"I believe in God the Father Almighty..." I am not sure which description of the nature of God troubles me more, the Father or the Almighty. For many people, knowing God as father evokes pleasant memories of Dear Old Dad. Yet, for some people if God is a father then God might be understood to be distant, harsh, or even neglectful. I realize that we must distinguish between our earthly fathers and our Heavenly Father, but one's experience of their earthly father could influence their understanding of their Heavenly Father. The second description of God is that God is almighty. For me, the word "almighty" seems to chase away any notions of intimacy. I mean can you really embrace something that is all-mighty?
Questions/Thoughts for this Sunday's Reading:
1.) How are we to understand the "Almighty" nature of God while still enjoying intimacy and closeness with God?
2.) How does our knowing God as Father and as Almighty allow God to be all-powerful while maintaining the intimacy and closeness a child would enjoy with his/her father?
3.) What is lost if we do not know God as "All-Mighty?" If God wasn't "All-Mighty" would that entity still be God? Would that entity still be worthy of our worship?
4.) If God is "All-Mighty" then why is there so much suffering and evil in this world? (We will return to this subject later, but you can start posting some questions/thoughts.)
5.) Do you have issues with God being called father due to your experiences with an earthly father?
6.) What is gained by understanding God as "mother?" What is sacrificed when we only understand God in masculine terms? Or is the whole discussion of mascuilne and femmine images for God unnecessary or unimportant since God is beyond gender?
