in human history.
I understand you wrote this so long ago, but I hope you can be more careful how you word things. I admit that it’s me that felt personally discouraged by your comment because I’m a Christian that’s trying to understand many points of views without holding judgment or fear, for the purpose of being open-minded. A big reason why this matters to me is because I hope more Christians can do research, including article like this, so that they can make informed decisions. Being brainwashed isn’t fun. Comments like the one you posted may discourage people that are trying to do research on topics like this.
Love it. Show this to any Christian and watch them backpedal and suffer through some serious mental gymnastics.
What’s sad is most of them are so brainwashed and full of fear that they are unable to do anything but defend their god and pray for him to change my heart so I won’t be sentenced to eternal torture.
While I totally struggle with believing God, I think you two are awfully wrong. Christians are actually the only faithfuls that actually and constantly and openly confess and deal with their doubts and seek answers. Yours truly is doing that right now. But we just don’t use emotions only like you guys. You are ruled by emotions and having your way – so your reasoning is often flawed. I am here because I was in fact researching whether God is actually a narcissist. I am always asking questions and challenge myself to think outside of the box and compare reasonings. I’m also interested in human sufferings, and in the Bible we are told we will suffer, God sent His Son to suffer on our behalf, but after we believe we continue to suffer. All of human life has suffering, but for different reasons. I am trying to understand why suffering is such a central theme in it and why God allows it both for the rebellious and the believing. So I am open to read. There is mental gymnastics cus I don’t like to deceive myself. I am willing to abandon God eternally if in fact He is not real or not qualified. But you see, the problem is you are NOT GOD, and neither am I nor is this writer whoever they are. It’s actually very tricky TO JUDGE and COME TO A FULLY VERIFIED VERDICT. So we can only come to the closest and most trustworthy one. So I would advise you to stop using your emotions and passing impressions based on psychology fad terms as trustworthy evidence whether God is real or not, good or bad. It just makes your arguments and conclusions so dumb (I’m sorry to be blunt, but honestly do you think all these lame comments hold up as any reliable evidence for or against the true nature of God – of course not). So I don’t blame you for not believing Him, doubting Him or just disregarding Him. But honestly, I think we all have to try a little harder and think a little deeper and actually HUMBLY SEEK OUT and DEVELOP a reasonable, completely convincing picture that we have tested in many ways and from many perspectives and on all different levels – a most reasonable verdict or conclusion. It may be a life-long pursuit. But honestly, hating others for believing what they do and calling them brainwashed when your reasoning is even more shallow and more brainwashed is just not convincing even yourself. I mean you could literally say that about everything. You need to specific in your own mind what it is that really makes no sense and WHY, and look at those whys and qualify them.
I came to this article thinking some writer was gonna convince me God is actually a narcissist. But the whole law of basic knowledge and logic actually pushed me the other way – it actually made me repent my thoughts a bit.
Why? Because most of what they said is just emotional ranting, not correct or accurate as basic information. I will illustrate some of them below. Mind you, I don’t even think God is not a narcissist, since I am actually totally struggling with God. But this article is just wrong.
Examples:
“Believers view themselves as better than other people, who are objects of conversion to be pitied for their “sin.” ”
That is totally the opposite. I don’t know about other believers. In fact, the thing that upsets me is that how OFTEN and UNCEASINGLY GOD’S WORD AND SPIRIT makes me feel bad about my own behavior and sins. The more and longer I become a believer and grow in the knowledge of the gospel, I become so sensitive of my own sins. And yes, the part that I’m frustrated with God’s character is that – He really never lets off. He’s always on this business of “refining” me and making me feel sorry when I do the least bit of wrong that the world is always so liberally doing. That’s actually what makes me angry the most. I put up with so many people being abusive, rude, putting me down, breaking promises and abandoning me – and yes mocking me as a believer. But if I ever get pissed at them and curse them in my God and let it be a pattern for a short while – I kid you NOT. All I get from anywhere, whether it is the devotional I’m reading that day, or the sermon video I happened to click on or just the BIble verses, it calls me out right away. And what frustrates me is that – it doesn’t matter how wrong the other person is, even if they are absolute jerks and evil schemers, God ACTUALLY starts disciplines me. Maybe there are not a lot believers like me. I have no idea. But if I don’t repent and actually lower my heart and be humbled, He continues the hardship for months and increases the hardship in other areas of my life – until I finally crash and repents (I always did because we are small whether you admit it or not. We can only endure so much). I honestly have time to pity other people but God is always telling me to serve them and forgive them with a WILLING HEART and HUMBLE MYSELF. This is actually why I am here. I’m finally mad, because unbelievers do whatever they want. But I have to be happy. They throw their arrogance at me but I cannot return the same. It’s okay if it’s small attitudes. But when you are faced with a jerk who harmed your health, and instead of suing them you have to pray for them, forgive them and love them when he’s walking all over you and instead threatens you – it caused me to be mad at God. I think He’s unjust and even evil for loving sinners more than those who try to put up with so much while being hurt and harmed. But NO, God insists to me that I AM wicked for wanting to sue a jerk who poisoned me! He’s not answering my prayers for a long time now because of that jerk. But all He tells me is that He is trying to refine me and make me like His Son. I know theoretically it is right that I should be like Jesus and love people, but it’s freaking hard when my own needs are not met. But He refuses to let loose all my difficulties until I pray and repent. I feel like a total loser and I feel like we are subject to God and His goodness to others and we are also subject to assholes and also the various struggles. And He is utterly stubborn. I’ve walked with Him for decades and I know for a fact He will not lose the struggle. Of course He always wins. He’s stubbornly obsessed with forgiveness and being good from the heart. I confess I did better before. But honestly sometimes I look at all the assholes in the world who hurt me and tries to hunt me down just cus I am not a jerk – I just want to break loose and give them a taste of their own device. But nope, God won’t let me. He makes it just a huge deal with me. Even if it is in the heart – if I have a sense of arrogance in my attitude and doing the right motions, He freaking knows! He just won’t leave me be bitter for long. I HAVE TO FORGIVE. The thing is He has a lot of time and patience – which is very true. And the one thing that makes me most mad is that He WILL constantly use sufferings as a device, such as closing all the doors to job opportunities, friend support, financial problems, singleness and any technical difficulty. As human beings, we are wired to want to move on and move forward. Nope, not God. He will leave serious believers like me stuck in the most random problem and keep me there, and wear me out, until He gets His way. Oh, no, I have to love and forgive and be kind to the jerks in my life like I’m some saint. He’s petty and micro-inspects me and my heart 24/7. It’s fine and great when I’m obedient. But sometimes I just think it’s unfair that He does not punish the evil doers, but will go to great lengths to make me care way too much about them. And guess what? Those same jerks finds out I’m soft (or made soft by this weird God I serve), and comes on even stronger. They backstab me at my job and bully me cus of jealousy. The whole time I was cheerful and kind to them. But I left every job I had with so much forgiveness and grace – while they gossip, overworked me and compete with me for no reason. They don’t get so much as rebuked. But me as a believer? I developed depression because the whole time I thought those friends were friends. It turned out my team leader was giving work that was not necessary for a long time, just to burn me out. I only found out when he saw me so sickly pale from depression and leaving the firm, that HE TOLD ME HE WAS SORRY. But no, guess what God was doing? He was disciplining me for loving the world and wouldn’t leave the job for His calling to serve in a country that lacked human rights. Now I am in the country and all day I’m dealing with dishonest jerks who do not know morality or ethics. God did change my heart and made me repent and follow Him. But the sacrifice is HUGE. It’s not just the living standard, and dealing with more immoral and sometimes barbaric people. But the biggest pain is He keeps chastising me for the smallest sins. I’m only realizing now that He is so seriously about holiness and kindness and goodness. But it all sounds great unit on the receiving end you get the dog eats dog world attitude and savage people who just cares about money. They will rob you and run you over if they know you love God and will forgive them. Okay there are okay people in every place. But I think we must be nearer to the end times, cus it seems people are worse than just 10 years ago and everything is about money and selfish emotions. If they’re not happy you’re in for a bad day – like everyone think they are king or something. Having to endure this while doing good is exceeding hard on my ego, which I confess I have. I was a well paid professional in a top company. Now? I was just rejected by a restaurant casher yesterday cus I didn’t look good enough -at a country in my flesh I would only consider trashy and worthless. I really wanted to confront the girl for giving me dirty looks and a bad attitude just cus I wasn’t dressed hip or something. But I left, as years of God training me has indeed withdrawn me from caring too much about how the world looks at me, which can be a good aspect I think. I do forgive much often and easier and am bot bothered by things. But sometimes in hindsight I just get mad at God because I feel like what does this even accomplish? Am I mop to you? Why do you make me come here and be mocked by the lowest of people? But then OF COURSE, my devotion for the day had to do with something about what sin it is to look down on people and how we should count others as more significant. Sometimes I’m just like – Lord, you know I didn’t judge her job and who she was UNTIL SHE WAS THE ONE WHO DESPISED ME, A CUSTOMER, BASED ON MY LOOKS? Is this kind of person worthy of my respect. But of course He didn’t change His mind. This is why I think there is suspicion He may have qualities that cause Him to not sympathize with believers, so called servants. I think He forgets we are just human beings, and by thinking He can forgive and continue to put up with people He forgets I am not that great and my capacity is limited. I need a break from their BS and I think they should be put in their place once in a while. But then of course He’s like “vengeance is mine, I will repay.” So what am I? A piece of dirt to be stepped on by the world and you unbelievers just hate and mock on us ignorantly all day thinking we are really weak. Let me just let the world know, right now – if I didn’t believe in Jesus Christ and His forgiveness of my sins – I will for certain knock those jerks off their imaginary crowns. So please, keep your imagination to yourself. Believe me, for this duration of time when I am mad and wrestling with God, I certainly am not praying for your salvation. You two deserve what you have done with your life. I hope that is what you get. And no, you jerks, we are not full of fears. I fear no one, only God so far. And I argue with God so I won’t say I fear Him that way. We just fear doing evil, which is something you cannot relate, because you clearly don’t. So
Wow. Everything you just said sounds like me! I don’t understand why God allows these people to screw us over, meanwhile if we do much as give them a dirty look, we get punished tenfold! Meanwhile no doors seem to be closed for the jerks we deal with. I’ve also noticed God seems to discourage fighting against bullies; notice when a kid is bullied and does something, HE gets expelled while the bully gets ignored! The jerks are really no different. I think that God wants us to deal with these people the way HE wants us to, by turning the other cheek. It’s a bitter pill for me to swallow, maybe one day I’ll understand.
On one hand God does really seem like a narcissist. But I think the desire to be worshipped and served is reasonable, and not necessarily narcissistic. It’s just that we project and connect the dots a certain way which can make something seem convincing. For example, if I open a company I would need my employees to follow orders and obey my vision. Since it really is my company and I can a personal vision for it and that is the reason I start a company in the first place. And it makes sense to hire people who WANTS to work for me and trusts in this vision. It won’t work if they all want different things and work differently and don’t respect the vision of the leader and constantly undermines them. This is how a company goes down. The same applies to any company that is privately owned. You could have partnerships but the leaders as a group will require obedience and respect, in some cases even a great level of trust. This is why team building is important So it is a logical fallacy is say a king to His own kingdom is narcissistic if He wants his citizens to obey the rules of His kingdom and trust Him for being a faithful leader. The country will quickly be taken over and no one can agree in anything if no one is ever willing to submit to others. My problem with our current young generation is that you think authority and the need to submit to anything equates authoritarianism and narcissism. No it does not. You can be a boss that requires trust and submission to rules. It is morally neutral and practically wise and reasonable. But the issue of narcissism lies in whether you think of yourself and act like you are MORE than who you really are, whether the self promotion is necessary for the group to function well and whether you have empathy. If a leader demands you to trust him when he is an actually honest person, then he is not a narcissist for promoting himself as such. I’ve been a leader before and was gossiped about for a long time by a vicious woman. She divided our group by telling those I was trained I was somehow “insane” by nick picking everything I did. I had no idea until I noticed those closest to me began to display undue resentment towards me but couldn’t really articulate why they were mean to me. I am one that does not like to talk about myself in leadership. But I finally had to meet with them and pour out my heart and told them my intentions and my character, and asked them to trust me and not listen to gossip. I realized later that it is VERY important to defend and even highlight one’s honor before a group of people whom you lead, precisely because you want them to know you and trust you but also be united in vision – this is the only way to move a group of people in the right direction effectively. Because gossip, slander, biased views and uninformed opinions are plenty in a group. Division and hatred based on partial information can happen. This is why I question your view that God who owns His OWN creation cannot so much as declare His own character and demand attention and obedience. As a leader who has gone through many trials and errors, I can tell you all good leaders must declare their good intentions, their purpose and ask those who WILLING join the group to respect, trust in and believe the vision and those who lead them. It is not for the good for myself that I had to declare my own good intentions, but for the group, as in this example I was in a volunteering leader who taught and trained leaders for free. My ambition was we would all grow to be better servants. Now, our group only had like under 50 people. If we had to deal with slander and division, then what about a country, a kingdom? What about when a Creator calls all fallen creation to come back to Him in repentance? Of course He has to declare who He is and His good intentions and His ultimate purpose of salvation. How would people know what is good and who is good to trust if even God doesn’t tell us? And why the heck would we forsake sin and our fatal attraction to self gratification and selfish desires, if God does not reveal His loving nature and the benefits of repenting and trusting Him so we can follow the right path? What would any good owner of a sheep do, if he saw the sheep follow a wolf? Would He not call him and tell him to come back, and say where he is going would kill him? Not every warning and kindness is manipulation. Sometimes we are just brainwashed by the slanderers that make us see everything as tainted BECAUSE YOUR MINDS ARE TAINTED. Even a small company could have slanderers and gossipers that divide people. Just imagine a country and the whole earth. How can God not present His deeds and character to call sinners back to repentance? How can you tell a person to repent if you can’t tell them what is wrong that they are doing? Is it not guilt-tripping. It is simply telling them the truth. Just because you hate correction you claim God a narcissist.
If God was a narcissist He could never give His own son to sacrifice in place for your sins. A narcissist does not make sacrifices for the good of another, period. What have you given him? And what is the use of him manipulating you, when he can wipe us out and just make new creatures without giving them free will at all? Isn’t the tradeoff too much for him to hurt himself so you could worship him? He doesn’t even need us in the first place. Your attitude is twisted simply because you hate correction and are more like the narcissist than God. You want everything in the world to revolve around you and fall magically in line with your will. You resent God’s authority and ways because His will does not comply with your desires of being treated like a queen or king because you are NOT a queen or king. You resent God because you can’t deal with anyone being in charge other than your own values and desires. When things go against your will you hate God. Why should God who made you not require you to trust him and obey Him? You seem to be so confused by your own narcissism that you think God should obey you. If He did this world would all go to hell and we would have all died because another narcissist who does not know their limitations think they’re God. Being a narcissist is literally thinking oneself as God. The fact that we all think God should manage the world the way low IQ humans dictate should is what gave us the world wars to begin with. It was never God who caused wars. It was human beings. Read any history book on wars, was it not ” on so and so date, so and so person or country went to war with so and so country?” Or did it say God began the war. Just because people claim they do it because of their so-called “god” as an excuse does not mean the Creator did so. Jesus never taught us to go to war. So stop the false information and accept the reality you just don’t know enough to judge people, let alone the infinitely informed God. You can claim he doesn’t have enough empathy etc., but to say God does not deserve worship and loyalty of his own creation is like saying a team
coach cannot ask a player to take pride in or play for their team. If you continue to use flimsy, emotional logic like the ones you use, all things and all persons are narcissistic. No one could ever ask for loyalty and trust. And God’s angels should not worship God but should feel free to resent and kill people like Satan. Your love for rebellion and lack of order and faithfulness and humility would make for a MUCH, much more horrible world. I doubt it would past a few days. The world would probably se-destruct based on your unintelligent and ignorant ways. Please sit down and understand you really don’t know stuff. Truly intelligent don’t presume they know when they factually just cannot know the things of God or the invisible realm. Only faith can access any understanding of it. You may freely choose to not believe or have faith. But what you factually cannot do is declare God is a narcissist, because you literally don’t have the mental/spiritual/tools/intelligence faculty to assess the Creator of all things. It is like a pot trying to explain the designer and psychoanalyze him. If you cannot believe God, at least try to use some sanity and logic to see that you are at the least no match for the least of his angels. You are not nearly competent to understand anything by using human IQ alone. It’s just factually not enough. With our collective knowledge and technology and psychology gurus, we can’t even read an ant’s mind. Let that sink in before you attempt to judge anyone else.
Who is narcissistic is Satan, who just like the lady who slandered me wants worship not due him. This is where you can clear define narcissisism – when someone isn’t God but wants to be God or perceive they are. Cult leaders are narcissists. But the real God IS actually God so He commands worship and obedience rightfully and for good reason. Otherwise you would continue to serve all the actual narcissists like Satan, people or YOUR own narcissistic self. Did you read Genesis 2 and 3. Do you even understand why our ancestor Eve ate the fruit? Take a guess.
SHE didn’t want God’s goodness, why? Cus she believed the devil that SHE would be JUST LIKE GOD. She abandoned her maker and wanted to rule. She was the narcissist. And knowing she betrayed her own creator, she told her husband to do her will, knowing it could kill the both of them. Who the heck is the narcissist here? God who made a beautiful home for them to live and enjoy all He made for them, without any cost? Or the sneaky human who was gonna look out for themselves and abandon Him, so THEY could have HIS power and HIS knowledge. When God asked them about it, they both shifted blame and tried to GASLIGHT GOD with Adam saying it was the woman that “YOU, GOD put here that made me.”
Human beings are born narcissists. Look at how a toddler cries, pouts and throw tantrums to get what they want and you know YOU are a born narcissist.
My friend, when you look at what you wrote and what Eve did and Adam said, are you not seeing you are doing exactly the same. You’re just pissed you are not God and He is. You want to be God to yourself, and if you can get away with it you would want everyone around you to do say what you want. Your narcissistic tendencies cause you to resent God’s rebukes for your sins because a narcissist does not think they can be wrong. They hate being told they are wrong and they want to silence and discredit even God. Your pathological tendency is to blame God for your do by your own actions. Human beings kill each other than they claim religions made them. Just like Adam did. If God wiped you out it would not be narcissism. It would only be right judgement and factually good for His peace of mind and probably beneficial for the planer. But because of His grace for sinful people like you, He has been tolerating and giving us this much time to repent thus far.
If you continue to be narcissists who ruin each other, of course there needs to be an end, when all the options of jail-free cards have been offered you multiple times, and the Judge will come. That is an objective announcement, not a manipulative threat. You sow what you reap. Stop blaming others and look into the mirror and stop being a huge j erk!
I had been religious since I was four years old. I worshiped God in Sunday school. Later joined the church choir & led a decent life.How did He thank me, I married an extremely dangerous narcissist. Had a narcissist daughter, who married another dangerous narcissist. How many times to I have to almost die sadly, I figure it out. I suffered all my life. Do I feel loved NO!!
Broken hearted
rr
When, it comes to God, He is a mystery. To make matters worse, we weren’t even born, in those days. We only have man’s word to go on. There has been so much lying going on, I don’t even know what to think. God is getting blamed projected onto Him that is the devil’s work. My dad, was my guardian angel. How he brought me up toughen me up to survive what I had to endure. Things went extremely wrong. Almost died. Wish I had. So tired of of fighting toxic people on a daily basis. Single handedly, I am beating many. The truth is coming out. I knew, I couldn’t do this a lone, so I let God take the wheel. I am doing all things put before me, because I put my life in God’s hands with a sword in one hand & a shield in the other & God is my armour, His will is going to be done & I am happy to be a part of it. All the BS we hear is the devil’s lies. Be careful where you thread. Do not trust man’s word or you may live to regret it!!
[Much thanks to Andrew for the article- much food for thought!]
Carol: I’m sorry to hear that life has given you some lemons At the same time, I would question whether you getting married to a narcissist was somehow God’s fault. I have a friend who believes that when it rains (on them, plus millions of other people) – it is because they (personally) disappointed God. Somehow the other million people a part of the equation. There are also some Christians who reject Divinity and miracles and Demons and Angels and even God himself- preferring to see Jesus as a great moral teacher. Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein indicated such a belief.
Finally, actual narcissists are *SUPER* rare, about 1-3 in 100. To have that many that are close to you suggests a kind of scapegoating / blame-shifting is going on. I could be wrong- I only mention it because I see that trait often in Believers. (For instance: shifting blame away from Pontius Pilate and the Romans.) According to Einstein, that blame-shifting was the seed of the Holocaust. Einstein was “Public Enemy #1” of Germany from 1933-1940, so its worth considering. (src: google ‘time.com Einstein England’)
How can we escape him if he’s such a control freak?
In my experience he has played mindgames with me and tormented me endlessly usually just for smoking cigarettes and not doing miracles. He’s vague. He never gives specifics and I find him to be legalistic and hypocritical. I’m living in a nightmare paradox and want out but don’t want to go to hell. I found contradictions in the Bible but I’m still being tormented by demons nonstop daily. I face narcisists at every job I go to. It’s so bad that I quit so I’m homeless. It’s mentally draining. He keeps giving me signs with no context. It’s excruciatingly annoying. Most christians I’ve come across are narcisistic. I’m living in a personal hell. I’ve been stuck in a mentally unhealthy city for two and a half years. I want a normal life and I find “the way” to be illogical and stupid. I’m just finding out about evolution. I can’t afford a therapist. God has a hard on for legalistically forcing lowliness on me on the outside which shouldn’t matter. I’m sick of this life. I find truth in the Bible but I also hate it and hate God. How can we escape if he’s so manipulative?
I have personal experiences with him yet I side with logic and reason. I’m conflicted and need help. I haven’t been able to find out if I’m schizophrenic or not yet as god makes it almost impossible for me to see a doctor as if I’m not allowed to. I need an unbiased counseling session from someone who’s been in a similar situation.
Hey friend, I feel your pain. The narrow road is marked with pain and suffering. If you are truly born again you are also under demonic attack. What’s cool about you is that you are geniunely seeking answers and not faking Spirituality just because the Bible says so. You are seeking truth and living out your faith. I’ve had demonic delieverances (demons cast out of me, yes Christian’s can have demons). My advice would be to find a center, most of them are free. It will change your life and bring clarity although I’m still learning and growing in the faith and looking up struggles and questions like what is Gods true character and how He feels toward me. Hit me up at gnotes96@yahoo.com and I might be able to help you find a deliverance center for you. Be blessed bro!
You may be able to escape His love, but you won’t be able to escape His wrath.
You may disagree with God and His Word, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re going to either Heaven or Hell when you pass.
God is respectful enough to honor the free will that He has given you, that He will grant you your wish, to not be in Heaven with Him.
This piece strikes me as a shallow presentation of grandiose confidence. Question is, are you suffering from low self-esteem or afflicted with severe grandiosity?
Rick, your comment is classic denial. It’s funny how you don’t refute a single claim he made, instead you go straight to personal attacks. Perhaps your fragile ego was damaged. If you’d like to have a debate like two adults, I’d love to hear your reasoning as to why Andrew is wrong.
To me, the blind sheepie are not ready for this. Approach with caution. I had asked God for the truth & come across this. My heart hurts.
The blind sheepie haven’t got a clue. Approach with caustion.
Andrew, you’re a breath of fresh air. After living for decades under the control of the religious narcissism, I am definitely a victim of religious trauma. As with so many trauma survivors I find my only salvation now in writing novels about narcissists and their victims. Somehow it gives me a voice I never had before. Your blog articles are an inspiration on a whole new level, giving me the newfound evidence that I am not alone in this trauma but that there are experts who are willing to help me and those like me. You’re inspiring me start writing another book. LOL!
Almost my story. Also writing books.
This is probably the only religious article I haven’t rolled my eyes through. Seeing God as a narcissist makes perfect sense. I have suffered religious and spiritual abuse and trauma for decades. Reading your words gives me hope in a family, community, and country that seems brainwashed by a narcissistic God that cares little for his creations.
Some time ago I began reading the bible in earnest, asking questions, answering some, and commenting. The deeper I got into it, the more surprised, then shocked, then appalled I became at the figure of god presented therein: a being that killed millions of his “creations” because they weren’t behaving as he thought they should (the flood, for example), which usually meant not worshiping him properly. I labeled him a narcissist, and probably would have written at least one chapter in my book explaining why. Fortunately I don’t have to do that; you have done it for me, and you have done it beautifully. Thank you.
Not to mention, all this “sin” and the behaviors he punishes is technically his fault as he is 1) omniscient (all knowing) 2) omnipotent (all powerful) and 3) creator of everything according to the Bible, meaning he knowingly and purposely created you *exactly* how you are to do *exactly* what you have done then basically said you’re a disappointment and evil and you deserve to be tortured for eternity for all you have done
Just a thought
One woman could not create an entire world!!! Why do we do we suffer for what someone else does?
I though that this was going to be a discerning piece on an aspect of God. It is not. The writer either has limited knowledge of the ‘evolution’ of God in the Bible or randomly picks and choose from the Bible to enforce his preconception of God. The truth is there are deep holes with the arguments he comes up with (some are outright lies if one bothers to read and understand the scriptures). The new Testament scriptures belies his arguments hands down.
If one believes that Jesus is the manifestation of God who took the form and nature of a human, who sacrificed his life for the love of others and whose mission as a leader was to serve and act as a voice for the voiceless and a hope for the poor and those in the lower rungs of society (basically the whole 4 scriptures), to forgive incessantly those who wrong us etc than there is not even an argument about narcissism
God triangulates us through the creation of Jesus, that golden boy who can do no wrong. We, on the other hand, are miserable wretches who will never measure up to Jesus and are constantly trying – and failing – to prove to God that we are just like Jesus so that he will go back to loving us. A classic narcissistic ploy
This is exactly what I realized Tonight! While writing about triangulation in general and where scapegoating comes from, I paused and said, if esau/ Jesus are the scapegoats and Jacob/Christians are the golden child, WHO is the narcissist in charge? And then I gasped.
Jesus begged and pleaded to his father to not make him get on the cross. So much so that his sweat had blood in it which is caused by total anguish. Jesus tried to talk his dad out of forcing him to be crucified. How horrible of a father must you be to force your son to die and take on the sins of all of humanity, most of which are condemned to hell for eternal torture so how cruel is god to force his kid to suffer in vain for billions upon billions of non believers.
An all powerful god couldn’t come up with a better plan for salvation than a plan to force is only kid to die and suffer??
Read your bible again and tell me how what I said is wrong.
So to clarify:
Step 1)
All powerful being who knows the future creates a universe and populates it with lesser beings to praise him knowing they will disappoint him
Step 2)
Said being condemns creations to eternal torture because they disappoint him
Step 3)
Comes down in a form mimicking creations, “kills himself” knowing he will come back to life shortly thereafter (technically not dead as being the trinity and only one part of it is dead temporarily so more like a nap…)
Step 4)
Allow those who believe he is god (despite never actually showing yourself or sealing to them for their entire life, opting instead to make them cross their fingers and hope they picked the right one) and denounce everything else a free pass from the eternal torture
All because he loves said creation so much
Ok, I’ve been in a relationship where I had to learn a lot about narcissism, just to survive. I also come from a very conservative Christian background, can read some Greek and Hebrew, and spent many, many hours contemplating Scripture and the beliefs it enjoins. I agree with Mr. Jasko there is a narcissism problem with God as presented in Scripture. However, if the goal is persuasion, I don’t think it helps to ridicule deity. Lots of good people suffering under narcissistic abuse are very damaged souls, deeply into their religion, and they do look to God for comfort. You don’t reach them by ridiculing their God. You deepen their alienation.
Furthermore, you cost yourself some credibility when you don’t handle the Biblical text in a fair way. For example, all the lesser gods rejected as idols belong to an entirely different category of being. They are created things, not all powerful, not all wise, etc. There is no way they should have equal status with the uncreated being who caused all of reality to happen. No contest. So it’s apples and oranges to expect they should all get equal treatment.
Also, as a student of what the Bible teaches about love, I reject the premise it is equated to blind loyalty. I agree the narcissist would see it that way, and yes, I even agree in some passages of Scripture that’s what the writer seems to be saying about God. But that’s not the whole message about love. In many place, God does exactly what you, Andrew, ask him to do, he humbles himself, sacrifices himself to rescue the creatures who cannot rescue themselves. So the Biblical view is more varied and complex than your treatment allows. I would even go so far as to say it is inconsistent, as though some writers absolutely are projecting their personal narcissism onto deity, a deity I submit does not exist the way they imagine him. Others seem to really grasp what love is, and show God full of mercy, tenderness, sacrifice, goodwill, empathy. Perhaps they too are only projecting, and there really is no such deity. But if there was, I would think that deity more likely to exist, because love is truly so good, one has to hope it is more than just chemical reactions in the brain, but a real, beautiful thing that inspires all that is good in the world and the universe.
Your word is mine!!!
Today I was on the receiving end of my father’s worsening narcissistic tendencies. He was being particularly vile this morning, and I escaped to another room to get out of his way. (The man is a complete tosser). I looked up what traits narcs have online, and it got me thinking.
Thats exactly how the Christian god behaves. He is a classic narc. He oscillates between hate and love, just like a narc. But it is all for his own ends.
Why would ANYONE want to worship THAT!??
Because that’s a lie. You cant define a tree by one leaf, likewise you can’t define the Bible by one verse or God by one incident. The whole story in the Bible is how God created us and tried to keep a relationship with humans that kept turning their backs to him. He meant for everything that was created by him to live in paradise and men decided to walk away from it. When men sinned, death, pain, and evil entered the world. And shortly after in Genesis 3:15 he decided he would send a redeemer to save us all. That was the first prophesy. God loves us eternally. We don’t worship him because he bullies us to it, but because we are joyful and thankful of being saved. Anyone that uses the Bible or religion to abuse, discriminate, hate on other people or groups is not really a christian; because Jesus example was to accept, help and save those who needed it the most.
“Humans turned there backs kn him.” Well, you poor deluded soul, according to the Bible, everything that happens is part of God’s plan. Which means that he is the controller of our actions, and that he made us reject him, only to blame us. Classic narcissist.
Julissa, It’s not a lie to interpret the Biblical deity as narcissistic. It is a legitimate conclusion one can reach taking the Bible as a whole. It’s not just one suspect leaf here and there. It is leaf and branch and trunk and root.
For example, simply wanting to keep a relationship with humans who keep rejecting him is NOT an indication of goodness. A narcissist will will stalk their ex-lover, threaten them with harm if they do not return, very often claim there is no one else who will love them like they do.
That’s not real love. Narcissists can’t truly love. Trying to terrify someone into loving you is not love. Refusing to let go of someone who really doesn’t even like you let alone love you is inherently abusive. The Biblical deity does all of this. All the OT prophetic books are about how terrible Israel has been, how they deserve to be destroyed, and their only hope is to return to their jilted lover, Yahweh. Yahweh is these texts is a violent stalker. That’s not good, and certainly not worthy of worship. Only fear. And narcissists can be very good at using fear to hang onto their victims.
But God has such good intentions, you say. All narcissists have ‘good intentions.’ They all only want what is best, and as they alone know what is best, rejecting them is a high crime that must be punished.
But the Bible doesn’t really portray a deity with good intentions. Paul in Romans 9 clearly states that some souls were made to be destroyed, ‘vessels of destruction,’ doomed to burn in hell from before they were born. They came into existence with just one purpose, to suffer horribly for all eternity. What ‘good intention’ does that represent? How can a ‘good’ deity do something so obviously evil?
But the Biblical deity justifies any evil it commits as an expression of it’s grandiosity. It is God. You are not allowed to question it. You are not allowed to judge it’s acts by the same standards as humans. This deity can murder, rape, enslave, commit genocide, destroy your sense of self-worth, send you to eternal hellfire for a crime as small as telling a fool they are a fool.
Narcissists do this too. In their own minds they are special. The rules don’t apply to them. They know what’s best. If what they are doing looks evil, it’s because you are a simpleton and don’t understand their magnificent plan. You just need to trust them. And if you don’t, there will be hell to pay.
And have you considered what we are being ‘saved from’ by this deity? He is saving us from himself. This is classic narcissistic behavior. The narcissist loves to avoid personal responsibility for their anger and violence. If they have to beat you bloody it’s because you made them do it. They are not responsible for anything bad that happens, because they are great, so it has to be you.
And how are you saved? By an act of utter injustice, the violent taking of a supposedly innocent life. So God the narcissist has to murder his own son, instead of murdering you, and you’re supposed to be ‘joyful’ about that. How can any decent human being take joy in the murder of an innocent person?
So no, it’s not one little leaf. It’s the whole tree. The Biblical deity is a classic narcissist from start to finish, grandiose, fearful of abandonment, capable of extreme violence, incapable of true love. In all the history of human literature, I’m not sure there’s any character less worthy of our adoration than the deity described in the Bible.
I am in awe of the fact that you have just expressed everything that I have been feeling for quite awhile. Very eloquently put.
There is a phenomenon I call Vicarious Self-Worship that would attract narcissists to Christianity as such would work as a motivator for such, unfortunately such likely also played a crucial role in the 2016 elections.
Anyhow, I invite you to have a look around on this facebook page!
https://www.facebook.com/Selective.antitheism/
the one thing that brought me to believe that god is a narcissist was the story of job.
god put that poor man thru hell cuz he wanted to prove a point to satan???
so job goes thru unspeakable torment cuz god has a bet with satan???
wtf???
he cudda said no to satan…afterall hes god and cudda spared his loyal and faithful servant job. seems like his ego was more important than job…never understood such bullshit???
This is a good article. God is definitely a complex creature. And he, honestly, is like a selfish child, a child who longs to feel loved. He wants to be something, do something, have something, so he creates everything. Then he tries to make it all nice and nifty and expects that his creations will all love him, praise, and bow down to him. But then he realizes that they are not meeting his expectations, so he decides to throw the “defective” ones into the trash (the lake of fire, aka hell).
When they don’t bow down to him, he gets angry and makes them suffer greatly. Despite this, he says he doesn’t want his creations to be punished (of course he doesn’t. a narcissist wouldn’t want to have to resort to punishing people for not glorifying them).
But nonetheless, he does love his creations, like a child who loves his toys. Now, this love part is the only possible contradiction to God being a narcissist. Narcissists don’t care about others, they just want others to praise them. God appears to love his creations, but is also selfish and wants them to praise him or else he will get mad and brutally punish them. From a very simplified perspective, God is basically a father (cares about his kids, wants his kids to know his is the authority, wants his kids to respect him for all the things he provided for them, punishes his kids for disobeying). But this would be blowing things waaaay out of proportion. It’s not just simple parenting, its real life., and every aspect is brutal. God is a father who claims to give his kids everything (he does, including bad things), loves his kids so so much and cares about them, wants his kids to constantly praise and obey him because he is their authority and provides so much for them, and when his kids disobey, he gets so mad that he murders them and makes them suffer FOREVER. If God is not a narcissist, he is simply VERY emotional and VERY obsessed, or in other words, he is an insane father, who blows what it means to be a father out of universal proportions.
Now, another thing to think about is Jesus. God apparently loved his kids so much that he created a son would serve as a scapegoat for all their “sins”. Based on what I’ve seen, the messiah hasn’t changed the program, like, at all. Yes, you have way less ridiculous expectations, but he still requires constant praise and obedience, and still punishes his kids severely for not following his rules (despite Jesus supposedly dying for their sins).
If we want to get more conspiratorial about it, before Jesus came, it seemed God barely had anyone who would constantly praise him (just the Jews, really). But after his whole Jesus stunt, now 1/3 of the whole world is constantly praising him. Did God just do it to get more attention? By scamming people?
So what did Jesus die for? He changed very little. People seemed no more doomed than before. People fear God no more than before. God is still as angry as before. People claim “you just have to accept christ”. Clearly not the case. I can’t accept Christ and do what I want. I’m still expected to be as perfect as humanely possible, the only difference is that God will just forgive my little mishaps while I’m alive. But if he decides that I haven’t praised and obeyed him enough, he will make me suffer forever.
Now picture God and all these aspects, but picture him as a human person, a man who is a father. If he was acting this way as a human, he would be cruel and insane. His children would be like members of a cult who are afraid of being abused severely if they don’t constantly love and praise and obey their dad. But their dad loves and cares about his kids, despite abusing them.
And I don’t think Christians would be narcissists to. Christians are expected to show humility. God says they deserve nothing and deserve to suffer, and despite constantly praising him, are still considered equal to their non-Christian counterparts. The only difference is, the Christians got a better chance at avoiding God’s severely abusive punishments. Christians are not narcissists in this situation, they are the victims with Stockholm syndrome. God abuses them and they are made to think that they deserve it for their sins or that “its all part of Gods plan”, and continue to praise him constantly and think he is so great. They make ‘excuses’ with every bit of abuse handed toward them. They suffer from Stockholm so much, in fact, that they will even attack others for not praising and obeying God. They are submissive to the point of cultist insanity.
I too have suffered religious trauma. And being gay, it hit me harder than others. Right now I am writing a book that is technically about mental illness and stigma, but it is executed through my own perceptions with religion. The story perceives God and his angels as looking horrific and having a twisted sense of morality: tormenting a poor girl until she breaks, demanding human sacrifices from, and demands that his HUMAN followers bring him more humans so that him and his angels can eat them. Because they believe they are superior to humans, and therefore, it is ok to murder and eat them.
Sounds like you don’t believe God MADE you and KNOWS what is best for you.
Read and Obey the Gospel!
Holy shit!!! I am mindblown.
I’ve been in therapy for almost 3 yrs and only today I realized that “Our Father” is as narcissic as my father who shattered my life since I was capable of having a life shattered. I am also a sophomore student of Psychology and I want to congratulate you for this amazingly well written article. I am still discombobulated by this discovery.
Live long and prosper. >:)
PS. somebody wrote above: “God MADE you and KNOWS what is best for you.” My father used to tell me the same thing.
regarding the “Obey the Gospel!” I would suggest to this individual to read Milgram’s experiment about obedience, but I am almost certain they will not understand it anyway.
Thanks Alex, so glad you found it helpful!
Jesus Christ, Our Savior, is the only Way to the One True God, Our Heavenly Father. “For He so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son” to die for us, to pay our debt of sins, so that we have the opportunity, if we choose to follow Jesus, to spend Eternal Life with Him in heavenly bliss— “Reasonable happiness in this life and supreme happiness in the next!” as St. Francis of Assisi said. That’s REAL love. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and “he who believes in Me will never die.” Can’t get any better than that! Follow HIM, and there’s peace, love, joy, and true freedom. Know Jesus, know peace. No Jesus, no peace. It doesn’t mean you’ll never have problems in this world, but you’ll have inner joy despite your problems.
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Truth…”. You’re living in darkness, deceived, and cannot now see the Truth.
Read Scripture, earnestly seeking Him with an open heart, and He will guide you, love you, and catch your heart on Fire for Him.
Please retract your blasphemous, deeply offensive, and utterly false words against God. Otherwise, there’ll be a heavy, ultimate penalty to pay and for eternity. He allows us freedom of choice, but our choices necessarily have consequences, like any good Father. Doing whatever we please is not good for us. You must’ve had some unfortunate experience(s), and for that I’m truly sorry; this is a fallen world, but you can find healing and peace in Him, the Great Physician.
I will keep you in my prayers.
Peace to you, in Christ Jesus.
Wow, this message you’re promoting sure feels abusive. So you’re telling me “real love” is my divine parent threatening to torture me with eternal fire if I don’t believe your message? I’m pretty sure parents who do these kinds of things to their children have custody removed and get prosecuted as murderers. So why is your deity, who is supposed to exemplify the highest version of love crueler than the cruelest of all human parents? I know that personally if I had a child who didn’t accept or love me, I wouldn’t burn them with fire for their decision, even if it hurt me. I would still love them. I guess I am more loving than your God.
In the Jewish scriptures, G-d is depicted anthropomorphically with all the range of emotions and actions of human beings. This does not mean that “G-d” is a a narcissist, however, it shows that the humans depicting the characteristics of the divine see him/her/it in that vein. Actually, there can be nothing more supreme, more perfect and more influential than the divine–it is part and partial that they are narcissistic. However, to imply that the divine suffers narcissistic injury is just projecting the human dimension on an entity that is far from human. We see this continue in the Christian scriptures where Jesus is fully human/divine, and as a human, Jesus demonstrates the disdain, anger and outbursts of a human who has been treat pejoratively.
I also want to add the following: I have no idea if there is a Creator Spirit or something out there (or in me) but it can’t be the-biblical-god.
I mean, if the world is made by design and not by chance, I bet my ass that it can’t be in the same time a super-inteligent being (or something) and in the same time the narcissist described in the bible.
Therefore we are actually no closer to the truth but I refuse to believe that the equisiteness by which nature and biology and astronomy and whatever science you want to consider, can describe the work of an almost mad god.
Or maybe I am absolutely wrong, but it’s just a hunch.
and considering that anyone could have written the bible and put the stamp of the allmighty on it and sell this BS for like 2000+ yrs, I am no so sure betting my ass is such a risky endeavor.
Dial back your emotions and approach this delicately.
You say God, but in your very first sentence you say religions. As humans, we have rationalized fictional Gods to appease our own self interests. When I read the Bible I feel like I’m getting to know my best friend. Other ones have you worship someone.
Not everyone believes in the same God, but there is only one. You cite “ For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever!” (Romans 11:36).“.
Ok, first off. Nothing tells us we have to kiss his feet, does it?
This life is our life. We are judged by our own actions.
You do realize that everything in life isn’t about our own immediate self-interests?
If it isn’t God, then what standard do you use for what is right and what is wrong?
Are the 10 commandments so tough to follow? I know I’m a sinner (humility) and have broken some of them, but most of the time I follow such. I’m sorry if you encountered people that think this way, but putting all of us together is lazy & selfish.
What concerns me more than anything is “Do people today hold themselves accountable for their own actions or instead rationalize everything to make themselves feel good (at least for the moment)?
Let’s go on the other end. The Devil. What about people that proactively take advantage of others for their own benefit? Kill people? Rape? Did God make them do it? Did God make you steal? Did he make me get a felony?
Do you understand that if it wasn’t for good hearted people with courage, you wouldn’t even have the platform to reach out to others and say this?
Life has gotten too easy and we are now inventing problems to make ourselves feel better.
You do realize that everything in life is not about our own immediate self interests? Doing something good for someone else doesn’t get that special dopamine hit vs when you do it for yourself, does it?
Not one time in the Bible does it say worship, does it? I went along and posted this since you didn’t.
2 Corinthians 3:18
King James Version
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
I have lots of life experience and know there are 2 different kinds of good feelings. An immediate one that is external; usually short lasting. Drugs, sex, stealing, manipulation, etc.
Then there is that one good feeling. You know the one you get after you get a good grade on a test you studied your butt off for? Accomplishment. One that comes from hard work, discipline and courage. One that is harder to achieve. It takes sacrifice, discipline, perseverance, etc.
When you achieve such goal, your good feeling comes from within and it is long lasting. It’s why taking care of your body is so crucial in life. You have an all day natural high.
Again…This life we make our own choices. Whether you accept it or not, there are consequences for our actions. That is fair, whether you accept it or not.
Curious: When was the last time you admitted you were wrong about anything?