As I was growing up, I was taught to believe that God loves us unconditionally. That’s part of what makes Him divine, so much more devoted to every human being than any earthly parent.

Yet it struck me that my last blog entry suggests something different, namely that God’s love is conditional.

According to the Bible, it is. If you accept Jesus to be your Saviour, then God guarantees you a place in heaven. For eternity. If you do not accept Jesus as your Saviour, then you are guaranteed a place in hell. For eternity. Two conditional clauses.

This conditional love can be found elsewhere in the Bible. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose .” If you love God, He will work all things for your good (yes, even the premature loss of a loved one). If you do not love God, He will not work all things for your good. Two conditional clauses.

And what are we to conclude if God’s love turns out to be conditional after all?

What many always knew:  that the Christian faith is essentially selfish because it plays on our most basic human fear: the fear of death, the dissolution of our ego. When I accept Christianity’s conditional offer of the salvation of my soul, I am admitting that the world ultimately revolves around me. Religion owes its ongoing existence to this pitiable flattery of personal vanity.