What Kind of Father is the Christian God?
What would happen if your father only showed up tangibly occasionally and usually for only a few of his children? If the father blames his absence on the children, how good of a father is he?
What would you think of a father who knew one of his children was being molested, and he chose not to intervene or show up for the child?
What if he only “showed up” when they played the right music or enough of his children begged him to come?
What if he had the cure for their disease, the answer to their questions, or the way out of a situation, and he refused to help? And what if they didn’t even clearly explain why not but left the children wondering why he hadn’t shown up?
How uncaring would it be for him to leave the explanation in a note he supposedly wrote but make it unclear and leave its preservation in the hands of people who had harmed his children?
My dad has some faults, but I resented the volume of time he did not spend there and the lack of explanation and communication.
God is a way worse father than me, according to the Christian narrative and the mythos around it.
He even went so far as to kill millions of his children because he only chose a few of them as his favorites (another terrible parental characteristic). Later, he changed his mind and included all of them, with some conditions: if they did certain things, then they could be accepted as his children, but he still reserved the right to ignore them, allow abuse, and let some of them starve to death for a reason he didn’t explain.
While he killed most of his children by drowning then, he allowed the adversary to live, which, according to the narrative, was the one that convinced them to displease the father. Why didn’t he care for the problem instead of ignoring and disowning his children?
It’s just a narrative that no longer makes sense. I shouldn’t have to make excuses for a perfect father, and neither should you!
Karl Forehand
https://www.amazon.com/Evolving-Religious-Trauma-Karl-Forehand-ebook/dp/B0CWMJWY48/
Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward, Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community. He is married to his wife Laura of 35 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here.
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