motorhead

This thread was inspired by the recent thread about God's involvement in the WTC disaster.

Do Christians see their God as being like a parent to its child? It would seem so since they call him father and consider themselves to be children of God. This seems to be the opinion of the Christians in the WTC thread too.

If so, I think the analogy is incorrect. The way that Christians describe their relationship with their God is not like a human parent/child relationship at all. The way they describe their God, the relationship between their God and humans is more like an impersonal judge to accused criminal. It basically comes down to following a set of commands and holding a certain set of beliefs, and if you don't you get eternal jail (hell).

Most parents love their children and do their best to raise them to be good people. They support them in all ways, love them unconditionally, and honor their choices made in life, even when they may not agree with them. And even if they didn't agree with some of their choices, they would still love them. As I said, the goal of a parent is to raise a child to be able to go out into the world and live their own lives. In other words, eventually the child is old enough to be free on their own in the world, free to make their own choices, about their occupation, beliefs, etc.

Parents do expect children to live by certain rules and boundaries while they are being raised but eventually children are freed from these as they are old enough to be on their own in the world. No matter what choices a child makes for their lives, even ones parents don't agree with, the parent still loves them unconditionally and would never think that their child should suffer some ongoing torture for making choices in life different from theirs, or even choices they didn't agree with.

So, the parent/child analogy used by Christians to decribe the relationship between their God and humans is incorrect.

happyboy

but don't you understand? the christian God is so needy, He can't let us go. He's incapable of letting us live our own lives. without us, He's nothing, therefore He won't let us go.

happyboy

wildernesse

Bishop Spong writes about this concept of "God as Parent" as something that needs to be discarded as humanity matures and understands more about the world itself and their place in it. He argues that there is no more room for God as Parent in our society. This is holdover of theism and as theism dies, our understanding of God as Parent and someone to bow down to and look to for protection will change as we perceive God as a non-supernatural entity.

His ideas are interesting. I think the book I'm currently reading for Lent is "Why Christianity must Change or Die". I'm not being a very good reader, though.

--tibac

christ-on-a-stick

God "The Loving Father" would have been picked up by Child Protective Services a loooong time ago.

Rhea

Radorth got really really pissed at me for thinking that his god is like a parent to him. It seems like a natural assumption given the "father" and "children" thing. But Radorth really took exception to his being the child in the relationship.

Now I don't know _what_ to think.

It's like when They tell you, "don't call me a sheep!" and then chant "The Lord is My Shepherd" and name their daycares "Little Lambs" and stuff.


(huh?)

Wildheart

I could never understand the concept of viewing someone who would subject you to eternal torment as a parent.

A psychotic mother-in-law maybe, but not a mother or father.