The God of Life against the God of Death

Kevin Stephon R. Centeno, SJ

Published April 24, 2026

A number of scholars and intellectuals, from the Enlightenment period until this present age, have attempted to predict the end of religion. It is predicted in the secularization thesis that with the fast-paced progress in science and technology, humans will let go of belief in a supernatural god. However the global resurgence of religion, amidst decline of religious believers in regions like Europe, disproves this prediction. There are also people who still believe in a Divine Being, or a force beyond us, and seek spirituality without joining a particular religious institution. Secularization then is a complex process since the shape of being “religious” and the conception of spirituality evolve throughout history.

For critics, especially the so-called New Atheists, abolishing religion is considered as a panacea to societal problems such as ignorance, fanaticism, and conflict–the world will be more progressive without belief in God. Belief in God to them is irrational because it lacks empirical evidence, and at the same time, promotes hatred and violence: brutal colonizations, crusades, and inquisitions all done in the name of God. The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber once said that humans have bloodied the word “God” by misusing it, aptly describing how the name of God is instrumentalized today to justify sheer poverty, patriarchy, homophobia, racism, and religious intolerance.

Then there is this naïve assumption that outgrowing belief in God will bring more authentic peace and order in the world, wherein secular humanism can be viable. If God causes more harm than good, it’s better to not believe at all. In response to this claim, one must critically ask: What kind of God are they referring to? Is this the true God, or just an idol?

For the Jesuit theologian Juan Luis Segundo, the more pressing issue is neither the tension between atheism and faith nor secularization, but the worship of a false god. The distorted conception of a vengeful and blood-thirsty God, rejected by the new atheists and other intellectual critics of religion, is the same God rejected by an authentic interpretation of the biblical God. Humanity has the tendency to create God according to its own image, recently evident in United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s outrageous invocation of God’s name to destroy their enemies in a militant theology proclaiming that God sides with the U.S. and blesses their war against Iran. Isn’t this modern-day idolatry in which the extreme Christian right is guilty of?

Thank God, Pope Leo XIV continues to denounce such twisted images of God. Last Palm Sunday, he powerfully preached that, “[...] Our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.’ (Is 1:15)” Emphasizing Jesus Christ’s radical act of washing His disciple’s feet, the Pope said, “Jesus purifies not only our image of God from the idolatry and blasphemy that have distorted it, but also our image of humanity. For we tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared. In contrast, as true God and true man, Christ offers us the example of self-giving, service and love.”

The message is clear: Jesus Christ purifies our image of God by revealing the true God–the God of life, who desires the flourishing of the entire created order. The true God is not a warfreak, nor a God of death who mercilessly destroys human lives!

As military powers continue to continue to openly boast of their capacity as war machines for aggressiveness and destruction, the violent rhetoric of authoritarian leaders demonstrates an unprecedented level of obscenity. Worse, some religious leaders support their deadly military ambitions for worldly power and control. What German critical theorist Herbert Marcuse wrote in ‘An Essay on Liberation’ five decades ago rings true: “Obscene is not the picture of a naked woman who exposes her pubic hair, but that of a fully clad general who exposes his medals rewarded in a war of aggression. [...] Obscene is not the ritual of the Hippies but the declaration of a high dignitary of the Church that war is necessary for peace.” Not only is it obscene, but blasphemous–“Holy war” then becomes an oxymoron.

Tragically, our world is marked by this unnecessary and contradictory obscenity in both political and religious spheres. Without a doubt, this becomes one of the reasons why modern-day people refuse to believe that the God presented by fanatics is not worth believing in. In a prayer vigil led by Pope Leo XIV in Rome, he correctly observes that “even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.” Once again, he called for an end in modern-day idolatry: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money!  Enough of the display of power!  Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life.”

Easter then invites us to return to the God of life: the God who liberates the victims of persecution, genocide, and wars. According to Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino, this is the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection:

"What is specific about Jesus' resurrection is, therefore, not what God does with a dead body but what God does with a victim. The raising of Jesus is direct proof of the triumph of God's justice, not simply of his omnipotence, and it becomes good news for victims; for once, justice has triumphed over injustice. In the well-known words of Max Horkheimer, the longing of the totally other has been fulfilled, that ‘the executioner may not triumph over the victim.’ God is the God who liberates victims."

Let us not use the name of God in vain! Let us only worship the God of life!