I just finished reading "The Shack" by William P. Young. Here are a few thoughts = feel free to respond:
- I don't feel comfortable with God being portrayed as a woman - this is not because I have a good father either - it just doesn't seem right when he has chosen to be called "Father."
- I really appreciated that we do tend to worship a god that we have created in our head and that it is often not who God really is
- I also thought that it was wise when it was discussed how expectations are a human way of trying to control the future - this is wise and convicting.
- I struggle with understanding the sin that we have brought on ourselves
- I appreciated the emphasis on relationship that this book has
- It challenged me on foregiveness
\manda
2 comments:
Thoughts on God being portrayed as a woman:
We talked about this this morning in systematic theology. (My favourite class, even though it makes my brain melt with insanity!) Bear with me through this. It might make no sense, part of this is me trying to make sense of this morning.
Rather, thoughts on God as Father:
God is Jesus' Father. That's the big deal there. He's not like a father, He IS Jesus' Father (making our own fathers irrelevant in discussion of God as Father). Referring to God as Father is a term that lets us understand (a little bit) about God and Jesus' relationship (while still being one).
We can address God as Father because "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying Abba! Father!" (Galatians 4:6) Only through the Spirit can we address God as Father.
OK, now onto the woman issue:
There was another interesting section in my reading this week about calling God "Mother" instead of using male language. The context is in relation to people with bad fathers who then choose to refer to God as a mother figure. The author notes that this is "in effect refusing such a person the gospel" because it's accepting the domination of the victim by the abuser as permanent, still giving power; alienating the individual from the rest of apostolic Christianity and things like the Lord's Prayer; and offering "inclusivity" and "pastoral understanding" as an improvement on the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
I don't know if that made any sense, but those are my thoughts on your post following my brain-melting class this morning. (Systematic theology is so exciting but man!)
i think its a beautiful allegory
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