Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

    
    		My Earthly father was a jerk while my Heavenly father is 
    my guide and teacher.  
    
    
    Dave

    
    Dave,
    
    Thankfully God's grace can span that gap when we allow Him too.
    I'm glad you have at least one dad that you can count on. :-)
    
    Jill

    My earthly father was/is okay - as good as most (for his generation)
    and better than many.
    
    I've learned, since filling a father's role for the past 13 years,
    that my father didn't have a clue, though as a child I thought he did. 
    Parenthood, I've learned, is its own unique on-the-job training program.
    
    Peace,
    Richard
    

    RE: .3
    
    Similar to my experiences. My father was O.K. by the standards of the
    time....but....after being a father myself for 16 years, he sure
    missed out!
    
    Marc H.

    
    RE: .3 & .4
    
    Okay...but what comparison or differences do you see between your
    earthly and Heavenly fathers?
    
    My parents were far from perfect, but like Richard said...it's
    OTJ training.  I think parenting is an art, not a science.  Also, 
    in fairness to our folks the messages of the 50s and 60s really 
    endorsed fathers being involved at work with a brief appearance 
    at dinner time.  I was lucky in that my dad stayed home during 
    the day when I was in elementary school for a couple of years 
    while he worked and went to school nights.  So I had quite a 
    bit of time spent with him and regardless of what they say, I 
    don't believe you can just schedule quality time.  I believe it's 
    a result of the quantity of time you spend with your kids.
    
    Jill

Unfortunately, not everyone has a positive role what being a father is
all about.

Some have been abused and sexually violated by the man they call father.
Others have been neglected, even abandoned.

For some, the term 'father' equates with cruelty and pain.

Many fathers of a generation or two ago had a great deal of difficulty
demonstrating affection.  I was 35 before my father actually said he was
proud of me.

Peace,
Richard

    You're right Richard.  Some people have very negative images of their
    father or even the term 'father.'  Do you think that has in any way
    effected your thinking of your Heavenly Father?
    
    This brings up another interesting thought:  Could there be any
    connection to why some people don't like to think of God as Father,
    but rather Mother or Goddess?  Yes, no...why or why not?  I'm not
    sure...could have some impact for some people.
    
    Jill

Note 609.7

>    You're right Richard.  Some people have very negative images of their
>    father or even the term 'father.'  Do you think that has in any way
>    effected your thinking of your Heavenly Father?

Actually, not much.  I'm speaking personally here.  I don't limit my thinking
of God in terms of a male parent figure.  But I realize some people do and
I try to be sensitive to that.

>    This brings up another interesting thought:  Could there be any
>    connection to why some people don't like to think of God as Father,
>    but rather Mother or Goddess?

Yes, I think it does have an impact on some, but certainly not all who
ascribe maternal qualities to the Deity.

You know, the OT metaphorically compares God to a mother eagle.  And in the
OT, the Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit is in the feminine gender, as I recall.

Richard

re: Note 609.7 by Jill "it's just a wheen o' blethers" 

>    You're right Richard.  Some people have very negative images of their
>    father or even the term 'father.'  Do you think that has in any way
>    effected your thinking of your Heavenly Father?

Hi Jill,  I know many people who begin the Lord's Prayer "Our God, who art in
heaven..." simply because that image of father is too painful.  I go through
periods of time when I cannot deal well with fatherly images and have
difficulty in accepting even God's love. 
    
>    This brings up another interesting thought:  Could there be any
>    connection to why some people don't like to think of God as Father,
>    but rather Mother or Goddess?  Yes, no...why or why not?  I'm not
>    sure...could have some impact for some people.
    
Interesting question.  I think that's possible, although in most of the cases 
I know of people who have such issues with one parent see the other parent as 
at least passively allowing abuse to occur, if not actively perpetrating abuse
themselves.  Could it have some impact?  Yes, definitely.

What I've found to work best for myself is to not apply any sexual concept to 
God, and accept Jesus as a dear friend and the Holy Spirit as a wise guide and 
comforter.

Peace,

Jim

    RE:  609.9
    
    Thanks for sharing Jim.  I wish I could give you my experiences so you
    didn't have those hurts.  Although, I do know that God can heal those
    hurts and allow you to live beyond them.  He does love you.  Thanks for
    risking opening up.  I know this isn't always a safe place to do that.
    
    I often think in terms of the God in terms of the Idea Man, the
    Doer, and the Power Source.  I also like thinking of God as Architect, 
    Builder, and Contractor.
    
    Good point about the passive parent allowing abuse.  I'm sure that's
    true for some people.  Do you think some people feel that way about
    God?  If you read Job, God certainly give Satan some leeway in
    messing with Job.  That can be a very difficult concept for us to
    understand.
    
    Jill

re: Note 609.10 by Jill "it's just a wheen o' blethers" 

You're welcome, and with God's help, I am healing.  And thanks for more ways 
to think about God, who is infinitely multifaceted.

To answer your question about people feeling that God is responsible for 
allowing abuse I know that a lot of people do.  It can be a long and hard 
process recovering from that; and learning to accept, forgive, and love ain't 
easy.  (My whole way of thinking about those things had to radically change.)

There is a saying among certain circles, "don't give up before your miracle".
God has not given up on us, even when we feel very remote.  Job is a good 
example of that.
    
Peace,

Jim