Spinoza, Theocracy, and loving God

I must admit, I've not read much in Spinoza, the 17th century excommunicated Dutch Jew and Pantheist. If that's not a run on sentence, I don't know what is! Anyway, Richard Beck, chair of the psychology department at Abilene Christian University, postulates a bit on Spinoza's ideas about God and theocracy in particularly. I blogged the other day in response to Richard Mouw's defense -- attempt to rehabilitate -- of the term theocracy. I don't buy it -- and Beck shows us why. Consider:

With this perspective in hand, I suddenly warmed to Spinoza's project if not his God. Given our current situation in America, Spinoza's concerns about theocracy seem remarkably relevant and timely. Further, I'm very, very tired of religious people telling me what God does or does not like. What God loves and what God hates. What God approves of or disapproves of. I'm not a Spinozist, but I can't tell you how many times a day I want to say to religious people, "You know, strictly speaking, God loves no one and hates no one." Further, I grow very tired of a religious life motivated by pleasing God. So much of religious life seems to be about managing the psychology of God. And again, although I'm not a Spinozist, I often want to say, "You know, if you really loved God you wouldn't spend so much time trying to get him to love you in return."

Because, when you think about it, those twin moves ("God hates X" and "I must do X so God will be pleased with me") sets up most of the religious dysfunction and violence in the world.

The problem with theocratic notions is that we seem intent on figuring out what God loves and hates and what it takes to please God, which Beck rightly suggests sets up so much dysfunction and violence -- religiously inspired variety.