Calling God “Father”: Stumbling block or salve?

Posted on September 2, 2018 
Filed under Theology

“If someone’s relationship with their human parents is negative or non-existent, could the idea of God as Father become unappealing?

As someone who’s always enjoyed healthy relationships with my still-married parents, I know that I’m fortunate. But the more people I meet, the more this seems as rare as it is fortunate. Countless factors cause people to experience parental relationships that range from tricky to traumatic. For those whose understanding of parenthood comes from an absent father or a neglectful mother, it’s perhaps harder to process the fatherhood of God as something fundamentally good. …”

– At The Australian Church Record, Lauren Mahaffey considers if we should dispense with the notion of God as Father.