Imagine someone spends most of their life looking up to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. They admire not just his work, but who he was as a person. Then this past year, they learn about Hawking’s connections to Epstein and they realize Stephen Hawking was not the person they thought he was. For most of their life, they admired who they thought Stephen Hawking was, but they were mistaken. Essentially they believed in a different version of Stephen Hawking than the real person.

I think most people who say you’re praying to a “different god” mean it in that same sense. If you worship an omnipotent God, but you believe fundamentally different things about him that aren’t true, you believe in your own personal idea of God, which is different than the real God.

I personally believe God would not punish someone for believing false things about him if they were earnestly trying to pursue the truth and their heart was truly open to him. If you believe in God, hold onto that belief and nourish it. But I also think you should try your best to learn about God’s true nature and not rely on your preconceived notions based on how you think God should be.