Whose Side Are You On?

"God doesn't take sides."

The radio show host Dennis Prager discussed this slogan repeated on Jon Stewart's show when his guest was former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.  Dennis correctly pointed out that if God doesn't take sides, if He doesn't have a moral will, then He's not a God who deserves our love and trust.  Did God have a preference between the slaveholders and the abolitionists in the Civil War?  Between the Axis and the Allies in World War 2?  Of course, He did.

If you believe in right and wrong - morally or otherwise - and I would think God knows the difference, then doesn't God take a side based on what's right?  So if God is right and I turn out to be right, then aren't we on the same side?  I'm on His side and He's on my side?

Do we always know what side God is on?  In many cases we may not, but that doesn't mean God doesn't prefer one circumstance represented by a side over another.  He may not always intervene to tip the balance leaving it to us to act, but it doesn't mean He doesn't care about what will happen. 

I've heard some who toss out this slogan say that believing God is on our side leads to arrogance and all of the failings and recklessness that can follow.  And then follows a list of the sins of the West.  Certainly it's possible to justify atrocious actions, but the antidote is not the idea that God is agnostic about the acts of mankind.  It seems that, as well, can lead to appalling behavior.  Witness the greatest atrocities in human history committed by atheist governments.  Believing God favors our side doesn't give us license, or He won't be on our side anymore.

"Well, they believe God is on their side, too."  Maybe so.  Let's look at the facts and what we know about God.  Just because someone else makes a competitive claim doesn't automatically nullify the first.  And just because people make such claims when they have no right to do so doesn't mean it isn't true sometimes or we're left with agnosticism. 

For those of us who care about which side God takes, don't we do our best to try to get things right?  And if we think we're right, and God certainly has everything right, wouldn't we then naturally think we're on the same side as God?  I think most of us are cautious or unlikely to actually claim that God is on our side, but isn't it the implication at least of thinking we've got our own position right?

The companion to this slogan is a quote by Abraham Lincoln that it's more important that we are on God's side.  Absolutely true.  But if we believe we are on God's side can we then suppose that He is on our side?

Many times I think "God doesn't take sides" is a dismissal and a ad hominem.  It's a way to dismiss someone who makes a truth claim and avoid making a counter argument.  It's a convenient way to avoid engaging an argument while making the other person look arrogant that God has sided with them.  In reality, it's rare to hear someone actually claim God is on their side.  What I hear is people, including me, trying to find the truth and, along with Lincoln, be on God's side.  The truth is God's side and isn't it good to care about the truth?

Comments

[Sam]

I dunno. There are times in the Bible when God takes the sides of people who are not in the moral right. For example, he tooks Babylon's side when they went about conquering, and he later took the Persian side. It had nothing to do with him agreeing with their morality; he was just using them to judge other nations.

[Hugh Williams]

If God doesn't take sides, then he would agree with that statement... and isn't that taking a side?

The suicide tactic, people... ya gotta love it.

[Perry Shields]

I think the question is somewhat nonsensical to begin with. Issues between countries are rarely ever "good" vs. "evil." There is much ambiguity. The United States' dealings in the Middle East are complex and far from clearly delineated. I see no clear distinction in the Iraq war, for instance, and it is silly to presume God is on "our" side in this battle. I see egocentrism at work.