1.4 - The politics of God

I always pictured God as a republican:

• Steadfast, never-changing. No free handouts. You work to eat. A level playing field. You get opportunity and you have choices. Rules are rules and actions have consequences. You reap what you sow. Science must be wrong because creation is right.

Recently I've been seeing God as a democrat:

• Mercy and grace are decidedly not conservative values. I find numerous examples of waffling and regret—changes of mind—actions altered to comply with the requests of pitiful men. Acceptance, no matter how badly you mess up. Rules exist, but so does forgiveness. Science tells us "how," religion tells us "why."

Sometimes I have difficulty reconciling these two views.

• Unwavering vs. wishy-washy or stubborn vs. flexible?
  
• Justice vs. tolerance or unmerciful vs. forgiving?
  
• Fact vs. fairy tale or fable vs. allegory?
  
• Holiness vs. permission or condemnation vs. compassion?

Perhaps one is the God that is, and the other is the God I desire—a real God and an ideal God—but which is which?